Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) will receive $2.1 million over the next two years to develop more effective and durable army vehicles and systems.
“The military is looking to develop super-materials that can meet several needs at once,” said Richard Sisson, director of WPI’s material science and engineering program. “They want new alloys (chemical element mixtures) that are strong enough to be used structurally, tough enough to function as armor, and light enough to improve the mobility and fuel economy of vehicles.”
The research is aimed at developing databases and computer modeling techniques that will make it possible to predict the nanoscale (atomic and molecular) properties of lightweight alloys, and use these tools to design and test new alloys for specific military applications.
The technology developed will also have applications in the aircraft, automotive and electronics industries, WPI said. The school is serving as the lead institution on the $7.4 million, multi-university award.
Previous agreements with the Army have brought more than $4 million of research funding to WPI, the school said.
