Project description
Study could help improve hydrogen storage capacity and stability of magnesium/niobium alloys
Creating sustainable alloys with exceptional performance is crucial for the fourth industrial revolution and reducing harmful CO2 emissions. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SHSBALMBNA project plans to use the newly developed accumulative fold-forging method – whereby metal is folded, forged and annealed – to enhance hydrogen storage response in a magnesium/niobium (Mg/Nb) alloy. This will involve extreme grain refinement and a nano-layered structure. It also requires designing an advanced layered system with nanograins and forced alloying between Mg and Nb. The resulting materials will be characterised in terms of structural features, mechanical properties and functional behaviour. Atomic-scale modelling will be used to simulate hydrogen storage performance.
Objective
The generation of advanced alloys with extraordinary sustainable, functional performance is a game changer for commercializing advanced manufacturing technologies and is a key issue for the 4th industrial revolution, considering the environmental issues to reduce CO2 emission, as well. To this end, thermally stable, high-performance bulk nanostructured (nano-layered) nanocomposites containing stable interfaces are highly desirable for hydrogen storage. Within the proposed project, the newly developed accumulative fold-forging (AFF) method shall be applied to enhance the hydrogen storage response of a Mg/Nb alloy based on extreme grain refinement down to the nano-scale and the synthesis of a nano-layered structure. This novel alloy design will assess this synergy between advanced manufacturing by a novel severe plastic deformation (SPD) approach and metal physics as an interdisciplinary topic. First, the advanced layered system will be designed by AFF for nano-grains formation and forced alloying between Mg and Nb. Then, the manufactured new materials shall be characterized in terms of structural features, mechanical properties, and functional behaviour. Third, atomic-scale structural modelling will proceed to simulate sustainable hydrogen storage performance. These experiments may give novel insights into tailoring the pathways toward sustainable microstructural design for optimizing the composition and structure of advanced Mg/Nb nanostructured alloys with extraordinary storage capacity and cyclic stability. Coming from the world-foremost centers on advanced manufacturing and alloy design, I will bring new scientific and technological knowledge to the host university and institute. Meanwhile, practical training at one of Germany’s best universities and research institutes, progressing the current state-of-the-art by developing metal physics of advanced nanostructured alloys and high-quality publications, can prepare me for a professorship position in the EU or NA.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
48149 MUENSTER
Germany