A new approach aims to fabricate parts with targeted, site-specific properties for a wide range of applications in extreme environments within the aviation, space, and energy sectors.

As N95 masks are in short supply and high demand, reusable, sterilizable metal filters for masks built using 3D microstructural characterization and simulation methods are a promising alternative.

Hot section components of next-generation energy systems call for superalloys that can handle the heat. This article describes some recent advances in superalloy research and development, including characterization and modeling tools that are key to developing and understanding the formation of new superalloys capable of withstanding extreme environments.

This article describes research at Los Alamos National Laboratory that is aimed at building a coupled experimental and computational methodology that supports the development of predictive damage capabilities by: (1) capturing real distributions of microstructural features from real material and implementing them as digitally generated microstructures in damage model development, and (2) distilling structure-property information to link microstructural details to damage evolution under a multitude of loading states.

Computational thermodynamics and CALPHAD modeling prove useful for selecting and developing new magnesium alloys. This article summarizes an ongoing effort to establish a scientific foundation of computational thermodynamics and kinetics of magnesium alloys to achieve accelerated design and optimization of these alloys for weight reduction in the transportation industries.

In order to take full advantage of the promise of recent computational efforts, new microstructural models that consider realistic shapes, connectivities, and distributions are required. Characterizing materials in 3D is necessary to reveal the actual distributions of relevant microstructural characteristics and thereby enable development of realistic models to predict the behavior of new materials. This article describes methods to model grain size distributions and presents case studies in cementite precipitation morphology and coarse martensite analysis.