Event
MSE Seminar: Dr. Ian McCue, Northwestern University
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
3:30 p.m.
Room 2108 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Sherri Tatum
301-405-5240
statum12@umd.edu
"Thermodynamic Design of Self-Organizing Interlayers for Dissimilar Joining"
Abstract: Similar and dissimilar joining of shape memory alloys (SMAs) has gained increased attention in recent years, due to their use in aerospace, transportation, and biomedical industries. However, traditional joining methods (e.g., fusion welding) are challenging to apply to these materials because they lead to local weakening, formation of brittle intermetallics, and decreases in functional performance. Here, transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding is studied as a viable solution. TLP involves heating a joint to a temperature where interdiffusion produces a lower melting point liquid, which subsequently undergoes isothermal solidification to form a dense joint. TLP is currently used in aerospace for joining similar materials but has proved challenging to extend to dissimilar joining. In this talk, we will discuss how limitations in TLP can be overcome using CALPHAD-based techniques and path planning algorithms to guide phase evolution. We will also describe our ongoing experimental work on similar & dissimilar joints, which includes microstructural and mechanical characterization. Although our use case is specific to joining SMAs, these approaches are broadly applicable to any dissimilar joining process.
Bio: McCue is a tenure-track Assistant Professor and the Morris E. Fine Junior Professor in Materials and Manufacturing at Northwestern University in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research group focuses on designing materials for extreme applications – such as aerodynamic, radiation, and corrosion – and understanding how their microstructures evolve in these environments. He received his PhD degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2015, and then held a postdoctoral appointment at Texas A&M University. Prior to joining Northwestern University, he was a Senior Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, working in the Research and Exploratory Development Department. He received a NASA Early Career Faculty Award in 2021 to develop a thermodynamic framework to guide the design of dissimilar bonding for shape memory alloys, and a DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2023 to develop a new high-strain rate mechanical test method.
