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Courses / Modules / SESM6055 Alloys for additive manufacturing: production, processing, design, and sustainability

Alloys for additive manufacturing: production, processing, design, and sustainability

When you'll study it
Semester 2
CATS points
15
ECTS points
7.5
Level
Level 7
Module lead
Pedro Rivera Diaz Del Castillo
Academic year
2025-26

Module overview

The module aims to provide students with an introduction to alloys additive manufacturing (AM) incorporating four aspects: production, processing, design, and sustainability. With a focus on metallic powder technologies, the module will introduce the key production technologies for the production of advanced powders for AM, reviewing the different families of alloys commercially available for AM. The majority of these alloys were specifically designed wrought technologies, so their microstructure is a direct response to hot and cold working schemes. The AM microstructures are then reviewed with a focus on the challenges to design new alloys to satisfy the growing demand for metal products AM, which is one of the fastest growing manufacturing industries in the UK and the world. Such alloy design space offers the opportunity to transform the emerging AM technology into sustainable, the parameters of such transformation are outlined in the module.

Students will be taught the course material in lectures, where production and processing principles will be introduced, as well as the sustainability challenges. Video presentations of UK-based production facilities will be used to illustrate those facilities. Computational thermodynamics will be adopted to describe the microstructures resulting from AM, and to explore the compositional additions and process parameters to attain sustainable AM alloys. The modelling tools presented will provide the student with the ability to predict the microstructure and some mechanical properties for new 3D printed products. A design and modelling project will be provided to students, and the assessment will be made in groups.

This module is linked to SESG3024 and SESM6044 Manufacturing and Materials, and to SESG6042 Materials Engineering for Transport Applications. Those courses provide a complementary overview of related microstructures, alloy families, alloy production and manufacturing processes. See comments above.

Linked modules

Pre-Requisite: (SESG3024 or SESM6044) and SESG6042