Yufeng Zheng: Microstructure-property relationship of heat-treated titanium alloys

Title

Microstructure-property relationship of heat-treated titanium alloys

Mentor

Yufeng Zheng

Department

Chemical and Materials Engineering

Biosketch

Yufeng Zheng, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at University of Nevada, Reno, and the director for the Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility at the university. Zheng’s research focuses on studying the processing-structure-property relationships in the metallic materials under different thermal and mechanical environment via multi-scale ex- and in-situ characterization techniques. His research interests involve the manufacturing, characterization, and design of advanced lightweight metals, such as titanium alloys fabricated by additive manufacturing for aerospace application. Zheng’s research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and several industry companies. He is a 2022 NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program Awardee and a 2023 NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Research Fellow. He has published more than 55 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Nature Communication, and Acta Materialia.

Project overview

Titanium alloys are critical structural materials in the aerospace area, due to their high strength, low density, and excellent toughness. Additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) is a promising approach to build the titanium part at a relatively low manufacturing cost. This project aims to understand the microstructure-property relationship in additively manufactured and/or post heat-treated titanium alloys. The microstructural in theses titanium alloys will be studied using the advanced scanning electron microscope available at the University of Nevada, Reno, Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility and the mechanical property of titanium alloys will be evaluated using the micro-hardness testing technique.