Advanced computational methods could help engineers better understand how various components in a complex machine interact, opening the door for better engineering design and manufacturing processes.

New professor Bin Li brings expertise in a relatively new methodology within materials science referred to as multiscale modeling or integrated computational materials engineering. The methodology relies on powerful computer simulations that integrate models of material performance across length scales.

Li, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, joined the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering this fall as part of a group of three new faculty in the College of Engineering with expertise in advanced manufacturing.

By combining information gained from modeling material structure and properties from the electron and atomic scale all the way up to the macroscale, engineers can make precise predictions about when and how a particular component in a complex machine such as a car might fail.

"By integrating all these computational methods, we can optimize the design of the car component, even the whole car," Li said. "We use computational material science to solve engineering problems."

Li's research focuses on magnesium alloys, which are considered next-generation lightweight materials for automotive and aerospace applications, as their low density may significantly improve the fuel efficiency. Magnesium alloys are 34 percent lighter than aluminum, and estimates suggest a 10 percent reduction in weight could result in a 7 percent increase in fuel efficiency.

Li is particularly interested in better understanding defects and deformation mechanisms within the structure of these alloys to improve engineering and manufacturing processes.

"We're trying to understand what kind of defects are in there and how they operate during materials processing," Li said. "We always have defects. You cannot totally get rid of them. The question is how we can make the best use of them."

One of the technical barriers to adopting magnesium alloys in more widespread manufacturing contexts is the material's ductility, or its ability to be molded into complex shapes at room temperature. Li's research into deformation twinning, a type of defect that occurs in magnesium alloys when the crystal structure changes orientation, could help improve ductility.

Because deformation twinning can make materials like magnesium alloys more susceptible to breakage, understanding the physics behind it can help engineers learn to control it.

"The orientation change happens very quickly, it could happen at the speed of sound," Li said. "That's the thing we need to control to improve the mechanical properties and to improve the formability at room temperature."

Similar deformation behavior is found in titanium and zirconium, which have wide applications in aerospace and nuclear power plants, respectively. Results from Li's research in magnesium alloys could also apply to those materials.

Li began his work on magnesium alloys eight years ago during a post-doc at Johns Hopkins University, where he was hired to work on a project sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

Li plans to develop collaborations with other college researchers interested in materials and manufacturing, and also with research and industry projects falling under the umbrella of the new Nevada Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center, or NAASIC. NAASIC has as part of its mission growing collaborations and expertise in the field of advanced manufacturing.

"I'm glad that they have this vision for advanced manufacturing, and I think that's fantastic for the future of the school," Li said. "Manufacturing is regaining its strength here in the United States. I believe we will have a very good future in that."

In addition to Li, new faculty in mechanical engineering and computer science and engineering bring expertise in advanced manufacturing methods.

Work by Li and other faculty in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering on lightweight materials could also have important applications as materials for autonomous aerial vehicles. Materials science could also play an important role in the development of materials for batteries, an existing research strength in the department that vaulted into the national spotlight this month when Tesla announced plans to locate its gigafactory in Northern Nevada.

Li graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China in 1990, and received his master's and Ph.D. in physical metallurgy from the University of Connecticut in 1999 and 2004, respectively.