| No. |
Research Topic |
Proposed Level |
Short description |
Type of research priority |
| 1 |
Boss welding |
Masters |
Attaching a hollow circular boss onto some form of pipework by utilising rotary friction welding is not an entirely new concept. Characterising the rotary friction joint metallurgy and the establishing the suitability thereof for long term sustained use in a high temperature and pressure environment will assist in understanding whether additional MMA fillet welds are required to dress the outer edge or not. Establishing the benefit (or not) of numerous boss welds in close proximity on a single component, opposed to MMA in a similar setup will assist in determining site/field applications. The research should aim to address these unknowns to assist in establishing the niche area for these applications. |
Academic with strong link to Technology leading to commercial innovation |
| 2 |
Refill Friction Spot Welding |
Master/PhD |
Refill friction stir spot welding is successfully utilized on aluminium in various applications. The suitability of utilising a similar joint on carbon steel to repair or arrest cracks from the outside of the structure holds numerous benefits. The research should aim to show that this is a novel and successful methodology to arrest or repair cracks on tubular carbon steel structures of 30mm in thickness. This could have significant benefit for CNR. |
Academic with strong link to Technology leading to commercial innovation |
| 3 |
Friction Welding Torque Prediction Modelling |
PhD |
The torque input required during rotary friction welding (RFW) is influenced by the geometry, the contact face pressure, the speed of rotation, the material characteristics and the thermal state of the material. RFW process parameters can be predicted by use of the existing friction welding recommended parameter ranges. However, these recommended ranges are relatively large and still required refinement to determine the optimum values of rotary speed and contact pressure. Additionally, varying the geometry of the two mating parts will also require their own specific process parameter specification. Having a finite element modelling procedure will allow for the ability to predict the torque magnitude that will be required to perform a specific FHPP/RFW weld, which will assist in process development. Importantly, it will also allow for verification that a specific FW platform will have the required capacity to perform the weld. Important to note is that the FEA model will have to include thermal response. |
Academic with strong link to existing technology |
| 4 |
Through hole repair (Ti/Al) |
PhD |
The aim of this work is to investigate rotary friction plug welding (FPW) to repair a through wall inspection site made during the extraction of a metallurgical sample. This would be an extension of the WeldCore® process where a friction hydro pillar welding process is used to plug a blind hole inspection site resulting from the extraction of a metallurgical sample from a thick walled component. |
Technology leading to commercial innovation |
| 5 |
Ultrasonic grains structure manipulation during LMD of Ti6Al4V components. |
PhD |
These long columnar grains form during conventional LMD of Ti6Al4V can cause property anisotropy, which is usually detrimental to component qualification or targeted applications. Without changing alloy chemistry, researcher demonstrated that with the introduction of ultrasonic pulses (20kHz) assist with solidification-control solution resulting in metallic alloys with an equiaxed grain structure and improved mechanical properties. Using Ti-6Al-4V as a model alloy, researcher employ high-intensity ultrasound to achieve full transition from columnar grains to fine (~100 μm) equiaxed grains in samples manufacture by laser powder deposition. This results improvement in both the yield stress and tensile strength compared with the conventional AM columnar Ti-6Al-4V. |
Technology leading to commercial innovation |
| 6 |
Defect analysis in composites using DIC |
PhD |
The research will investigate the failure mechanisms in various sandwich composite structures using Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The high strength to weight ratio and low radar return has led to the increase use within the marine sectors. Identifying the damage tolerance of existing and new panel is valuable to many applications. Example, evaluating the residual properties after an impact incident on an aircraft panel could inform the selection of the most appropriate repair procedure. |
Technology leading to commercial innovation |
| 7 |
Small Punch Static Testing (Fracture Toughness) |
PhD |
Small Punch Testing is a recent testing methodology with favourable applications in engineering assessments. The advantages of this small specimen test method could assist in deriving critical strain energy density values to investigate qualitatively the initiation fracture toughness on service exposed material. (Localised initiation fracture toughness – Strain energy density represents qualitatively what fracture toughness represents quantitatively.) |
Technology leading to commercial innovation |
| 8 |
Small Punch Static Testing (Ti -LMD) |
Masters |
Standardise the SPST methodology for determining the change in static properties at different positions within a Ti6Al4V component manufacture by Laser Metal deposition. The consequential influence of build height/volume on static properties will provide valuable insight into the variation of these properties within a single LMD component. |
Academic |
| 9 |
Strain (material flow) and energy flow during high speed FSW |
PhD |
High speed FSW has been shown to produce high strains due to high mechanical forces during welding. Through stop action type experiments use tracers to set up a model for establishing the strain and subsequent microstructural evolution during FSW. Thermal modelling and strain modelling can ultimately be used to set up an energy balance for FSW, taking into account energy input, i.e. friction energy, deformation energy and balancing it to heat energy lost through conduction, radiation and internal energy stored in the material (improvement in yield strength). |
Academic |
| 10 |
Integrity and Remaining Life Assessment Through Small Sample Analysis of High Temperature and Pressure Engineering Components supports |
Postdoc |
Determining the relationship between the level of graphitization and the consequential influence on fracture toughness will provide valuable insight into the remnant life of high value in-service components. This study will propose a methodology to estimate the fracture toughness of ASTM A-515 Gr. 65 in cases where the level of graphitization is known. |
Technology leading to commercial innovation |
