Research Projects

The present proposal seeks to explore the phenomena underlying effects of adsorbed films on metal cutting see Fig. 1, and occurrence of local embrittlement and establish quantitative understanding of the mechanisMs. To accomplish this, a collaborative program combining experiments and modeling conducted in India and Japan is proposed, with the following specific research objectives. - Establish, using direct in situ observations and process/materials characterization, the coupling between adsorbate molecules SAMs and surface plastic flow, and delineate corresponding flow physics. - Analyze the deformation response of the metal with and without the SAM films under controlled loading conditions. - Develop a multi-scale model for explaining the MC effect quantitatively – from changes in nanoscale surface properties to mesoscale transitions in plastic flow. - Integrate the results of the experiments and implement in a prototype mechanoChemical machining process. The unique features of the program are the use of SAMs as surface molecular probes to perturb material mechanical response, high-speed in situimaging of plastic flow dynamics to map flow transitions and instabilities surface analytical studies of film attributes and multiscale modeling of film-metal interface energetics and its influence on local deformation and fracture.