PhD student

The general goal of this project is to develop novel, superior particle reinforced - metal matrix composites with heterogeneous, precisely controlled particles distribution and to investigate their mechanical and tribological properties. The main methods of this project are an innovative technique of additive manufacturing of the composites, combined with multiscale experimental and numerical characterization. The main assumption of this project is that by playing with nanoparticles distribution it will be possible to improve the mechanical and tribological properties of materials to a much greater extent than using composites with uniformly distributed particles or a constant particles distribution gradient.

Therefore, the aim of this project is to conduct a systematic study of prospects of developing an additive manufacturing based technology for producing composites with properties perfectly adjusted to their potential applications.

The main objectives of this project are:

-              Controlling of concentration of nanoparticles at the specific place in the metal matrix and protection the nanoparticles from agglomeration by development of  a novel 3D printing-based technology of manufacturing parts made of metal matrix composites reinforced with nanoparticles.

-              Evaluation of microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of the composites printed with the novel technique.

-              Development and experimental evaluation of multiscale numerical models of mechanical properties of metal matrix/particle reinforced composites with heterogeneously distributed particles in order to study the effect of the patterns of particles distribution in the matrix on the composite behaviour at lower scales combining with experimental analysis.

It should be noted that there is currently no technology to produce the innovative, complex materials that are to be produced and explored in this project. Although printing from composite materials is a known and used technology, when nanoparticles are used, there is a problem with their agglomeration, which prevents their even distribution and reduces the mechanical properties of prints. In addition, with the current approach, it is necessary to thoroughly mix the two powders before starting the printing process (in the case of L-PBF technique), which leads to disturbances in their spherical shape, contamination of the metal powder and a high demand for relatively expensive ceramic nanopowder.

The solution to these problems, which we propose in this project, is to design an additional module for mixing and dosing the suspension of ceramic nanopowder. The module will ultrasonically mix the nanopowder suspension and feed it precisely and selectively to the right places just before scanning with a laser beam and sintering the powders. Materials printed with this technique will have significant advantages: higher hardness, higher strength and wear resistance. Furthermore, the innovative printing approach will allow to dynamically control the concentration of the particles in the composite.