Microstructure-Informed Cloud Computing for Interoperability of Materials Databases and Computational Models: Microtextured Regions in Ti Alloys

With the fast global adoption of the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), scientists and engineers are faced with the need to conduct sophisticated data analytics on large datasets to extract knowledge that can be used in modeling the behavior of materials. This raises a new problem for materials scientists: how to create and foster interoperability and share developed software tools and generated datasets. A microstructure-informed cloud-based platform (MiCloud™) has been developed that addresses this need, enabling users to easily access and insert microstructure informatics into computational tools that predict performance of engineering products by accounting for microstructural dependencies on manufacturing provenance. The platform extracts information from microstructure data by employing algorithms including signal processing, machine learning, pattern recognition, computer vision, predictive analytics, uncertainty quantification, and data visualization. The interoperability capabilities of MiCloud and its various web-based applications are demonstrated in this case study by analyzing Ti6AlV4 microstructure data via automatic identification of various features of interest and quantifying its characteristics that are used in extracting correlations and causations for the associated mechanical behavior (e.g., yield strength, cold-dwell debit, etc.). The data were recorded by two methods: (1) backscattered electron (BSE) imaging for extracting spatial and morphological information about alpha and beta phases and (2) electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) for extracting spatial, crystallographic, and morphological information about microtextured regions (MTRs) of the alpha phase. Extracting reliable knowledge from generated information requires data analytics of a large amount of multiscale microstructure data which necessitates the development of efficient algorithms (and the associated software tools) for data recording, analysis, and visualization. The interoperability of these tools and superior effectiveness of the cloud computing approach are validated by featuring several examples of its use in alpha/beta titanium alloys and Ni-based superalloys, reflecting the anticipated computational cost and time savings via the use of web-based applications in implementations of microstructure-informed integrated computational materials engineering (ICME).