1. Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME): The Next Big Thing In Materials
John Allison
The University of Michigan
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
August 3, 2011
Materials Information Luncheon

2. Outline
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) – What it is and why it’s important
Virtual Aluminum Castings – An ICME case study at Ford Motor Co.
ICME – An “emerging discipline” at a tipping point

3. US National Materials Advisory Board - Committee on Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) Tresa Pollock, Chair John Allison, Vice Chair 3

4. The Vision
Computationally-driven materials development is a core activity of materials professionals in the upcoming decades, uniting materials science with materials engineering and integrating materials more holistically and computationally with product development. 4 4

5. What is ICME?
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) is the integration of materials information, captured in computational tools, with engineering product performance analysis and manufacturing-process simulation.*
Manufacturing
Process
Simulation
Product Performance Analysis
Microstructure
Distribution
Property Distribution
Process & product optimization
Innovation
* NAE ICME Report, 2008

6. Using advanced computational techniques, designs can be studied and optimized in matters of hours or days. Optimization of new materials must be done experimentally and can take years.
Shape optimization of hypersonic vehicles
Source: K. Bowcutt, Boeing

7. Why this is important
Innovations in materials and tight coupling of component design, materials and manufacturing have been key sources of industrial competitiveness
These innovations and tight coupling are threatened by advances in computational capability in design and manufacturing that have “left materials field in the dust”.
The global economy requires efficient engineering, manufacturing and R&D

8. The Divide Separating Materials Science and Materials Engineering
Quantum Mechanics
Theory
Kinetics Experiment
Thermal Growth g
Calculated
Phase Diagram
Predicted Volume Change

9. Integrated Computational Materials Engineering provides a means to link:
Science and Engineering
Manufacturing, Materials and Design
Experiments, Theory, Simulation
Information Across Disciplines 8

10. Ford Virtual Aluminum Castings

11. Traditional Durability Analysis, ca 1985
Predict
Service
Life
Load
Inputs
Durable
Component Y N
Initial
Geometry
Database of
Material
Properties
Finite Element Analysis

12. Traditional Durability & Manufacturing Analysis, ca 1995
Load
Inputs
Initial
Geometry
Durable
Component
Model
Casting
Ensure
Castability Y
Predict
Service
Life Y
Database of
Material
Properties N N

13. Traditional Product Development Process
Load
Inputs
Initial
Geometry
Durable
Component
Model
Casting
Ensure
Castability Y
Build, Test,
Re-Build,
Re-Test
Predict
Service
Life Y
Database of
Material
Properties N N

14. Virtual Aluminum Castings
Product
Property
Requirements
Product
Property
Requirements
Predict
Residual
Stress
Load
Inputs
Optimized
Process &
Product
Optimized
Component
Initial
Geometry
Ensure
Castability
Meet Property
Requirements
Model
Casting
and Heat
Treatment
Predict
Local
Micro-
structure
Predict
Local
Properties
Predict
Service
Life Y Y Y N N N
Alloy
Composition

15. Virtual Aluminum Castings
The Ford Experiment in ICME
Product
Property
Requirements
Product
Property
Requirements
Predict
Residual
Stress
Load
Inputs
Optimized
Process &
Product
Optimized
Component
Initial
Geometry
Ensure
Castability
Meet Property
Requirements
Model
Casting
and Heat
Treatment
Predict
Local
Micro-
structure
Predict
Local
Properties
Predict
Service
Life Y Y Y N N N
Alloy
Composition

16. The importance and complexity
of “microstructure”
1 m
Engine Block
1 – 10 mm
0.1-1 nm
10 – 500mm
1-100 nm
Key materials processes:
occur at many microstructural scales
are all influenced by the manufacturing history
are three-dimensional in nature nm

17. Cast Aluminum Processing-Structure-Property Linkages
Heat Treatment
Casting
Processing
Solution Treatment n
Aging
Chemistry
Thermodynamics
Microstructure
Micro porosity
Eutectic Phases
Precipitation
Materials Engineering is all about compromises – ICME provides a means to conduct quantitative tradeoffs
Properties
High Cycle Fatigue
Low Cycle Fatigue
Yield Strength
Thermal Growth

18. Materials represents a different class of computational problem
Materials response and behavior involve a multitude of physical phenomena with no single overarching modeling approach.
Capturing the essence of a material requires integration of a wide range of modeling approaches dealing with separate and often competing mechanisms and a wider range of length and time scales.
There are over 160,000 engineering materials!
Processing
Casting
Heat Treatment
Chemistry
Solution Treatment n
Aging
Thermodynamics
Micro porosity
Eutectic Phases
Precipitation
Microstructure
Properties
High Cycle Fatigue
Low Cycle Fatigue
Yield Strength
Thermal Growth
Integration of knowledge domains is
the key to ICME

