Ceramics arenīt just for teacups and toilets. Theyīre advanced materials that resist corrosive chemicals, absorb vibrations and withstand heat that would melt steel. Despite such amazing properties, these materials can still wear out and break down. Itīs Kevin Plucknettīs job to figure out how that happens, to make these materials even better.
As Canada Research Chair in the Degradation and Failure of Advanced Materials, Plucknett spends a lot of time breaking things, to find out precisely why particular materials fail. Specializing in ceramics, intermetallics and composites, an intrinsic part of his work is producing new materials, ones that will withstand punishing conditions like high heat and stress.
"Iīm interested in the relationship between the way a material is made, its microstructure, and how it performs," he says. "The last part is where the degradation and failure aspect comes in. We want to know, on a structural level, a materialīs performance, its durability, and how well it stands up to heat, especially in an oxidizing or corrosive environment." Plucknett is one of the directors of Dalhousieīs scanning electron microscope and focussed ion beam microscope facilities, which he uses to characterize these materials.
Although his research has a wide range of applications, Plucknettīs materials of choice suffer from image problems. "People often take ceramics for granted because their impression of ceramics is cups and saucers, toilets and sinks," he says. "Ceramics are in most high-tech products in one form or another. It may be a form of thermal insulation, or an actuator material, or even something to dampen vibrations in your golf club."
However, his research in material failure could potentially be lifesaving. High-tech ceramics are often used in helicopter gas turbine engines designed to run at high temperatures for maximum efficiency. If moisture and corrosive salt in ocean air reach the searing hot engine surface, engine failure and disaster could result. By determining how insulator materials might fail in these situations, itīs possible to develop new materials with specific properties that avoid the problem.
Likewise, these materials are being used in oil and gas pipelines as actuators, to remotely open or close valves. "A good example would be where there is a valve that is far down a well", says Plucknett. "Itīs a lot easier and safer to have a reliable, working actuator than to send a person down the well to open the valve".
Coming to Dalhousie in 2004 from QinetiQ, one of Europeīs largest research-based companies, Plucknett is building partnerships with materials researchers in Brazil and Argentina, and recently received $540,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for an advanced materials testing lab.
His research is also part of MatNet, a world-class materials research network based in Atlantic Canada. MatNet involves five Atlantic universities and 12 private companies, and is supported by the Atlantic Innovation Fund, the CFI, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, and Dalhousie University. MatNet research projects address three themes: energy and communication technologies, technologies to monitor and improve material performance, and smart/responsive materials.