Our research group focuses on Fundamentals of Material Degradation and Defect Formation in materials joining, Weldability Evaluation, and Alloy Development for welding and additive manufacturing.
Weldability is a key factor for the manufacturing of structural components. Advanced metallic materials have tailored properties that are attained by complex thermo-mechanical processing and carefully controlled alloying additions. Due to metallurgical changes and thermo-mechanical effects that occur during the welding process, weld failures and loss of properties are frequently experienced. This can be highly deleterious to fabrication and service-performance of welded components, limiting the implementation of advanced metallic materials and/or dissimilar material combinations.
Our research group utilizes a variety of experimental Weldability Test Techniques for evaluation of conventional and newly developed alloy compositions. Thermo-mechanical Modeling facilitates a better understanding of boundary and test conditions in established weldability tests, and enables Test Techniques Development, for example to transfer the concept of weldability to advanced manufacturing processes, such as laser or electron beam additive processing.
Materials Degradation Phenomena and Defect Formation in welds and additive manufactured components are a result of metallurgical and thermo-mechanical aspects that are influenced by (dissimilar) material properties, processing conditions and structural design. Through Experimental Testing, Advanced Materials Characterization, and Thermodynamic and Kinetic Materials Modeling, our research group aims to achieve a fundamental understanding of the metallurgical processes, material properties and failure mechanisms in welds and additive manufactured components. This serves as the basis for our Alloy Development and optimization efforts for weld applications and additive manufacturing.
Research Interests
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Fundamentals of materials degradation and cracking phenomena in materials joining
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Weldability and welding metallurgy of metallic materials
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Metallurgical challenges in dissimilar materials welding and additive manufacturing
Type of Analysis
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Weldability testing and evaluation
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Filler metal development and optimization
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Thermodynamic and kinetic materials modeling for weld applications
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Advanced weld microstructure characterization