Supervisor: Industry Associate Professor Colin Hall (UniSA)  

Thesis Title: Additive manufacturing of structural elements via Laser Metal Deposition: Microstructure, Mechanical and Performance characterization 

Thesis synopsis: With the recent advances and investment in additive manufacturing technologies, laser metal deposition (LMD) techniques have become an alternative to conventional manufacturing methods. The advantages of metal additive manufacturing include the design of distinguishing material microstructures and properties, energy consumption reduction to fabricate complex geometrical components and efficient repairments of damaged metal components, all within a “one-step” fabrication process. Such advantages have been driving the innovation for high-end applications in the aerospace, medical, automotive, resources and consumer product sectors. Among the LMD alloys possibilities, tool steels attract attention due to its highly applicability in industry and improved mechanical performance opportunities via microstructure tuning. Still, the lack of quality assurance and poor mechanical performance due to microstructural discontinuities have been represented the principal barrier that prevents manufacturers from adopting additive manufacturing technologies for tool steels. This project proposes to investigate the influence of Laser Metal Deposition strategies and parameters on the microstructure, mechanical properties and performance of tool steel structures obtained via laser cladding by powder injection. 

Andre Hatem is a PhD Candidate with SEAM, with the Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia. Andre was awarded a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineer graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, Brazil. He has previous experience as Application and Project Engineer in the manufacturing industry. Andre’s passion for scientific research is due to a professional placement (abroad) for a year in Australia awarded by the Science without Borders Brazilian mobility program. Andre has participated in a CSIRO project, published and presented his work in low friction thin hard coatings at international scientific conferences.