Additive Manufacturing: process and post-processing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers the possibility of producing parts of intricate geometries that are otherwise extremely laborious, if not impossible to be made using standard manufacturing techniques. There has been a significant enthusiasm to exploit the flexibility of AM for fabrication of complex geometries; but less attention has been paid to the effect of design parameters and surface characteristics on the load bearing capacity of such components for structural applications. Geometrical aspects, undeniably, have a pivotal role in defining the mechanical performance of AM parts, as they dictate the building strategy, that in turn, affects the microstructural properties, density of internal imperfections, residual stresses and surface quality. Technological inadequacies in controlling these parameters have brought increasing attention to the definition of (often customized) post-processing techniques for AM parts to address the intrinsic issue of all AM techniques regarding surface quality. 
In this talk, I will provide an overview on my recent research in AM field using laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) and cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) techniques. The effects of geometrical aspects and surface characteristics will be discussed and the role of possible post-treatments to tackle the issues especially associated with irregular surface morphology, microstructural directionality, and undesired residual stresses in AM parts will be reviewed. 

Biography

Sara Bagherifard is Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Politecnico di Milano. Following her PhD in Mechanical Systems Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, she held multiple Research Associate, Postdoctoral Fellow and Adjunct positions at University of Cambridge (UK), MIT (US), Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (US) and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
Her research interests include design, development and deployment of multifunctional metallic materials for load-bearing applications. Her research implements theoretical, numerical and experimental approaches to identify, understand and manipulate the process-structure-property linkage in coatings and additive manufactured materials. 
Prof. Bagherifard has received ERC-Consolidator grant (2021) and has been the PI or co-PI of multiple European, National and industrial projects including ThermoDust Horizon EIC-Project (Polimi PI and Technical Manager; http://www.thermodust.eu/), ATLAS H2020-project (WP leader; https://www.project-atlas.eu/) and Re-Make MSCA-DN-project (WP leader). 
She has received various awards including ASTM International Additive Manufacturing Young Professional Award (2021), Best Talk Award from European Conference on Structural Integrity of Additively Manufactured Materials (2019), Young Scientist Lecture Gold Prize from 10th International Conference on Surfaces, Coatings and Nanostructured Materials (2015), and International Schlumberger Fellowship Faculty for The Future (2011 and 2012).