Prof Kip Findley

Assistant Professor

Adv. Steel Proc. and Products Research Center

PH: +1 (303) 2733906
Fax: +1 (303) 2733016
Email: [email protected]
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Background

My primary interests in materials engineering are mechanical metallurgy and developing microstructure-mechanical property relationships in advanced metal alloys.

There are several engineering models that can accurately estimate mechanical property behavior such as stress-strain relationships, fatigue crack initiation and growth rates, fracture toughness, and creep at high temperatures; however, many of those models are fitted mathematical relationships using empirically determined constants that may not fully represent the underlying physical mechanisms governing the specific mechanical property.

My research interests involve linking mechanical behavior of metallic materials to microstructural features at a variety of length scales ranging from sub-microscopic to microscopic levels and using this understanding to develop physically-based models. Depending on the model and the mechanical property, microstructural characterization may be performed on very local areas of the material or at a more global scale. This knowledge base and methodology is applied to Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center (aspprc.mines.edu) projects in areas such as processing of plate steels, surface hardening, simulation of hot forging, and advanced high strength sheet steels.

As part of this research mission, I was recently awarded an NSF CAREER Grant to study "The Stability and Influence of Metastable Retained Austenite During Fatigue of Advanced Steel Alloys", which will also involve outreach to local high schools and after school programs for Denver area high school students.

I am also interested in developing steel technology solutions that lead to energy savings in areas such as transportation, nuclear energy, and wind energy.