Project Description

This project aims to develop advanced manufacturing technologies to fabricate load-bearing devices with customized degradation rates. The overarching objective is to develop computational models of stress-corrosion behavior for additively manufactured (AM) magnesium alloys subjected to interlayer coldworking. The approach is to conduct potentiodynamic polarization and immersion studies on magnesium fabricated by hybridizing AM with interlayer coldworking processes like laser shock- and ultrasonic-peening. Coupling coldworking in the AM process flow enables local alteration to residual stress fields and microstructure, which reduces corrosion kinetics. The Sealy Lab effectively demonstrated the tunability of corrosion kinetics through hybrid AM, and this project takes a significant step forward by constructing numerical models to optimize hybrid solutions through strategic variations in surface treatment frequency and locations. The resulting dissolution response will be tailored to meet specific demands of biomedical applications and hydraulic fracking, necessitating orthopedic implants to degrade within a year and fracking devices to dissolve within days. Beyond technological advancements, this initiative seeks to engage underrepresented communities, fostering inclusivity through manufacturing education. By collaborating closely with Navajo Technical University (NTU), a tribal college based in New Mexico, the project intends to establish a local hybrid AM ecosystem on tribal land, thus stimulating entrepreneurship and apprenticeship opportunities.

Start Date

June 1, 2024

Postdoc Qualifications

An ideal applicant will have the following qualifications:
• Published in at least three peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Hands-on experience in additive manufacturing of metals
• Hands-on experience in corrosion testing
• Analytical and numerical modeling experience
• Characterization of material microstructure, residual stress, and mechanical behavior
• Prior outreach experience in research mentorship

Co-Advisors

• Michael Sealy (msealy@purdue.edu)
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering
Website: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/People/Areas/Areas/ptProfile?resource_id=256663&group_id=11989

• Michael Titus (titus9@purdue.edu)
Assistant Professor of Materials Engineering, School of Materials Engineering
Website: https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/people/ptProfile?resource_id=144082

Short Bibliography

• Ortgies, Samuel J. "Additive Manufacturing of Magnesium Alloy WE43." Thesis, University of Nebraska Lincoln. (2022)
• Karunakaran, Rakeshkumar, et al. "Accelerated Corrosion Behavior of Additive Manufactured WE43 Magnesium Alloy." 2021 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium. University of Texas at Austin, 2021.
• Sealy, M. P., et al. "Reducing corrosion of additive manufactured magnesium alloys by interlayer ultrasonic peening." CIRP annals 70.1 (2021): 179-182.
• Sealy, M. P., et al. "Compressive behavior of 420 stainless steel after asynchronous laser processing." CIRP Annals 69.1 (2020): 169-172.
• Karunakaran, Rakeshkumar, et al. "Additive manufacturing of magnesium alloys." Bioactive materials 5.1 (2020): 44-54.