Dr Cameron Barrie

The Field-Assisted Sintering Technology (FAST) method of sintering has proved to be a useful low-energy, low-wastage method of converting titanium powder beds into dense parts that are close to their final shape. However, if other parts are added to the powder in the machine before sintering, those parts will bond to the powder and create one composite product. Creating metal lattices that will be put in the mould to be filled with and surrounded by powder leads to parts with a complex arrangement of two microstructures - and new structural properties in the final part.

Dr Barrie's project explored this new method of creating titanium-titanium composites and the potential properties that can result. This involved creating a variety of titanium lattices through additive manufacturing, making use of its flexibility and precision in a role that removed many of its usual drawbacks. Varying the arrangement of lattice struts and the microstructure within them affects the properties when they are bonded into the final part. Investigating these different structures and the properties they create was a key focus of his research.