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Materials & Processes Lab
A host of high-tech materials are used in
today's automobiles, and we're on the hunt for more. Within
the Materials and Processes Lab, new materials and fabrication
processes are under intensive study. Virtually every vehicle
system is impacted. One objective is to develop lightweight
vehicle bodies and powertrains. Another goal is to engineer
materials for reduced friction and wear. We're developing
smart materials that provide adaptive system functions. We're
also interested in energy-storage materials and breakthrough
processes for creating low-cost, high-performance materials.
With the rapid advances being seen today in materials science,
our areas of study are wide-ranging. Materials of special
interest include aluminum and magnesium alloys, advanced polymers,
polymer and metal-matrix composites, structural composites,
nano-structured materials, engineered surfaces, advanced paint
systems and coatings, and structural adhesives. In addition
to characterizing the properties of these materials, we are
modeling their structures, properties, and performance, and
simulating the processing methods that will be used to produce
them.
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