Award Abstract #0402066
International Research Fellowship Program: Device Reliability and Fracture of Electroceramics

NSF Org:	OISE Office of International Science and Engineering
Initial Amendment Date:	June 18, 2004
Latest Amendment Date:	June 18, 2004
Award Number:	0402066
Award Instrument:	Fellowship
Program Manager:	Susan Parris OISE Office of International Science and Engineering O/D OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
Start Date:	September 1, 2004
Expires:	June 30, 2006 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$130196
Investigator(s):	Jacob Jones jjones@mse.ufl.edu (Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	Jones Jacob L Dayton, IN 47941 / -
NSF Program(s):	EAPSI
Field Application(s):	0106000 Materials Research
Program Reference Code(s):	OTHR, 5956, 0000
Program Element Code(s):	7316

ABSTRACT

0402066

Jones

The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.

This award will support a twenty-two month research fellowship by Dr. Jacob L. Jones to work with Dr. Mark Hoffman at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia for 12 months, and Dr. Ersan Ustundag at Iowa State University for 10 months.

Ferroelectric materials couple electrical and mechanical energy, making them ideal for active components in actuators, sensors and transducers in applications including medical ultrasonic imaging, piezoelectric buzzers, ultrasonic motors, sonar, and high-precision measurement systems. In medical and other sophisticated applications, failure of the ferroelectric device, particularly by fracture, is unacceptable. This research quantifies the role of microstructure in crack initiation, propagation and failure of cyclically loaded ferroelectric devices, leading ultimately to enhanced reliability. Damage initiation including subsurface microcracking and change in fracture toughness as a function of crack extension (R-curve) is observed and characterized using techniques offered by Dr. Hoffman. Microstructural parameters including strain, texture and composition are quantified in situ during crack propagation experiments using novel diffraction technologies applied extensively in Dr. Ustundag's research. The results from these experiments are combined to develop a model for damage evolution in ferroelectric and ferroelastic materials

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