Case Study : Tat-Hean Gan (TWI)
“The IMPaCT CDT has enabled the university to cooperate with TWI’s industrial members on a number of research programmes and to build mutual understanding of future research challenges and opportunities. By coordinating the research capabilities with the Universities of Leicester, Birmingham and Nottingham through the IMPaCT CDT, we are developing the next generation of technologies and training scientists to become experts in the field of performance and mechanical behaviour of materials. The University of Leicester is also an academic partner of NSIRC, the postgraduate structural integrity research centre co-funded by TWI, and TWI is proud to be working with the university in a long-term strategic partnership for research in materials. This latest development will provide a platform for the consolidation and growth of this relationship between two organisations at the forefront of fundamental research in the materials field.”
Professor Tat-Hean Gan, TWI Associate Director and Director of Technology of the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC)
Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing Equi-Molar Materials (MEMs)
MEMs are a new design for alloys where the material is composed of many elements in equal proportions. These materials can have a wide range of useful microstructural and mechanical properties. Cold spray additive manufacturing is a potential method for producing MEMs in near net shape structures and coatings. Cold spray additive manufacturing is a process in which powder materials are deposited without melting onto a solid surface, producing thick, wrought coatings up to 50mm. This aims to understand the effects of process and material parameters on the behaviour of cold sprayed MEMs. Future applications include wear and corrosion resistant coatings and repair of damaged components.
Fundamentals of Hydrogen Induced Stress Cracking in Duplex Stainless Steels (DSS)
The superior strength and corrosion resistance of DSSs makes them ideal alloys for subsea application, and they have been widely used in the oil and gas industry since the 1970s. However, important failures have shown they are susceptible to hydrogen induced stress cracking (HISC). The aim of this PhD project is to enable a step change in our understanding of the HISC mechanism using the state-of-the-art experimental methods to optimise manufacturing processes to prevent catastrophic failures in future.
