InterMat: A Blockchain-Based Materials Data Discovery and Sharing Infrastructure

Abstract

Material research and development driven by data analysis necessitates a substantial volume of data. However, conventional material data sharing platforms encounter challenges in sharing and integrating data across multiple platforms. This article proposes a blockchain-based materials data discovery and sharing infrastructure—InterMat, which is a material big data management and sharing framework model integrating cloud platforms and blockchain. It could support the full lifecycle of materials data sharing, including data generation, management, discovery, sharing, traceability, and valuation. The architecture of the InterMat, its unique method of constructing a consortium chain, and the protocol for data discovery are presented in this paper. Additionally, the method for materials data identifier and blockchain certification is established, which allows for a unified identifier on the blockchain and cloud-based data addressing from various organizations. InterMat has data discovery algorithms for various materials to achieve the discovery of similar materials data from different nodes. Furthermore, we have designed some blockchain smart contracts for InterMat to encourage data sharing across nodes. These contracts include a proof smart contract that records data sharing activities, ensuring transparency and traceability in the materials data flow. The other contract is a value-estimating contract to encourage high-quality data sharing. Finally, this article introduces the application case of InterMat, using steel materials as an example to demonstrate its applications in data management, data discovery, data valuation, etc. This study successfully addresses various challenges associated with the cross-platform sharing of materials data, such as issues related to data discovery, data rights and control, and willingness to share. InterMat can assist material researchers in discovering and accessing more data, which would create a new ecology for sharing data.