Zou, Yu - Department of Materials Science & Engineering

Yu Zou | B.Eng. (Beihang University), M.Eng. (McGill University), Dr.Sc. (ETH Zurich), Postdoc (MIT)
Assistant Professor & Dean's Spark Professor

Office: PT 172A
T: +1 (416) 946-7236
E: mse.zou@utoronto.ca

Research Group: Laboratory for Extreme Mechanics & Additive Manufacturing

Research Areas

Our group uses novel experimental, analytical, and computational tools to explore materials with extreme properties or under extreme conditions, particularly for metallic materials. Our research themes can be summarized as 4Ms - metals, mechanics, manufacturing, and machine learning, covering many length and time scales. Of particular interest is to advance the fields of vital importance to the society, including aerospace, biomedical, electronic, environment, and energy sectors.

Metals: high-entropy alloys, nanocrystalline alloys, quasicrystals, titanium, aluminium and steels.

Mechanics: nanoindentation, in-situ instrumentation, high strain-rate/temperature deformation, fracture and failure analysis.

Manufacturing: additive manufacturing (3D printing), cold spray technology, mechanical alloying, arc melting, and magnetron co-sputtering.

Machine Learning: machine learning for alloy design, computer vision for advanced manufacturing

Research Clusters

Biography

Publications

Professional Memberships

Materials Research Society (MRS)
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS)
The Metallurgical Society (MetSoc)

Publications

Link to Google Scholar

Select Publications:

Gang Niu, et al.,, Yu Zou* “Superior fracture toughness in a high-strength austenitic steel with heterogeneous lamellar microstructure” Acta Materialia (2022)

Y Zou* “Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing: Microstructure Evolution and Bonding Features” (invited review), Accounts of Materials Research (2021)
C Cheng, Y Xiao, MJR Haché, Z Liu, JM Wheeler, Y Zou* “Probing the Small-Scale Plasticity and Phase Stability of an Icosahedral Quasicrystal I-Al-Pd-Mn at Elevated Temperatures” Physical Review Materials (2021)
Z Liu, B He, T Lyu and Y Zou* “A review on additive manufacturing of titanium alloys for aerospace applications: Directed energy deposition and beyond Ti-6Al-4V” JOM (2021)
Z Liu, H Wang, MJR Haché, X Chu, E Irissou, and Y. Zou, “Prediction of Heterogeneous Microstructural Evolution in Cold-Sprayed Copper Coatings Using Local Zener-Hollomon Parameter and Strain” Acta Materialia (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.04.041
Z.Liu, H. Wang, M. Haché, E Irissou, and Y. Zou, “Formation of 10-nm grain size in cold sprayed aluminum coatings” Scripta Materialia 177 (2020) 96–100 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2019.09.018
M. Haché, C. Cheng, and Y. Zou, “Nanostructured high-entropy materials” Journal of Materials Research 34.20(2020)
H. Wang and Y. Zou, “Microscale interaction between the laser and metal powder in powder-bed additive manufacturing: conduction mode versus keyhole mode” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (2019) 142, 118473 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2019.118473
Y. Zou, “Nanomechanical studies of high-entropy alloys” (review) Journal of Materials Research, (2018)
C. Meier, R. Penny, Y. Zou, J. Gibss, A.J. Hart “Thermophysical Phenomena in Metal Additive Manufacturing by Selective Laser Melting: Fundamentals, Modeling, Simulation and Experimentation” Annual Review of Heat Transfer, (2017), in press.
Y. Zou “Materials selection in micro- or nano-mechanical design: Towards new Ashby plots for small-sized materials” Materials Science & Engineering A, (2017)
Y. Zou, J. Wheeler, H. Ma, P. Okle, R. Spolenak “Nanocrystalline high entropy alloys: A new paradigm in high temperature strength and stability” Nano Letters, (2017), 17 (3),1569
Y. Zou, P. Okle, H. Yu, T. Sumigawa, T. Kitamura, S. Maiti, W. Steurer, R. Spolenak, “Fracture properties of a refractory high-entropy alloy: In situ micro-cantilever and atom probe tomography studies” Scripta Materialia, 128 (2017) 95-99.
Y. Zou, P. Kuczera, W. Steurer, R. Spolenak “Disappearance of plastic anisotropy in decagonal quasicrystals at small scales and room temperature” Extreme Mechanical Letters, 8 (2016), 229-234.
Y. Zou, J. Wheeler, A. Sologubenko, P. Kuczera, W. Steurer, J. Michler, R. Spolenak “Bridging room-temperature and high-temperature plasticity in decagonal Al-Ni-Co quasicrystals by micro-thermomechanical testing” Philosophical Magazine (2016), 1-23.
Y. Zou, P. Kuczera, A. Sologubenko, T. Sumigawa, T. Kitamura, W. Steurer, R. Spolenak “Superior room-temperature ductility of typically brittle quasicrystals at small sizes” Nature Communications 7, (2016). Highlighted in physicsworld, Nanowerk
Y. Zou, H. Ma, R. Spolenak “Ultrastrong, ductile and stable high-entropy alloys at small scales” Nature Communications 6 (2015). Highlighted in ETH News; Pro-physik.de; Futurity; Labo; Analytik-news; ScientificAmerican (Asian)
Y. Zou, R. Spolenak, “Size-dependent plasticity in KCl and LiF single crystals: influence of orientation, temperature, pre-straining and doping”. Philosophical Magazine 95 (2015), 1795-1813.
H. Ma, Y. Zou, A. Sologubenko, R. Spolenak “Copper thin films by ion beam assisted deposition: strong texture, superior thermal stability and enhanced hardness” Acta Materialia 98 (2015) 17-28.
Y. Zou, S. Maiti, W. Steurer, R. Spolenak, “Size-dependent plasticity in an Nb₂₅Mo₂₅Ta₂₅W₂₅ refractory high-entropy alloy” Acta Materialia 65 (2014) 85-97.
Y. Zou, R. Spolenak, “Size-dependent plasticity in micron- and submicron-sized ionic crystals”. Philosophical Magazine Letters, 93 (2013) 431-438.
Y. Zou, D. Goldbaum, J. A. Szpunar, S. Yue “Microstructure and nanohardness of cold-sprayed coatings: Electron backscattered diffraction and nanoindentation studies” Scripta Materialia, 62 (2010) 395–398.
Y. Zou, W. Qin, E. Irissou, J. Legoux, S. Yue, J. A. Szpunar "Dynamic recrystallization in the particle/particle interfacial region of cold-sprayed nickel coating: Electron backscatter diffraction characterization " Scripta Materialia 61 (2009) 899-902.