Investigating 3D-Printed Metals for Aeronautical Engineering

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/ul-research-aeronautical-engineering-3d-metals

UL's Dr Kyriakos Kourousis discusses his current research in metal additive manufacturing and the work of the Metal Plasticity and Additive Manufacturing Group at UL.

Dr Kyriakos Kourousis is an associate professor in aeronautical engineering at University of Limerick (UL), as well as director of postgraduate research and education for the university's Faculty of Science & Engineering. He also leads UL's Metal Plasticity and Additive Manufacturing Group.

Kourousis joined UL's School of Engineering 12 years ago, and before his career in academia, he spent more than a decade as an aeronautical engineer in the Hellenic Air Force working on aircraft maintenance, airworthiness and structural integrity - experience that he says now shapes his research and teaching.

At UL, he teaches topics around aircraft systems, the airworthiness of aircraft and the practical engineering behind them.

In terms of his current research, Kourousis says his work focuses on two things: how metals behave when they are loaded in a repeated way, leading to permanent deformation - what engineers call metal plasticity" - and how to make and trust 3Dprinted metal parts (metal additive manufacturing), especially for those loading conditions that cause plasticity".

In simple terms, we test metals, study their microstructure, build computer models that predict how they'll perform over time, and use those models to predict how permanent deformation builds up during their operation," he tells SiliconRepublic.com.

Localised permanent deformation (plasticity) is the origin of fatigue in metals. My work is both on traditional metals and 3Dprinted ones."

Here, Kourousis tells us about his work and provides a look into the world of 3D-printed materials and aeronautical engineering.

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