An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory Fiscal Year 2010 (2010) / Chapter Skim
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3 Materials Reliability Division
3 Materials Reliability Division
Pages 16-25
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From page 16... ...
The High Pressure Hydrogen Test Facility, completed in January 2010, and the Precision Measurements Laboratory, scheduled for completion in 2011, will facilitate the expansion of both structural materials and biorelated activities as well as provide unique precision imaging capabilities that will benefit all of the division's programs. Most of the laboratories will remain in the main building, which suffers from periodic flooding and poor-quality electrical power.
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From page 17... ...
The objectives of the division's research projects are clearly defined, and the work reviewed is consistent with the project plans. TECHNICAL PROGRAM REVIEW Structural Materials Group The Structural Materials Group has core competencies in macroscale mechanical testing and in developing standard testing procedures and reference materials that are important to the reliability of the nation's infrastructure.
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From page 18... ...
The extensive in-house testing conducted by the Pipeline Safety Program is meeting the needs of numerous industrial customers and partners. With the completion of the hydrogen test facility, the Hydrogen Storage and Transport project is beginning work on standardizing methods for high-pressure testing, acquiring critical materials data, and establishing codes for material behavior and selection.
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From page 19... ...
Recommendation: Productivity and impact would be enhanced by the addition of two new staff members -- one a materials scientist to delve more deeply into fundamental aspects of the test results, and the other a technician dedicated to large-scale testing activities in the high-bay facility. Nanoscale Reliability Group The mission of the Nanoscale Reliability Group is to address physical mechanisms that dictate reliability when material and device dimensions are constrained in the nanoscale regime and to develop test methods, instrumentation, and models to measure material performance directly in complex device geometries and under in-use conditions in order to interpret size effects fully.
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From page 20... ...
Microsystems for Harsh Environments Project As nuclear reactors are relicensed, test methods are needed to ensure their reliability near the end of their design lifetimes. Since the volume of potential test material exposed to these harsh environments for 40 years is dwindling, the need to better utilize the remaining test specimens is critical.
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From page 21... ...
This fourth project also includes efforts to characterize carbon nanotubes in collaboration with researchers in MSEL and the Physics Laboratory. The projects reviewed are these: Medical Device Reliability, Instrumented Bioreactors, Cell Platforms for Quantifying Nano/Bio Interactions, and Resonating Platforms for Nanomaterial Analysis.
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From page 22... ...
Once the carbon nanotubes can be characterized and sorted according to critical dimensions, their interaction/reaction can be rapidly screened using a new instrument based on the quartz crystal microbalance. To be able to develop certified reference materials, a separate project at the Gaithersburg, Maryland, facility is developing methods to produce well-characterized carbon nanotube suspensions.
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From page 23... ...
Recommendation: The design and installation of an elevator to service the group's laboratory should be expedited. CONCLUSIONS In general, the Materials Reliability Division is in excellent shape and has addressed the issues identified by the 2008 NRC review panel.
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From page 24... ...
This facility will house various Raman, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy improvements in instrumental capabilities. Recommendation: Laboratory access (the elevator noted in the earlier recommendation for the Cell and Tissue Mechanics Group)
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From page 25... ...
BOX 3.2 Well-Mentored Postdoctoral Appointee Quickly Produces Science and Proposals Opportunities for research and skill development for capable, ambitious postdoctoral appointees who are mentored effectively are illustrated by the experience of one of the postdoctoral appointees whom the Panel on Materials Science and Engineering interviewed. She is engaged in ongoing research and, in addition, has co-authored two external research proposals that build on the unique NIST technology.
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