Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is a novel materials processing technique with a unique combination of a high amperage and a high pressure in sintering. It is used for densification of powdered metal alloys, intermetallics, ceramics and composites in a very rapid manner (within a few minutes) and at significantly reduced temperature, thus it is especially useful for manufacturing nanostructured materials. The lack of this facility has severely restricted the research capability and creativity of Australian researchers. This proposal seeks to establish the first SPS facility in the country to meet the increasing demands by research organisations and companies nationwide for the development of advanced materials.

Electron microscopes are key tools for selectively analysing nanostructures, from individual nanoparticles to embedded precipitates. However, the important properties of nanostructured materials are normally measured at the macroscopic level, not at the level of the nanostructure. This Facility will provide a powerful new capability to Australia, enabling the measurement and correlation of structure and properties at the nanoscale and in real time. It will be integrated across Victoria’s three largest electron microscope facilities providing comprehensive in-situ electrical, mechanical and thermal measurements. These capabilities are essential to advance a large range of multidisciplinary research projects at the cutting-edge of science.

To install in a central location at Monash University a digital image plate reader and appropriate recording hardware and software as a multi-user facility for high-resolution electron imaging and diffraction. Imaging plates are, in appearance, like photographic film and are used in the electron microscope in the same way. They are, however, nearly a hundred times more sensitive, have a range a hundred thousand times greater, and, when interrogated by a reader, generate a digitised output and can then be used again. We propose to exploit those characteristics in the study of advanced materials, in the investigation of phases changes, and in the characterisation of materials not sufficiently stable in the electron beam to observe by more conventional methods.

This collaboration project combines two groups of international standing on advanced experimental characterization and computational modelling to address some critical issues on deformation in light alloys of commercial significance. The successful outcome of this project is expected to radically advance the fundamental understanding of deformation mechanisms and subsequently exploit this knowledge for alloy development. In particular, the findings will facilitate the identification and realization of special microstructural features that are most important in controlling the deformation of commercially important engineering alloys. It will enhance Australia’s capability and international visibility in computational materials science.

Conventional microscopic approaches to 3-D characterisation of the structure of materials are inevitably destructive and thus prohibit in-situ studies of dynamic behaviour. Emerging 3-D imaging techniques employing high energy x-ray diffraction permit such studies in samples representative of bulk behaviour, with nanoscale spatial resolution. This application seeks support to establish a state-of-the-art x-ray diffraction imaging facility that will allow us the development of novel techniques of high-resolution x-ray diffraction and imaging, and their application to the study of critical structure-property relationships in engineering materials where key structural elements range from a few microns to the nanoscale.

Heterogeneous nanostructured materials and assemblies offer unique structure-property relationships, dominated by the internal interfaces they contain. This interdisciplinary research project will combine novel techniques based on high-resolution phase-retrieval x-ray diffraction and imaging, with complementary analytical electron microscopy and atom probe analysis, in a coordinated study of the structure and properties of embedded interfaces in strategic bi-crystals and nanostructures. It promises new techniques for the study of such defects, and a breakthrough in the understanding of the structural transitions that occur in embedded interfaces as a function of local changes in composition and temperature.

This project involves characterisation using modern facilities of the form and identity of atomic-scale clusters of alloying elements in selected automotive sheet alloys that have been subjected to single and multiple ageing treatments and examination and modelling of deformation mechanisms and behaviour in such alloys. The aim is to establish the precise role of clusters of solute atoms and vacancies in the formation of precipitate phases that control the final strength and deformation behaviour of the alloys, and to provide useful guidelines for further improvements in strength of these alloys via the control of alloy composition and of multiple ageing treatments.

This facility will provide an experimental platform for Australian researchers to develop new alloys and processing routes for light alloys. The facility will also support fundamental research on the deformation and transformation behaviour of ferrous alloys. At present there are no Australian facilities to cast laboratory scale ferrous alloys or to systematically study the early stage of solidification in light alloys. With this platform the group will explore: new strip casting approaches for magnesium, titanium and aluminium alloys, advanced high strength steels for automotive applications, new bulk amorphous alloys for high performance applications and the fundamentals of laser processing.

The understanding of advanced materials requires 3D characterisation. For this reason advanced techniques are required to selectively analyse the structure and chemistry of materials at high spatial resolutions. This proposal seeks to establish state-of-the-art ion beam based tools that allow a wide range of materials to be selectively sectioned, imaged, manipulated and analysed in 3D. These tools are urgently needed by a large consortium of researchers since they will allow materials to be characterised and manipulated in ways not previously possible, including the capacity for site-specific ion implantation, cross-sectioning, micro/nano-fabrication and sample preparation for analysis by TEM, atom probe and the Australian synchrotron.

Developed nations rely extensively on metallic materials to sustain modern society. This places a significant importance on delivery of base metals – and that delivery must be as efficient and clean as possible. The first step in the delivery chain is extraction from the ore, and much of this technology is based on electrowinning (EW), where the behaviour of the anode is critical to overall process efficiency. Advances in EW anodes will lead to energy savings, which will result in a cleaner overall production cycle, with major emission reductions and cost savings. However for this to occur, fundamental R&D must be accomplished. Expected outcomes of this project are targeted at the development of new and advanced anode materials.

We request a transmission and a scanning electron microscope, each with specialist electron probes smaller than a nanometre, which can selectively analyse the atomic structure and chemistry of sub-nanometre regions of material. These capabilities are essential to advance a large range of research projects at the cutting-edge of materials science and engineering, undertaken by Victoria’s leading research institutions: five Victorian universities, the CSIRO, Nanotechnology Victoria Ltd, the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and the CRC for Microtechnology. Together they have contributed $2.58 million to this project. This state-of-the-art facility will include the highest spatial resolution microscope in Australia.

High strength light alloys are nanostructured materials, deriving their mechanical properties from nanoscale dispersions of strengthening precipitate phases controlled by alloy composition and thermomechanical processing. Atom-probe field-ion microscopy and high-resolution electron microscopy will be combined to study the aggregation of solute atoms that precedes formation of the precipitate phases. Experimental studies at high spatial resolution will be complemented by elastic strain energy calculations and first-principles modelling of the aggregation behaviour, to define its role in controlling precipitation processes and thus properties. The work will provide a basis for improved alloy design and a platform for computer-aided design of high-performance alloys.

Solid-state phase transformation is still one of the most effective and efficient ways of producing nano- and micro-structures in bulk materials for desired properties. This project aims to develop and validate a unified theoretical model that can predict the shape, orientation and growth of diffusional and displacive transformation products that are often the key strengthening or toughening constituents in advanced metallic and ceramic materials. The knowledge gained will lead to better understanding of nucleation and growth behaviours, and distribution control, of key strengthening and toughening constituents in a group of industrially important materials.

The emerging potential for manipulation of the structure of materials at the nanoscale promises a new era in materials design, and this program is at the forefront of international research to determine the factors that control formation and stability of nanostructure in advanced light alloys. It also foreshadows a major initiative in the development of light metal hybrid structures with critical dimensions on the micro- and nanoscale. Coupled with innovations in processing, the advances anticipated will revolutionise current approaches to design in light metal systems,substantially improving properties of existing alloys and creating novel hybrid materials to meet design targets aligned with emerging national and global market priorities.