Investigator: Jalal Al-Lami

Supervisor: Dr. Minh-Son Pham

Co-supervisor: Dr. Christopher Gourlay

Collaborators: Cross Manufacturing Company, Dr. Connor Myant (Imperial – Dyson school)

Title: Microstructure and mechanical performance of nickel-based superalloys additively manufactured by powder-bed fusion.

Description:

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has become widely accepted as a new paradigm for the design and production of high-performance components used in a range of demanding applications. Compared with traditional manufacturing, AM has different characteristics arising from the rapid cooling and thermal cycles that occur because of the repeated deposition of material. It is generally found that metallic alloys made by AM have higher strength, but they have lower ductility, shorter fatigue lives and lower creep resistance levels compared with metallic alloys made by other manufacturing processes. To manufacture components with the desired mechanical properties, it is important to obtain in-depth understandings of the solidification microstructure and its evolution during subsequent thermal cycles. In this PhD research, fundamental studies on the microstructure of Inconel 718 alloy will be carried out. Laser powder-bed fusion will be used to fabricate the alloy. Subsequently, advanced electron microscopy will be used to examine crystal phase, texture, chemical distribution and grain microstructure from the atomic scale up to mm. The consolidation of prints will also be investigated. Finally, the mechanical performance of the AM alloys will be studied in relation to the observed microstructure and consolidation.

Investigator: Claudia-Tatiana Santos Maldonado

Supervisor: Dr. Minh-Son Pham

Title: Hydrogen embrittlement of 3D printed Inconel 718 superalloy

Description: 

Additive manufacturing (AM), also commonly known as 3D printing, is expected to revolutionise the way of designing, supplying, and fabricating high performing materials. Inconel718 is a widely used superalloy in various applications ranging from aerospace to energy due to its excellent mechanical performance including great resistance to fatigue and corrosion at high temperatures. Although the properties of traditionally manufactured Inconel718 are well studied, there has been limited understanding of the behaviour of 3D printed Inconel 718, in particular concerning its hydrogen embrittlement that is of great interest to transportation and energy applications. This study looks into the effects of the print parameters on the consolidation, solidification microstructure and mechanical properties of Inconel 718 with a focus on investigating the behaviour of the alloy under the presence of hydrogen. The effect of heat treatment on the hydrogen embrittlement will also be studied. We will use the state-of-the-art microscopic techniques (including EBSD, TEM and Atom probe microscopy) to reveal the underlying mechanisms responsible for the alloy’s behaviour under the influence of Hydrogen.

Title: Use of Machine Learning to design alloys for additive manufacturing

Investigator: Bogdan Dovgyy

Supervisor: Dr. Minh-Son Pham

Co-supervisor: Prof. David Dye

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) has unique characteristics (e.g., rapid solidification and thermal cycles) that are very different to other processes. Most of existing alloys were initially designed for slow solidification processes, not for AM. This is partly responsible for unsolved metallurgical and mechanical performance challenges in metal additive manufacturing, increasing the barrier for the full realisation of AM. To search for alloys suitable for AM, we have developed key criteria that successfully assisted the selection of a highly printable high entropy alloy. This PhD study project aims at developing an algorithm that integrates the criteria into a platform of machine learning (ML) and thermodynamics phase diagram to assist the search for new alloys for AM process. The printability (in particular, the microstructure and mechanical properties) of a selected alloy manufactured by selective laser melting to verify the effectiveness of the developed ML platform. Subsequently, the relationships between the alloy microstructures and process parameters will be studied to improve the ML platform and enable the effective tailoring of microstructures.

Title: Architected materials containing hierarchical crystals across multiple length scales

Investigator: Dr. Hang Xu

Supervisor: Dr Minh-Son Pham

Duration: 06/01/2020 - 31/05/2022

Description: Architected materials are man-made materials that obtains their effective properties mainly from constructing structures. They provide unprecedented and tunable physical properties that are not available in natural materials. In this project, I use advanced design and simulation software to mimic microstructure found in nature (in particular crystals) and combine with functional materials to develop new architected materials that are not only mechanical robust, but also “smart”. These “smart” architected materials integrate sensing, actuating, and reconfiguration functions, hence being adaptive to environmental changes. I use 3D printing and material characterisation techniques to fabricate and study the behaviour of designed materials containing hierarchical crystals across multiple length scales. The properties of architected materials with multiscale structural hierarchy can easily be tailored thanks to numerous combinations of micro-, meso- and macro-scale lattice features, offering great opportunities for a wide range of applications in medical devices, personal protection, automobiles and aerospace.

Description:

Architected meta-materials are widely explored as lightweight candidates for structural or functional applications. However, most of them do not have high strength and are not adaptive to the changes in surrounding environments. In this study, we combine the meta-crystal approach and 3D printing of multi-materials to develop high strength programmable materials that are able to transform under external stimuli. In particular, we mimic the crystalline microstructure to employ the strengthening mechanisms found in engineering alloys to design mechanical meta-materials with extraordinary specific strength. Subsequently, crystal-inspired structures will be printed using magnetic and shape memory materials to enable the programming and adaptability of meta-crystals. 

