1. International Materials Institutes (IMI) Advanced Neutron Scattering netWork for Education and Research (ANSWER ) Peter K. Liaw, University of Tennessee Knoxville, DMR 0231320 Study Fatigue Behavior of Nickel-based Superalloys Motivations  Nickel-based superalloys are widely applied in the aircraft, chemical, and transportation industry. It requires more understanding of their fatigue behavior, which promotes premature failure.  The present research provides new insight into the microstructure evolution, subjected to fatigue damage, by combining the ensemble-average neutron- diffraction and the spatially-resolved synchrotron x- ray microbeam analyses.  Understanding deformation mechanisms under cyclic loading facilitates the development of new superalloys. Research Efforts  To measure ensemble-averaged properties, the in-situ neutron-diffraction experiments were conducted at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, United Kingdom.  To study the spatially-resolved information, the collaborations with The National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, is developed. Impact  The in-situ neutron-diffraction experiments probe the fatigue-deformation progress in terms of the lattice- anisotropy evolution (submitted to International Journal of Plasticity). The synchrotron x-ray microbeam and the transmission-electron-microscopy results reveal the spatially-resolved grain-subdivision structures. E-W. Huang, R. I. Barabash, N. Jia, Y. D. Wang, G. E. Ice, B. Clausen, J. Horton, and P. K. Liaw. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 39, (2008) pp. 3079-3088. E-W. Huang, R I. Barabash, G. E. Ice, W. Liu, Y.-L. Liu, J.-J. Kai, and P. K. Liaw. JOM 61, (2009) pp. 51-56. Geometry of the x-ray microdiffraction measurements: the x-ray microbeam, collimated by K-B mirrors, illuminating a deformed specimen on a sample holder. The holder can move along three axis to collect the 3-dimensional information.

2. International Materials Institutes (IMI), Advanced Neutron Scattering netWork for Education and Research (ANSWER)  Mr. Huang assists the IMI-ANSWER Tutorial at the 2009 TMS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. IMI-ANSWER Outreach Programs: Tutorial at the 2009 TMS Annual Meeting IMI-ANSWER Education & Outreach: Undergraduate- Student Research Mr. Kyle Woods, a junior at The University of Tennessee, works with Mr. E-Wen Huang. Kyle’s research project with Mr. Huang, submitted to International Journal of Plasticity, is under review. Kyle will carry out the in-situ neutron-diffraction experiments at elevated temperatures in the Los Alamos National Laboratory with Mr. Huang in November 2009 (Neutron Beamtime Proposal #: 20092062). Dr. Gene Ice, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, plays his creation song on the synchrotron x-ray scattering. Mr. Woods (right) and Mr. Huang are doing experiments at the IMI- ANSWER laboratory. Mr. Huang’s Awards & Honors  Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship Award, The International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD).  Extraordinary Professional Promise of Chancellor’s Honors, The University of Tennessee Citation Award.  Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research, Materials Science & Engineering Honors Banquet, The University of Tennessee. Prof. Tamás Ungár, Eötvös University Budapest, Hungary, teaches diffraction-profile analyses. Peter K. Liaw, University of Tennessee Knoxville, DMR 0231320