Stinville Research Group

Materials Science and Engineering

PROJECTS

Illinois Cryogenic Center – A Material Center

As technology evolves within the transportation, energy, and space sectors, there is a rapidly increasing need for advanced materials that must perform reliably in environments with low and cryogenic temperatures. The Illinois Cryogenic Engineering (ICE) Materials Center advances multi-disciplinary research on cryogenic and low-temperature environments materials for energy, propulsion, and space technology.

Research Problem – Materials for low and cryogenic temperature environments are emerging as key enablers and will be transformational for a broad number of industries. With technological shifts happening in the transportation, energy, and defense sectors, there is an exponentially growing demand for high-performance structural materials capable of operation under cryogenic operating environments. Materials often exhibit drastically different properties at cryogenic temperatures compared to ambient or elevated temperatures, and the consequences of these changes in behavior are broadly unknown. 

ICE Vision – The ICE Materials Center consolidates the efforts of eleven research teams from diverse disciplines, including Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Applied Research. Our objectives are to (i) explore and comprehend the properties of materials in cryogenic conditions; (ii) innovate and develop optimized materials for performance in such environments; (iii) promote and support collaborative investigations into materials designed for cryogenic applications; (iv) offer comprehensive facilities for the testing and imaging of materials subjected to cryogenic conditions; and (v) advance education on the behavior of materials in cryogenic environments.

Larger Impact – The ICE Materials Center is at the forefront of groundbreaking research in several key areas: (i) innovating materials for high-efficiency machines; (ii) advancing the hydrogen supply chain and hydrogen propulsion systems to foster a sustainable energy framework; (iii) pioneering material designs for deep space exploration and orbital space transportation; (iv) investigating the properties of materials under space-based thermal cycling to ensure the long-term durability of space materials; (v) conducting experimental characterizations at temperatures near absolute zero to confirm the structural stability of materials; (vi) developing material technologies for extra-terrestrial mining, construction, and manufacturing.

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