Research

Hi, my name is Newton Ooi. I am a PhD student in Materials Science
Engineering. I joined Dr. Adams' group in Fall of 2001. My research deals
with metal-ceramic interfaces. Metals are used in many applications. Many of
these uses cause damage to the metal surface to a point where they cannot be
safely used anymore. These include abrasive wear on saw blades, corrosion of
bridge structures, and friction wear of mating gears. 

Metal parts with damaged surfaces have to be replaced, contributing to
maintenance and repair costs. As the field of material science improves and
grows, we now know that many materials can have protective coatings applied to
them such that their surface is shielded against damage. For enhanced
resistance to wear, friction, heating, and added mechanical strength, ceramic
coatings have shown to be better than most. 

Choosing the right coating for the right metal must account for a number of
scientific factors, besides the usual factors of cost and producability. Some
of these issues include adhesion to the metal surface, mechanical strength,
deformation, ability to cope with expansion/contraction of the substrate,
corrosion resistance, etc... 

Coatings can be picked in a trial-and-error fashion, but in today's world of
high-speed, high-power computers, it is more efficient to use computer
programs to simulate combinations of metal substrate - ceramic coating to get
the best couple. My work deals specifically with carbon-based coatings on
aluminum metal. As part of my research, I build crystal structures using
software like Cerius or XMole. I then use a software called VASP to put the
ceramic-metal interface together.

VASP is a quantum mechanical software that uses density functional theory to
perform calculations on systems of atoms. VASP allows me to determine how the
metal atoms bond to the coating, the strength of these bonds, crystal
structure of the interface, bulk modulus of the interface, etc... I can then
determine the suitability of this coating for this metal.

As time goes on, I will use other software to explore other topics of
metal-ceramic interfaces. 

My research focuses primarily on forming metal-ceramic interfaces and looking
at them using quantum mechanics. My goal is to understand their mechanical
and thermodynamical properties. I do not look at the optical, magnetic, or
electrical properties of these interfaces. I do not write my own software,
but use software written by others. Some of the software we use run on UNIX
machines, others run on Windows machines, so you get a flavor of both working
in this group. 

Research in my area usually gets published in journals like Physical Review
Letters, Surface Science, Wear, Tribology Letters, etc...


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Newton Ooi