TOMSK, Apr 17 – RIA Tomsk. Scientist of Tomsk State University (TSU) Anton Nikonov received a grant of the President of the Russian Federation to study a process that changes the properties of industrial materials. How does a project in the field of fundamental science can help domestic production - in the material of RIA Tomsk.
Earlier it was reported that the Council for grants of the President of the Russian Federation supported several projects of young scientists of Tomsk State University at once. Grant for the Nikonov's project - 600 thousand rubles a year for two years.
To understand and simulate
"Industry is very demanding on materials used in manufacturing. There are many ways to improve them, but in most cases the material properties change only near the surface layer. For example, surface processing is of great importance for machine parts: it is the surface properties that give the necessary characteristics to the material - wear resistance, strength, coefficient of friction", - says the scientist.
He explains: it is possible to influence the properties of a surface metal by such a method as a smoothing procedure. The process can really be compared with the traditional ironing: the tool slides on the surface (under a certain pressure), microscopic irregularities are eliminated, the so-called hardening appears. After this procedure, the material gets high wear resistance.
Experts have found that a change in the properties of smoothed surfaces is associated with a change in the structure of a thin layer of crystalline material. Experiments have been carried out, certain data have been obtained, but so far scientists have not fully understood the mechanisms that occur as a result of smoothing.
Computer modeling will help scientists to understand the mechanisms of changing the crystal structure under external influence.
© с сайта Томского госуниверситета
"There is a considerable interest in the development of computational modeling methods for those processes that occur in solids. The simulation results will provide an opportunity to purposefully influence the structure and composition of crystalline materials in order to increase and improve their operational characteristics", - the scientist said.
The purpose of his project - is to obtain new information on how the crystal structure of metals near the free surface is changing under external dynamic conditions. Methods of computer modeling will be applied for this purpose.
Between "before" and "after"
"The work is fundamental, it expands ideas about the processes going in the material. Using the results obtained in this work, we can formulate, for example, the processing parameters of workpieces of parts in production", - adds the scientist.
He explains that often experimental studies are based on the following principle: prepared a sample, loaded, got the result.
“That is, we only see what was before and what turned out as a result. The simulation allows to consider what happens to the structure during the transition from “before” to "after". As a result of the project, a fundamentally new result will be obtained which will allow to solve fundamentally new tasks” - considers Nikonov.
According to him, the project can open up new directions for the development of research in science and technology, improve already known technologies.