Dr. Douglas E. Wolfe

Dr. Douglas E. Wolfe is currently the Associate Vice President for Research and Director of Strategic Initiatives, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, and Professor of Additive Manufacturing and Design at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Wolfe received his BS, MS and Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in 1994, 1996, and 2001, respectively. Dr. Wolfe has over 200 peer reviewed journal articles/technical memorandums/reports, 10 patents/patents pending, 18 invention disclosures, and is a member of several professional societies. Professor Wolfe is a recognized international expert in the field of materials science whose research activities include the synthesis, processing, and characterization of nano, multilayered, nanostructured, functionally graded, ceramic, and metallic coatings, materials and systems deposited by reactive and ion beam assisted, electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD), cold spray, thermal spray technologies, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), cathodic arc physical vapor deposition, sputtering (r.f, d.c., magnetron), plating (Ni, Cu, Pt), hybrid processes, and various other PVD processes. Present work includes the enhancement of coating microstructure and composition to tailor and improve material properties including optical materials and coatings, hypersonics, metamaterials, thermal barrier coatings (TBC), erosion resistant coatings, wear resistant, corrosion resistant, diamond like carbon, transition metal nitrides, carbides, and borides, and transition and rare-earth metal oxides for a variety of applications in the aerospace, nuclear, tooling, power, oil and gas, biomedical, and defense industries. Professor Wolfe’s primary area of expertise includes structure-processing-property-performance relationships and the development and processing of monolithic, nanocomposite, nanolayered, and multilayer coatings, nano-grained structural materials, as well as materials characterization using a variety of materials analytical techniques. Professor Wolfe’s research focuses on applied research with an emphasis of implementation, transitioning and commercialization and have resulted in over $400,000,000 in documented savings for Department of Defense (DoD). Dr. Wolfe has been PI or Co-PI on >300 programs at a total funding of over $150,000,000.

Topic: Hypersonics: Materials, Manufacturing, Processing, and Evaluation

To date, no existing state of the art material system meets the needed design and material property requirements for hypersonic flight over all mission requirements: 1) transient heat fluxes greater than 1500W/cm2; 2) thermal shock resistance, 3) oxidation resistance, and 4) high temperature mechanical strength that maintains dimensional tolerances.  For example, leading edge (LE) materials experience extreme conditions such as high temperature, thermal shock, and thermomechanical degradation which can lead to LE recession, additional high temperature oxidation, phase instability, inability to sustain high heat flux, and loss of mechanical strength under these extreme conditions resulting in LE blunting and degradation. Investigation into the novel high temperature ternary carbide (Hf,Ta)C material system for the LE material and functionally grading of structure/composition has allowed for tailoring of the heat flow, thermomechanical properties, thermal expansion coefficient, microstructure, and porosity. Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) have garnered significant interest to improve the overall high temperature system performance, high temperature mechanical strength, oxidation resistance, thermal shock and other properties of interest. These goals could be achieved with the assistance of a combination of field assisted sintering technology (FAST), model driven materials selection, aerothermal modeling, property measurement, and analytical material characterization. In addition, the development of advanced cooling strategies for high heat flux applications is a mission critical objective. Much of this work leverages developments in additive manufacturing of multiple material systems (metals, ceramics, polymers) to develop system-level solutions for hypersonic vehicle thermal protection. During system development, carbon fiber composites or ceramic matrix composites (CMC) can serve as base structures for baseline heat transfer and high temperature mechanical property values. Additive manufacturing approaches can also be employed to design and develop functionally graded porous structures with embedded cooling channels for the base structure to meet the heat flux, thermal shock, structural integrity, and thermal management requirements.  FAST and additive manufacturing open an entirely new design space that would allow flexibility in the material system design and composition which will be tailored for structural integrity, high temperature mechanical properties, and overall system performance.  

Thursday, October 26, 2023

11:00am

102 BEH