8 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | APRIL 2025 properties affect battery operation. The team applied their framework to investigate ion transport, which affects how efficiently a battery can charge and discharge. The work focused on two-phase composites commonly found in solid- state batteries, using Li7La3Zr2O12- LiCoO2 as a model system. The new method helped generate many digital representations of distinct material microstructures with different grain, grain boundary, and interface configurations. The team then extracted the features of the generated microstructures and used a machine learning model to pinpoint specific microstructural features that critically impact ionic diffusivity. The new approach allowed for a comprehensive analysis of highly complex microstructural and interface features and their implications for material properties. The findings confirmed that microstructural feature diversity can significantly impact effective transport properties. Notably, the interface between the two phases played a critical role in determining those properties. “Our established modeling framework can be extended to investigate other critical microstructural and chemical features (e.g., pores, additives, and binders), representing TESTING | CHARACTERIZATION FRESH FRACTURE ENERGY FINDINGS Researchers at MIT, Cambridge, Mass., are studying the energy required to fracture various materials networks used to construct everything from car tires and human tissues to spider webs. These networks are diverse in composition but all contain interconnected strands. “Our findings reveal a simple, general law that governs the fracture energy of networks across various materials and length scales,” says Professor Xuanhe Zhao. “This discovery has significant implications for the design of new materials, structures, and metamaterials, allowing for the creation of systems that are incredibly tough, soft, and stretchable.” Until now, no physical model effectively linked strand mechanics and connectivity to predict bulk fracture. The new study reveals a universal scaling law that bridges length scales and makes it possible to predict the intrinsic fracture energy of diverse networks. To test their results, the team 3D-printed a giant, stretchable network, allowing them to demonstrate fracture properties in practice. They found that despite differences in the networks, they all followed a simple and predictable rule. Beyond changes to the strands themselves, a network can also be toughened by connecting the strands into larger loops. The scientists explain that this work represents progress in the field of architected materials, where the structure within the material itself gives it unique properties. They say the discovery provides clues about how to make these materials even tougher, by focusing on designing the segments within the architecture to be stronger and more stretchable. Further, the team believes the strategy is adaptable to many materials, such as improving the durability of soft robotic actuators or building resilient lattices for aerospace applications. mit.edu. MODELING BETTER SOLID-STATE BATTERIES Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Calif., developed an integrated modeling ap- proach to improve the key interface and microstructural features in complex materials used for advanced batteries. The study helps decode the relationship between a material’s microstructure and its essential properties, and better predicts how those Illustration of the integrated computational framework used to design materials for solid-state batteries. Courtesy of LLNL. The researchers 3D-printed this giant, stretchable network of interconnected strands to test its fracture properties. Courtesy of MIT. Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces the graduation of its inaugural class of field service engineers (FSEs) from the new Ipsen FSE Academy. The engineers completed an intense 20-week training program focused on heat treatment furnace repair and service. ipsenglobal.com. BRIEF
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