Science and Technology Thrusts (STTs)

The Consortium for Innovation in Manufacturing and Materials (CIMM) incorporates two Science and Technology Thrusts (STTs) both of which address scientific challenges associated with the multiscale nature of the underlying phenomena, which span multiple length scales (nanometers to millimeters and beyond) and time scales (nanoseconds to hours):

1) STT1 (Multiscale Metal Forming and Replication) addresses challenges in high-throughput manufacturing of components with functional features ranging from microns to millimeters and beyond with high fidelity and repeatability;

A major challenge in multiscale forming is that well-established macroscale manufacturing methods cannot be simply scaled down to the relevant dimensions. To address this, STT1 tightly couples experimentation with modelling and simulation on multiscale plasticity and physics and mechanics of interfacial regions, with focus on mechanical size effects and engineered interfaces.

2) STT2 (Laser-Based Metal Additive Manufacturing) focuses on adaptive manufacturing of application-specific alloys and structures with a high degree of geometric and microstructural complexity and variability.

A major challenge in laser-based 3D metal printing is that an understanding of the complex interplay between multi-physics and multiscale phenomena—which are required for tailoring composition and microstructure of printed parts—is presently incomplete. To address this, STT2 couples experimentation with hierarchical modeling and simulation tools, with a focus on laser printing processes and custom powder synthesis.