iTSSe TSS A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | A P R I L 2 0 2 2 3 3 iTSSe TSS In August 1996, following a year long, multistage competition, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a multi-year Center grant under the auspices of the Division of Materials Research’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) program to a team led by Stony Brook faculty. The Center, directed by Prof. Herbert Herman, FASM, TSS-HoF, along with Profs. Christopher Berndt, FASM, TSS-HoF, and Sanjay Sampath, FASM, TSS-HoF, converted a fledgling but successful academic exercise in thermal spray materials processing into a major multidisciplinary materials program. The premise of the Stony Brook proposal was that thermal spray allows materials to be synthesized from extreme conditions with novel microstructures, which enables important functionalities in engineering systems. THE EARLY YEARS The roots of the thermal spray program at Stony Brook date back to the mid-1970s, when then graduate student, the late Volker Wilms, suggested to his advisor Prof. Herman that plasma spray technology would be a great way to rapidly quench oxides to explore metastability. This led to establishment of the “glove box” plasma spray equipment in the basement of the engineering building shown in Fig. 1. Numerous students followed exploring the fascinating world of rapidly quenched “splats and coatings,” developing unique scientific insights that even today are considered landmark publications. In the mid-1980s, with a major donation from the Swiss-entrepreneur, Herbert Nussbaum of Plasma Technik AG (now part of Oerlikon Metco), a state-of-the-art atmospheric and vacuum plasma spray facility was established. This brought attention to academic thermal spray programs in the U.S. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, research and industrial projects expanded, exposing the technology to the broader materials engineering community. In fact, it was during the mid-1980s that Prof. Herman along with industrial visionaries, developed the framework for ASM Thermal Spray Division (Thermal Spray Society today) with Prof. Herman serving as the founding president. CENTER FOR THERMAL SPRAY RESEARCH COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL 25 YEARS Stony Brook celebrates a milestone by reflecting on its Center for Thermal Spray Research from the early years of growth and expansion to the development of an industrial consortium. Sanjay Sampath, FASM, TSS-HoF,* Center for Thermal Spray Research, Stony Brook, New York In the mid-1990s, as coatings started to become mainstream in automotive, aerospace, energy, heavy machinery, and orthopedic implants, there was a clear recognition that this platform technology needed an integrated scientific approach to propel the knowledge and capability. The academic team in partnership with industry and other collaborators, focused their attention on establishing a National Center of excellence through the NSF MRSEC. An initial four-year, $4M grant allowed the core team to bring in fresh perspectives for tackling this complex problem of an existing industrial materials technology. The interdisciplinary thrusts included contributions from scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology to apply small-angle x-ray and neutron scattering to study porosity and interfaces in these layered materials. A parallel effort also used neutrons to conduct depth profile of residual stresses. Working with colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, mechanics of these layered, defected materials has enabled new insights on the mechanical behavior of non-traditional materials systems. A unique partnership with the Stony Brook Geoscience Department allowed examining the role of the high pressures generated 3 *Member of ASM International Fig. 1 — A ”glove box” plasma spray set-up at Stony Brook used by the late Dr. Volker Wilms in the 1970s. FEATURE
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