Correlative Analysis of Engineering Alloys in 3D

Supervisors: Prof Bo Chen bo.chen@leicester.ac.uk and  Dr Elsiddig Elmukashfi elsiddig.elmukashfi@leicester.ac.uk

Project Description:

The material performance of engineering alloys is highly dependent on its crystal properties. Microstructure characterisation is critical to the understanding of the key features that control the mechanical behaviour of materials. Our current knowledge about the interrelationship between the microstructure and property is mainly based upon the 2D cross-section observations. The need for developing a 3D materials characterisation capability is not only driven by the microscope developers, but also becomes essential for scientists/engineers working in the materials and structural integrity field. For example, a key limitation in model prediction of additively manufactured austenitic stainless steels is the lack of crystal orientation gradients. The 3D visualisation of crystal misorientations in significantly larger volumes will benefit many additively manufactured alloys. Another example is for understanding the role of microstructure inhomogeneity on the sub-surface fatigue cracking of near-alpha titanium alloys. Identifying the region of interest embedded deep in a sample, before and after the fatigue loading, and allowing a 3D characterisation of a large volume of a peculiar cluster of grains are required to predict the initiation of fatigue cracks and their early-stage growth behaviour.

The aim of this PhD is to innovate and demonstrate a transformative workflow of both multi-modal and multi-scale characterisation of crystalline materials, across the length scale from centimetres to nanometres. You will be working with a senior experimental officer on the UK’s first-of-its-kind equipment, which consists of a diffraction contrast tomography capable computed tomography (micro-CT) scanner and a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) with an airlock-mounted fs-laser ablation system. You will be under the main supervision of two academics and one industrial expert to start working on a single-phase polycrystalline material, and then moving towards complex engineering alloys to unlock the full potential of this unique workflow.

To apply

Please refer to the eligibility, funding and how to apply sections further down the page. The application link is at the bottom of this web page.