Application-Driven Design of Materials: Advancements in Composite Materials and Coatings

In recent years, materials science and engineering have evolved significantly, emphasizing application-driven design—a strategy that customizes materials to meet precise performance criteria, resulting in notable innovations in composite materials and coatings. Composite materials, exemplified by carbon-fiber-reinforced composites in aerospace, have revolutionized aircraft design, offering outstanding strength-to-weight ratios and enhanced fuel efficiency. The automotive industry has similarly shifted towards high-strength, lightweight composites, as seen in Tesla's use of carbon fiber composites, improving structural integrity and reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Coatings have gained pivotal importance, adapting materials to specific environmental demands, with anti-corrosion coatings extending the service life of steel structures and smart coatings with embedded sensors monitoring structural health in real-time. Aerospace employs thermal barrier coatings to protect components from extreme temperatures, extending operational lifespan and enabling high-performance aviation and space exploration. These achievements highlight the transformative potential of application-driven design in materials development, offering tailored solutions to complex challenges across industries. As technology advances, application-driven design will play an increasingly vital role in creating innovative materials that meet modern demands.<br/>Our presentation will highlight extensive research conducted at KFUPM in the field of computational materials design, spanning various applications. Over the years, our dedicated team has developed advanced computational methods for precise heterogeneous materials design, incorporating homogenization techniques that consider crucial material design parameters, including phase volume fractions, material properties, inclusion characteristics, dispersion, and interface conditions. This comprehensive approach enables highly accurate predictions of thermo-mechanical responses in complex materials. Furthermore, we've introduced an innovative multi-scale modeling methodology capable of simulating the thermo-mechanical behavior of heterogeneous materials across various length scales. These computational tools have practical applications in diverse fields, from composite materials to membranes and coatings. Additionally, we've introduced the concept of functionally graded (FG) materials to create SiAlON-based ceramic composites optimized for cutting tool applications, incorporating hybrid reinforcements like TiCN, Co, and hBN. To validate our predictions and optimize these composites, we've diligently applied effective medium theories and mean-field homogenization schemes, considering variables such as volume fractions, interfacial thermal resistance, reinforcement particle sizes, and porosity. This rigorous approach extends to the comprehensive characterization and analysis of fabricated ceramic samples, aligning computational predictions with real-world measurements. Additionally, we've explored the cold spray deposition process for tailored composite coatings, utilizing a physics-based hybrid computational approach that models the deposition of Ni-Ti/Al2O3 composite coatings for wear applications. This approach efficiently simulates critical aspects, including particle impact, deformation, and temperature variations, by combining point cloud and finite element techniques, providing valuable insights for optimizing wear-resistant coatings. Our presentation will comprehensively showcase the groundbreaking progress achieved in the field of application-driven materials design. The group is currently working on the application of machine learning methods and the development of digital twins for the design and development of coatings and composites. We look forward to sharing these insights and contributing to the exciting possibilities in this ever-evolving domain.