Structural property relationship in 3D metal printed components

Post summary

Applications are invited for a PhD Scholarship in the area of Additive Manufacturing.

Additive Manufacturing is a rapidly expanding, multidisciplinary field that uses various processes and materials to produce structures through layer by layer additive techniques, enabling new component designs and tailored structures. Despite this recent progress in AM Material development and characterization, challenges remain, including the limited selection of materials, inconsistent production quality and high costs. In addition, products resulting from state-of-the-art AM systems are most likely to suffer from anisotropic mechanical properties due to interlayer bonding deficiencies. As a result, only a fraction of the materials that are used in conventional manufacturing are compatible with AM. More intensive materials research is required in order to increase the uptake of Metal AM by industries.

The ability to characterize the material before, during, and after manufacture can provide understanding of processing effects on material behavior and knowledge for material selection criteria. The key objective of this project is thus to develop a clear understanding of the relationship that exists between the microstructures that develop during Laser Sintering and after post processing of 3D metal printed parts to its mechanical properties.

This 4 year research project led by SEAM Research Centre of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) will involve considerable experimentation, and the use of various analytical and modelling techniques for characterisation and predicting material behaviour. Funded by a multinational company based in Ireland, this project is expected to provide deliverables that are applicable to medical device and other industrial sectors.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Applicants should hold, as a minimum, a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent, in Materials/Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Some knowledge on Additive Manufacturing processes, microstructural development in materials and analytical characterisation techniques

Skills & Competencies

Essential

• Applicants whose first language is not English must submit evidence of competency in English, please see WIT’s English Language Requirements for details.

• Good IT skills with some evidence of exposure in the use of equipment control/CAD/data analysis software packages