Spatially controlled structural variations – a new concept for tailoring wear resistant AM printed metals

Research question

Already today, with additive manufacturing (AM) we can manufacture steels that are harder than possible with traditional methods and in many applications it is also more wear resistant.

However, the leading AM techniques for metal parts; powder bed laser fusion and powder bed electron beam fusion, still have great untapped and unexplored potential. The scanning beam has to this date been used for locally melting the powder, but to a very low degree to make other thermally defined material modifications. Our new concept is to do exactly that, to develop techniques to produce spatially controlled microstructure variations within a printed part. The proposed PhD project intends to give a head start in this hugely interesting materials science area, with a specific focus on creating tribological components with radically new properties.

Sustainability aspects

In suitable areas, the project allows transfer of traditional metal part manufacturing to AM. With new tailored materials the project will enable production of longer lasting components and tools – an extension of the use-phase of their circular life – which means better resource efficiency. With new tailored materials the project will enable more energy efficient components and tools. The project also addresses sustainability at the component’s end of life. By avoiding use of materials from different material classes, the single-alloy “composite” materials developed will also reduce the complexity of recycling, and thereby improve material circularity.