Zhikang Cao

Dr. Zhikang Cao

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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29 April 2026 in Materials
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
YMYaojun Miao
Yaojun Miao
ZCZhikang Cao
Zhikang Cao
TYTong Yao
Tong Yao
YWYufei Wang
Yufei Wang
HGH. Gao
H. Gao
孙宝孙 宝德
孙 宝德
Producing high-conductivity aluminum conductors for power transmission involves 23 trace elements and multiple interconnected thermo-mechanical stages. The ultra-low alloying levels required to preserve high electrical conductivity create a narrow compositional window and highly imbalanced distributions, which hinder traditional data-driven learning. Here, we developed a physics-guided machine-learning framework based on 4458 valid industrial production records to predict tensile strength and electrical resistivity. In addition to raw composition and process parameters, we introduce ratio descriptors (e.g., Fe/Si and Al/Si) and propose a physics-informed metric termed the Equivalent Solute–Heat Index (ESHI) to couple key solute chemistry (Si, Fe, B) with normalized thermal-history intensity. Fe and Si primarily influence resistivity through impurity/solute scattering, while B mainly affects microstructural uniformity via grain refinement. Incorporating ESHI as an augmented signal into the best-performing XGB surrogate markedly improves generalizability, increasing the tensile strength R2 from 0.75 to ~0.92. SHAP analysis reveals that ESHI dominates the decision logic by modulating both targets with metallurgically interpretable mechanisms: solute-controlled scattering and thermal history-traced second-phase evolution that stabilizes the microstructure. NSGA-III was further employed to map the Pareto front and identify composition–process combinations that optimize the strength–conductivity trade-off, enabling improved mechanical reliability while minimizing resistive losses in practical power-transmission applications. Experimental validation on industrial wires confirms this reliability.