The design and manufacturing of materials for use under extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, and radiation are grand challenges that must be addressed before progress is achieved in a variety of advanced technologies. In response to these
challenges, innovative processing techniques are being explored, making use of new computational methods (including machine learning, big data, and large-scale simulations), theoretical methods (including statistical methods to describe bulk processing),
and novel approaches to materials manufacturing (including 3D printing).
Specific and recent state-of-the-art topical areas may include:
- Data-driven approaches, such as machine learning, that can provide initial estimates and predictions of new materials and processing responses.
- Processing of materials that are multi-responsive, e.g., resistant to degradation under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure or temperature and radiation, etc.
- Materials design and processing for application in which there are significant temperature fluctuations over short time periods.
- Design and processing of materials that can withstand extreme shock and impact.
There is a vast span of important temporal scales and length scales, ranging from atomic scale defects to meso-scale microstructure, that should be explored. This requires new computational techniques that address the complexities of chemical and
phase compositions; microstructures and nanostructures; nucleation mechanisms; and evolution of grain growth coupled with precipitates and dispersed phases during processing.