Extreme Challenge: UVA engineer Haydn Wadley and his team push materials to their failure point

"Sometimes spectacular failures inspire you to investigate the fundamental processes that are responsible, and that knowledge then sets the stage for designing new materials and new structures that can survive under even more extreme conditions.”

November 13, 2015 | UVa Today | by Charles Feigenoff

“Things get pretty interesting when you take materials to their point of failure,” said Wadley, a University Professor and Edgar Starke Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Virginia. One extreme environment that has drawn Wadley’s attention is the interior of jet engines.

In 2016, the International Air Transport Association expects airlines to carry 3.6 billion passengers, the equivalent of half the world’s population. Jet engine performance affects all of those people, and increasing the performance protects the environment by reducing carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.

Surfaces in a jet engine’s combustion chamber and in the turbine immediately behind it routinely reach 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. At these temperatures, even the most advanced engine alloys rapidly oxidize and fail. In response, engine manufacturers coat these parts with heat-resistant materials. Over the years, Wadley’s research group has done pioneering work exploring the mechanisms that enable coatings to protect an underlying surface, determining mechanisms that cause the coatings to fail with rising temperatures, and developing longer-lasting coating materials. Wadley and his colleagues also have developed vapor deposition processes that deliver more effective coating protection.

But 2,500 degrees is not as extreme as engine manufacturers would like to go. Combustion at even higher temperatures would increase fuel efficiency and further reduce carbon dioxide emissions. They are experimenting with engine components made from ceramic composites that have tremendous strength at ultra-high temperatures. Principal among these are SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites, named because silicon carbide is used for both matrix and fiber.


“If we want technology to continue to provide greater services for society, we need to understand failure in extreme environments and so design materials and structures that withstand them,” Wadley said.

- See more at: https://news.virginia.edu/content/extreme-challenge-award-winning-engineer-pushes-materials-breaking-point#sthash.nfYAWru9.dpuf

MSE-ES Jill Fergusson represents UVA NExT at White House Forum

On May 20 at the White House Forum on Small Business Challenges to Commercializing Nanotechnology, Jill Ferguson (ES' 17) spoke before members of White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and members of the National Economic Council, along with business leaders and representatives of academia.

Jill Ferguson of UVA NExT speaking at the White House

According to White House press release, the  forum recognizes nanotechnology as a important emerging growth sector:

In recognition of the importance of nanotechnology R&D, representatives from companies, government agencies, colleges and universities, and non-profits are announcing a series of new and expanded public and private initiatives that complement the Administration’s efforts to accelerate the commercialization of nanotechnology and expand the nanotechnology workforce

Jill attended representing, NExT, the Nano and Emerging Technologies Club) of UVA during the lightening round of talks. Jill Ferguson is pursuing an Engineering Science degree with a concentration in Material Science Engineering and Nanotechnology and an Engineering Business minor. Jill's notable active roles in academia and  in the science and technology community, coupled with events like her participation in the forum, aide in answering the President Obama's call for all sectors of the nanotechnology community to come together as pillars and to continue to build and enforce nano-science and nanotechnologies.  

NExT provides students of diverse backgrounds a forum of which to learn, develop and grow in the dynamic and ever evolving cutting edge research and technologies field by spreading tech news, hosting seminar series, leading NASA lab tours, and working to create student alumni relationships. Started in Spring 2009, NExT was formed by UVa undergraduate Matthew Smith. Jill's recent participation in the White House Forum embodies the NExT club's vision:

NExT is devoted to raising awareness of current research and potential applications of nano and emerging technologies, building an interdisciplinary community of students interested in technologies of the future, facilitating interaction with faculty and industry, and promoting science and engineering innovation