The Zhang Research Group is equipped with state-of-the-art research equipment to fabricate, process, test, and characterize metallic structural materials. Combined with the deparment's characterization facilities ( AMCaT, CNM2, Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Laboratory) and the computational facility at UC Davis, a close-the-loop research workflow can be achieved on UC Davis campus.
Our Facilities
Processing capabilities:
Arcast 200 arc melter with high vacuum (installing 2024 spring). This is the main equipment for fabricating custom alloy buttons (e.g., high entropy alloys) in a controlled environment.
IRM 2050 cold rolling mill (installing 2024 spring). This is the equipment to process ductile arc-melted buttons and alloys fabricated with other techniques into thin sheets to fabricate dog-bone samples for mechanical testing.
The department owns a Sumitomo Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) machine for ceramic and metal sintering and multiple hot/cold presses. This enables the group to pursue powder metallurgy routes for sample fabrication.
Lindberg 1500 ºC and 1100 ºC general purpose tube furnaces for sample annealing. A rough vacuum can be maintained for the 1500 ºC furnace and vacuum quartz encapsulation is applied for samples annealed below 1100 ºC to prevent oxidation. Several 1100 ºC box furnaces are also available within the department.
1000 ºC tube annealing furnace with 5E-6 torr vacuum protection.
Mechanical testing capabilities:
Instron Model 1331 universal hydraulic tensile tester. This tensile tester is the main workhorse for high-temperature testing capabilities (see right). Custom loading conditions (tension, compression, fatigue, creep, strain rate change, etc.) can be programmed using the test software.
Vacuum furnace that goes on the Instron 1331 tensile tester. The maximum testing temperature is 1600 ºC where a vacuum below 1E-5 torr can be maintained. Grips and furnace elements are made of Molybdenum and Molybdenum alloys. Custom grips can be built out of ceramics.
MTS model 810 universal hydraulic tensile tester. This machine is suitable for day-to-day room-temperature tensile/compression/fatigue testing of materials. Custom-built software and hardware are available on this machine for high strain and time precision strain rate jump tests to determine fundamental thermal activation parameters. Cryogenic (LN2 temperature) testing can also be made available.
Instron Model 1321 universal hydraulic tensile tester. This machine is another day-to-day tensile/compressive/fatigue/bending tester. DIC capabilities are developed on this machine.
Custom-built lever arm creep machine for creep testing samples up to 1000 ºC under vacuum (5E-6 torr). The sample is loaded under constant true stress (the lever arm swings in to reduce the load when the sample elongates) and the strain is measured by a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT). The creep machine is very reliable for long-term testing.
Custom-built lever arm creep machine for creep testing samples up to 1000 ºC under vacuum (1E-5 torr). This is also a constant true stress creep machine and is built for creep testing samples under stress changes. Custom software and hardware with high strain and time precision are available to capture the transient mechanical behavior when a stress change occurs during testing. Fundamental thermal activation parameters (e.g., activation volume) can be robustly determined by this machine.
Custom-built lever arm creep machine for creep testing samples up to 1000 ºC under Argon gas protection. This creep machine also operates under constant true stress but is different than the previous two because the sample is loaded in a quartz tube purged with Ar instead of vacuum. Hence, a high cooling rate is achieved and the samples can be quenched to room temperature quickly. This machine is suitable for interrupted creep tests to preserve the deformation microstructure for subsequent TEM characterization.
Characterization capabilities:
The Zhang Research Group utilizes three campus user facilities to perform state-of-the-art characterization on samples. The Advanced Materials Characterization and Testing facility (AMCaT) is the main characterization facility on campus that houses an aberration-corrected JEOL 2100F S/TEM with EDS and EELS capabilities, a ThermoFisher Quattro S Environmental SEM with a Nanomechanics in-situ picoindenter and EDS, a Kratos Analytical Supra XPS, a Rigaku SmartLab XRD, and a wet/dry lab for sample grinding/polishing and TEM sample preparation.
The Center for Nano-MicroManufacuring (CNM2) houses an FEI Scios DualBeam SEM/FIB for site specific sample preparation and EDS/EBSD.
The Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Laboratory houses multiple calorimeters (DSC up to 1500C and TGA up to 2400C) and 2 XRDs.
The Zhang Research Group partners with multiple domestic and international universities and national laboratories for capabilities beyond UC Davis. For a full list of collaborators, please click here.