19. Virtual Aluminum Castings Process Flow Local Strength Prediction
Initial Geometry
Casting Filling
Casting Thermal History
Local Strength
Local Microstructure

20. Using Virtual Aluminum Castings in Product and Process Optimization
Target Strength = 220 MPa
210
230
205
Aging at 250C for 3hrs
Optimized Heat Treatment Process
Faster and Stronger !!
220
Aging temperature 240C for 5hrs
Initial Heat Treatment
Process

21. Local Fatigue Strength Prediction
Initial Geometry
Filling Analysis
Thermal Analysis
Local Porosity
Local Fatigue Strength

22. Use of Local Fatigue Property Prediction for Process Development
Combustion Surface
84MPa
56MPa
Low Pressure Casting
Gravity Casting

23. Virtual Aluminum Castings
Linking Manufacturing, Materials and Design
Local Residual Stresses
Component Durability
Component Durability
Finite Element Analysis
Local Fatigue Properties

24. The VAC Business Case Targets IMPROVE TIMING: Reduce product
and process development time 15-25%
IMPROVE QUALITY:
Improve launch quality /reduce scrap
Eliminate failures during product development
Ensure high mileage durability
IMPROVE PERFORMANCE:
Enable high performance heads & blocks
Reduce weight of components
REDUCE COST:
Reduce costs by over $120M
GLOBAL USERS
North American Powertrain Operations
European Powertrain Ops
Ford of China
Ford of Australia
Mazda

25. ICME “Case Studies” have demonstrated the promise
Early ICME implementations have been successful in a wide variety of industries
A return-on-investment in the range of 3:1 to 9:1 can be realized.
Typical investments were in the $5-20M range.
“ICME is in an embryonic stage. For ICME to succeed, it must be embraced as a discipline by the materials profession” 25

26. Foundational Engineering Problems
Include a manufacturing process(es), a materials system and an application or set of applications that define the critical set of materials properties and geometries
Examples of FEPs
Lightweight, blast resistant structures
Turbine disks for aeropropulsion
$10-40M per FEP (3-5 year funding)
Prioritize modeling, experimental, data issues to be tackled
Provide a framework for assembly of multidisciplinary teams
Provide near-term payoff
Serve as the foundation for this emerging discipline

27. Cyberinfrastructure for ICME
To fully reach its potential, ICME requires new advances in networking, computing, and software:
Curated, repositories for data and material models and simulation tools
Linkage of application codes with diverse materials modeling tools
Geographically dispersed collaborative research
Dispersed computational resources (Grid computing) 27

28. Courtesy of T. Pollock, UCSB
1989
1995
2001
1999
2009
2010
2004
2008
2011

29. Materials Genome Initiative
. . . This initiative offers a unique opportunity for the United States to discover, develop, manufacture, and deploy advanced materials at least twice as fast as possible today, at a fraction of the cost.
President Barack Obama, 24 June 2011
Announcing the Materials Genome Initiative

30. ICME – The Next Big Thing in Materials
“ICME is in an embryonic stage. For ICME to succeed, it must be embraced as a discipline by the materials profession” NMAB Report, 2008
The concept is fundamental and has the potential to have a pervasive impact
Global recognition that ICME is feasible and important
North America: ICME
Europe: Through-Process Modeling
China: 集成计算材料工程
Computational capability is no longer a limitation

31. ICME – The Next Big Thing in Materials
Government initiatives - Materials Genome Initiative !
Growing industrial activity
Growing academic activity
Growing professional society activity: TMS, ASM, ASME, AIAA, MRS
First World ICME Congress
July 2011

32. ICME – An Emerging Discipline At A Tipping Point
Broaden involvement of the materials community
Coordination & Planning
ICME Roadmaps
ICME development (including basic science) as an integral part of all major materials and manufacturing development programs
Develop sustained efforts in:
Integrated computational and experimental materials science coupled with -
Foundational Engineering Problems as demonstrators
Information Infrastructure
Commercial Integrated Software
Education

33. Summary Materials, manufacturing and design Science and engineering
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) is a new approach for integrating
Materials, manufacturing and design
Science and engineering
Experiment, theory and simulation
Early stage developments clearly demonstrate the value of ICME.
ICME is an emerging discipline that promises to transform materials science and engineering and lead to increased industrial efficiency and competitiveness.
To fully and efficiently realize the promise of ICME there is a need for a global information infrastructure and coordinated, sustained efforts - a grand challenge!