Grain boundaries are inherent defects in most materials of technological
relevance. Understanding how a growing crack interacts with them will enable design of microstructures to enhance the material toughness, a
desirable feature for many structural applications.
With respect to crack interaction with grain boundaries, we categorize the latter through a misorientation of the preferred fracture path across the
boundary and hence we define a kink misorietation and a twist misorientation (see Figure 1). It is noted that crack path in a
kink-misoriented specimen is coplanar across the boundary but not in the twist-misoriented case. [...]
Secondary or Primary school teachers spend 2 summers working with Brown Faculty and Students.
4-8 teachers per year are accommodated. John Shilko of Pawtucket Middle School facilitates the program.
Teachers work with faculty to develop classroom modules for their use. Teachers are given weekly
tours and demonstrations of science research labs throughout the campus.
RET outreach highlights [...]
The spontaneous growth of whiskers from Pb-free Sn solder films on Cu
substrates poses a serious threat to the reliability of electronic circuits.
Researchers at Brown are using experiments and computer simulations
to understand the mechanisms for the formation of Sn whiskers [...]
Stresses in thin films can limit their performance or induce failure, so understanding and controlling stress evolution during growth is critical. Although compressive stress is often observed after the film is continuous,
an explanation for the stress generation has been lacking.
Researchers at Brown University have proposed a mechanism for
compressive stress generation based on the non-equilibrium conditions
present during deposition. In this [...]
Welcome to the internet hub of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC), a network of Centers located at academic institutions throughout the United States, funded by the National Science Foundation. This website provides organized connections to information and resources at the various MRSECs for the international scientific, industrial, and educational materials research and development communities. Read more about MRSEC
