HIGH-FIDELITY MODELLING OF POWDER-BASED ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

This 2-year project aims to increase the processibility of recycled powders and powders with aspherical grains in powder-based Additive Manufacturing (PBAM) process or 3D printing. This will be achieved by extending a state-of-the-art computational framework, developed at the Host institution, to provide the ability to model a full cycle of the process. Therefore, the fellow will (1) establish a novel procedure for incorporating the powder characterisation data obtained at temperatures exceeding 500C, equivalent to those experienced in the PBAM build chamber; (2) develop a new ray-tracing model to accurately predict laser absorption in fine powders; (3) develop an accurate model to predict the powder melting and evaporation; (4) pinpoint the impact of grain shape on melt-pool dynamics to allow for aspherical grains while maintaining the powder processability (5) engage with industrial and academic research partners to ensure wide adoption of the developed models. The impact of the project is far-reaching: from reducing the costs of raw material for PBAM to increasing public awareness of the utility of high-performance computing (HPC) in solving complex scientific/engineering problems. The success of the project is ensured by bringing together a competent team of academics and engineers with complementary multidisciplinary skills at UEDIN and the host's network of academic and industrial partners who will work with the applicant to provide a ground-breaking solution to this research challenge. The timely award of this fellowship will help the applicant to develop his skills to pioneer this line of research independently and build his own globally competent research team.