Title: Rapid solidification microstructure formation in cubic and non-cubic alloys fabricated by selective laser melting

Investigator: Minsoo Jin

Supervisor: Dr. Minh-Son Pham

Co-supervisor: Dr. Chris Gourlay

Rapid solidification in additive manufacturing (AM) process results in unique microstructures such as fine cells, epitaxial crystal growth and meta-stable phases. Such microstructures often lead to undesired mechanical properties of AM alloys (e.g., anisotropy, strong but less ductile and shorter fatigue/creep lives), making alloys fabricated by AM process less favourable in load-bearing application compared to other manufacturing processes. Understanding how crystals grow in rapid cooling and how they follow up with sudden changes in solidification direction will enable an effective control of microstructure to obtain desirable mechanical properties for high load-bearing application. The aim of the PhD project is to study the crystal formation in rapid cooling with sudden changes in solidification direction and subsequent microstructure evolution of both cubic and non-cubic alloys. Cubic crystals (namely, a Nickel superalloy and CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy) and a non-cubic alloy will be printed with different scanning paths by selective laser melting and examined by high resolution scanning/transmission electron microscopy to gain in-depth understandings of microstructure formation in AM.

Project Title                       Multiscale hierarchical lattices: Crystal plasticity-based FEM modelling

Investigator                       Jedsada Lertthanasarn

Supervisor                          Dr. Minh-Son Pham

Co-Supervisor                   Prof. Fionn Dunne

Duration                              36 months

Abstract                              

The advent of additive manufacturing technology enables the fabrication of intricate lattices of a wide range of materials from polymers, metals to ceramics. Tailoring lattice structures can lead to the generation of lightweight materials with improved functionality. Previously reported studies on lattice materials had only focused on lattices with single orientations (analogous to single crystals). Such single-oriented lattices suffer substantial drops in load-bearing capacity. Inspired by the hardening mechanisms by tailoring crystal microstructures (such as grains, precipitates and phases) in metallurgy, we design macro lattices (i.e. meta-crystals) that mimic crystal microstructures to bring the rich knowledge in metallurgy to lattice design. The application of this approach to metals leads to the generation of multi-scale hierarchical lattices over wide length scales: from Å up to mm and beyond. This PhD study project focuses on using crystal plasticity-based finite element methods (CP-FEM) to simulate the deformation behaviour of hierarchical lattices. Together with experimental study, this CP-FEM approach will offer an integrated platform to develop hierarchical lattice materials with designed properties specifically tailored for desired energy absorption and load transfer.

Title: Architected materials inspired from hardening mechanisms in metallurgy

Investigator: Chen Liu

Supervisor: Dr Minh-Son Pham

Co-supervisor: Prof David Dye

Description:

Architected materials whose constituents are constructed in a controlled manner are lightweight and used for a widely range of applications, such as aerospace, automobile and medical implants. We propose a novel approach that mimics the microstructure found in crystals to bring the hardening mechanisms such as boundary hardening, precipitation hardening and multiphase hardening found in high performance metals to develop a new class of architected materials that are tough and lightweight. This PhD study uses sophisticated CAD software and 3D printing to realise the mimicry, and studies the properties of architected materials.  Strength and toughness of crystal-inspired architected materials are investigated using mechanical tests followed by digital image correlation analysis. Metallic alloys are also used to fabricate crystal-inspired materials, leading to meta-crystals that contain multiscale hierarchical lattices across different lengthscales: from atomic up to centimetres. This PhD project will examine the microstructure and mechanical properties of meta-crystals to study the behaviour of meta-crystals that are currently not understood.

Title: Microstructures and fatigue behaviour of Ni single crystals made by casting and additive manufacturing

Investigator: Alessandro Piglione

Supervisor: Dr. Minh-Son Pham

Co-supervisor: Prof. Fionn Dunne

Industrial partner: Beijing Institute for Aeronautical Materials (BIAM)

Abstract: Nickel single-crystal components play a key role in the operation of modern jet engines. Understanding their fatigue behaviour at elevated temperatures leads to significant improvements in their reliability, thereby enabling the full exploitation of their potential for an improved efficiency. Whilst most of the previous studies focus on uniaxial fatigue testing, fundamental studies will be carried out in this project in order to understand the fatigue behaviour of nickel single-crystals in complex multi-axial loading conditions. In particular, the main efforts will be directed towards (1) understanding cyclic deformation mechanisms in high-temperature rotating-bending fatigue conditions, and (2) assessing the influence of surface notches on the components’ fatigue life. In addition, this project will explore Ni single-crystal fabrication via additive manufacturing. Solidification microstructures and deformation behaviours of additive manufactured parts will be investigated and compared with those of the components fabricated by casting.