Materials Engineering: Fully Funded Rolls-Royce PhD Scholarship: Effects of Variability of Additive Manufacturing Processes on Material Properties
Funding provider: Rolls-Royce plc.
Subject areas: Additive Manufacturing, Materials Science, Mechanical Property Characterisation
Project start date:
- 1 October 2022 (Enrolment open from mid-September)
Project supervisors:
- Professor Robert Lancaster (Swansea University)
- Mr Thomas Poole (Rolls-Royce)
- Mr Dave Poole (Rolls-Royce)
Aligned programme of study: PhD in Materials Engineering
Mode of study: Full-time
Project description:
Advancements in Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies and capabilities have led to new machines that utilise multiple lasers and larger build volumes. These new AM systems have subtle differences in processing conditions that could have an impact on resulting material properties. In addition, variations in post-build heat treatments have been observed to impact the material’s mechanical response.
This project will investigate the effect of variability of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) based AM processes on material properties. Stainless Steel 316LN will be the focus of the project, manufactured using single and multi-laser LPBF machines and post processed with different heat treatments. The effect on fatigue properties will be the primary source of investigation, in addition to exploring the effect on the microstructure.