PhD Scholarship in Cyclic of Additively Manyfactured Metals, University of Limerick, Ireland (2016)

Background & Research Objectives
To date, most of the published research work on the mechanical properties of additively manufactured (AM) metals has been on the observed monotonic and fatigue performance. Very limited attention has been placed on the cyclic elastoplastic response of this class of metals, despite the significance of this area for many aerospace and mechanical engineering applications. Further investigation in this area can assist in characterising the AM metals’ macroscopic mechanical behaviour (e.g. stress and strain hardening), as well as assess the influence of microscopic characteristics (microstructure) and manufacturing parameters (e.g. built orientation) on their mechanical behaviour, including low and high cycle fatigue.

This 4 year research project will investigate experimentally the elastoplastic behaviour of metallic materials produced via commonly used AM methods (e.g. selective laser sintering, selective laser melting), under cyclic loading, in the ultra-low, low and high cycle fatigue regime. The study will cover an array of different materials, loading cases and histories, both in the uniaxial and multiaxial stress space. Moreover, the experimental results obtained will be utilised to develop and validate constitutive plasticity models capable to predict the cyclic elastoplastic behaviour and performance of the various AM metals, under ultra-low, low and high cycle fatigue loading.

Studentship Terms and Conditions
- Four (4) years Full Time study (start: September 2016) in the Structured PhD in Engineering of the University of Limerick (UL) Department of Mechanical, Aeronautical & Biomedical Engineering;
- Tax free stipend of €16,000 per year;

Selection Criteria
- Meet EU Tuition Fees classification criteria (citizenship and residency);
- Entry Requirements applicable to the UL Structured PhD in Engineering.

Further details at the attached file: