Materials Australia Magazine | December 2021 | Volume 54 | No.4

CONFERENCE

CAMS2021 PAGE 11

CONFERENCE

APICAM2022 & LMT2022 PAGE 13

UNIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT

Charles Darwin University

PAGE 40

Online Short Courses

PAGE 59

Securing Australia’s Future: Materials Science and Engineering in the Defence Industry VOLUME 54 | NO 4 ISSN 1037-7107

DECEMBER 2021

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From the President Welcome to the December 2021 edition of Materials Australia magazine. As we reach the end of what has been a historic two years, it is really quite important to reflect on the past 12 months and what we have achieved.

This time last year, we shared some of the lessons learnt from 2020. I think it apt that we do the same now—for 2021.

Meetings by online platform became the active normal into 2021, and many of us have felt a sense of remote meeting overload or ‘zoom fatigue’. There have been fewer online events for Materials Australia this past year, and we really must now strive to collectively conduct more face-to-face interactions.

Online presentations, conferences and seminars will undoubtedly continue, and those we have held have been excellent. I would like to highlight the Additive Manufacturing Symposium held by the University of Sydney in August, which was a resounding success and increased the Materials Australia membership.

However, I personally think that everyone genuinely does want to get back to meeting and networking in-person. Having been categorised as an essential worker for manufacturing in Victoria throughout both 2020 and 2021, I have been fortunate—our team worked onsite almost continuously. I would have to say that everyone is really looking forward to a holiday and has a lot of leave owing! This in itself produces a whole new problem that the manufacturing industry must now face in 2022, in that the increased liability for staff leave is a new challenge that must be tackled. Labour shortages will become a different kind of problem.

As we emerge from isolation as a country, we all have to learn to live with a new COVID-19 reality. In the manufacturing and materials industries, the supply chain deficiencies that were present towards the end of 2020 have become more challenging. However, this also means new opportunities have arisen, and as a country we must further focus on the fundamental importance of sovereign capability.

In the metals casting area for example, price rises of some raw materials are abnormal. The price of magnesium per tonne rose to almost US$10,500 in November, which is reportedly up over 300%. Silicon also increased around 300% in the past few months as shortages began to have impacts. As may be appreciated, it is not just the aluminium metals industries that are impacted by these two elements; steel production and cast iron production are heavily reliant on both elements, and both may be impacted in 2022.

is aligned with that of Engineers Australia, which will reduce the reporting required by our members. We will be asking for volunteers from the membership base to undergo auditing in early 2022. We are aiming to audit all CMatPs within the next three years. I will be one of the first to be audited, and will share my experiences in the next issue of Materials Australia magazine.

Preparing a diversity and inclusivity statement for Materials Australia, which was initiated by the Victorian and Tasmanian Branch, and agreed upon, unanimously, across the Materials Australia National Executive Committee and the National Council. I would like to especially thank Professor Nikki Stanford, the Materials Australia National Vice President, for assisting in the preparation of this important document.

A copy of the statement is available on page 6.

Continuing our focus on diversity and inclusion, we plan to set organisational goals in 2022 to: ensure equal access for all to events and opportunities; establish awards dedicated to our female membership; and attain the greatest diversity possible in our professional activities.

We are in the process of reinvigorating many of our awards, and I am very pleased to note that HTA Group is the winner of the Claude A. Stewart Award for 2021. I am also very pleased to note that we have moved to rebrand the Florence M Taylor Award. This is one of the oldest awards, and we beleive that Materials Australia has and we believe that it is a worthy idea to dedicate this award exclusively to our female members who have contributed so strongly to our profession.

Florence Taylor had an extraordinary career in Australia. She was the first female architect, structural engineer and civil engineer in Australia, and a publisher of many trade journals.

She was also the first woman in Australia to fly a heavier than air craft, in 1909. When the Australian Institute of Metals was first formed in 1946, as the publisher of the Institute’s journal, she offered to donate medals in her name that were to be awarded annually to a member of each of the founding branches.

We believe that we have the opportunity to honour this legacy by making the award national, for Materials Australia. More details are included in this edition of the magazine (see page 7), and nominations are open for the 2022 award.

I would like to make a note about conferences planned for 2021 that were postponed until 2022. CAMS will be run in February 2022 and there has been a very good set of abstracts submitted. APICAM and LMT 2022 are also expected to run later in 2022.

Finally, I would like to congratulate my employer, AWBell, for recently winning both the Governor of Victoria Export Award and also the Australian Export and Investment Award in the “Manufacturing and Advanced Materials” category for each.

We have been very busy behind the scenes in our Materials Australia activities. Some of the initiatives that are nearing completion are outlined below.

Looking towards 2022. I would like to wish you, your family and colleagues the best of health and to stay safe during the holiday period.

Revamping the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for our Certified Materials Professionals (CMatP) from the beginning of 2022. The system we are moving to

Best Regards

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Roger Lumley National President Materials Australia BACK TO CONTENTS

DECEMBER 2021 | 3

CONTENTS

Reports From the President

3

Contents 4 Diversity and Inclusion Statement

6

Overview of the Award to the HTA Group

6

Changes to the Certified Materials Professional 7

Advancing Materials and Manufacturing

11

Rebranding of the Florence Taylor Medal to Recognise Femal Materials Engineers

7

Corporate Sponsors

8

Advertisers 9

Materials Australia News WA Branch Annual Ron Cecil Lecture 10 CAMS2021 11 WA Branch Technical Meeting - 8 November 2021

12

New Conference Dates | APICAM 2022 | LMT 2022

13

WA Branch Presentation - 11 October 2021

14

NSW Australian of the Year

14

NSW Branch Technical Meeting - 17 November 2021

15

VIC Branch - Borland Forum

16

VIC Branch - 23rd Annual Technologists' Picnic 2021

16

CMatP Profile: Deniz Yalniz

18

Our Certified Materials Professionals (CMatPs)

20

Why You Should Become a CMatP

21

Women in the Industry - Professor Joanne Etheridge

22

MANAGING EDITOR Gloss Creative Media Pty Ltd EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Prof. Ma Qian RMIT University Tanya Smith MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

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ADVERTISING & DESIGN MANAGER Gloss Creative Media Pty Ltd Rod Kelloway (02) 8539 7893

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22 Cover Image

From feature article on page 48.

PUBLISHER Materials Australia Technical articles are reviewed on the Editor’s behalf PUBLISHED BY Institute of Materials Engineering Australasia Ltd. Trading as Materials Australia ACN: 004 249 183 ABN: 40 004 249 183

Letters to the editor;

info@ glosscreativemedia.com.au

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CONTENTS

Industry News

Reviewing Pressure Effects On Iron-Based High-Temperature Superconductors

22

Is a Rotary Tube Furnace Right for your Process? 25 RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing 26 Metals Analysis: Future Trends 28 An Innovative Way to Deliver Drugs Using Nanocrystals Shows Potential Benefits

30

Sandwich-Style Construction: Towards Ultra-Low-Engergy Exciton Electronics

31

Benchtop NMRs - Bringing NMR Spectroscopy within Reach

32

37

Correlating SEM and AFM In-Situ 33 Phenom SEMs Provide Key Insights on Structure and Composition to Advance Battery Manufacturing

34

Advanced Technologies Provide a Point of Difference in Materials Science

36

Ultra-Short or Infinitely Long: It All Looks the Same

37

The Advantages of Precise Temperature Control for Block-on-Ring Lubricant Testing

38

University Spotlight - Charles Darwin University

40

Breaking News

42

40

Feature

Securing Australia's Future: Materials Science and Engineering in the Defence Industry

48

MA - Short Courses

59

Join Now!

60

https://www.materialsaustralia.com.au/training-courses-and-workshops/online-training

51

Materials Australia National Office PO Box 19 Parkville Victoria 3052 Australia

This magazine is the official journal of Materials Australia and is distributed to members and interested parties throughout Australia and internationally.

T: +61 3 9326 7266 E: imea@materialsaustralia.com.au W: www.materialsaustralia.com.au

Materials Australia welcomes editorial contributions from interested parties, however it does not accept responsibility for the content of those contributions, and the views contained therein are not necessarily those of Materials Australia.

NATIONAL PRESIDENT Roger Lumley

Materials Australia does not accept responsibility for any claims made by advertisers.

All communication should be directed to Materials Australia.

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DECEMBER 2021 | 5

MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

Diversity and Inclusion Statement Source: Prof. Nikki Stanford, CMatP, National Vice President

Materials Australia (MA) is the peak representative body, and trusted voice, of the materials science and engineering profession within Australia. Materials Australia values the diverse skills and perspectives people bring to the practice of materials science and engineering because of their gender, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, educational level, technical discipline, work and life experiences, and marital status. Materials Australia values equity and inclusiveness; we aim to support and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers in our field.

Materials Australia is committed to meeting our Equal Employment Opportunity, anti-discrimination and health and safety obligations by ensuring recruitment, employment and management practices are nondiscriminatory. As a professional body, we encourage members to proactively promote a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion within our discipline as well as within individual workplaces.

Materials Australia commitment Materials Australia acknowledges the disadvantaged position some individuals have had historically because of their personal attributes, such as their gender. To address these disadvantages, and to promote a culture of equality within our membership, and more broadly within the community of practicing materials engineers, Materials Australia will strive to: • provide a safe space for all people to come together to discuss the practice of materials science and engineering • attract and retain National Council members whose composition reflects a diversity of backgrounds, knowledge, experience and abilities • ensure that events such as conferences and symposia will promote diversity and inclusion, particularly in the invited speakers list and organising committee membership • continue to focus on diversity, gender balance and female membership through the

establishment of promotional programs such as travel grants and awards for women and indigenous Australians

Related legislation and useful links Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act 1975 Commonwealth Racial Hatred Act 1995 Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984 Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 Commonwealth Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 Commonwealth Age Discrimination Act 2004 Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 Diversity and Inclusion in Engineers Australia https://www.engineersaustralia.org. au/Diversity-and-Inclusion

Heat Treatment Australia Wins the Claude A Stewart Award Source: Stuart Folkard CMatP, Awards Chair Materials Australia is pleased to announce that Heat Treatment Australia (HTA) has been awarded the Claude A Stewart Award.

The Award commemorates the work of Claude A Stewart (the founder of Steel Improvement) in the field of heat treatment. Originally, it honoured the author of an outstanding paper on heat treatment. More recently, it has been expanded, and now recognises a significant contribution to the industrial practice of metallurgy or materials engineering by a person or organisation.

HTA is a worthy recipient of the 6 | DECEMBER 2021

Award, having made outstanding and sustained contributions to advance heat treatment and surface treatment processes for metals and alloys. Founded in 1979 as a family owned business in Brisbane, HTA has grown to have a team of more than 50 people.

A strategic decision to move into the aerospace and defence sector led to HTA successfully gaining AS9100 accreditation in 2008, followed by establishing itself as one of the first Australian manufacturing businesses to achieve NADCAP accreditation. HTA remains the only commercial heatBACK TO CONTENTS

treating facility in Australia with both AS9100D and NADCAP accreditation.

Today, HTA is the largest commercial and aerospace heat-treater in Australia with branches in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles.

HTA offers a comprehensive service locally, nationally and internationally.

As a recognised premier supplier to the Australian and international defence and aerospace market, HTA is capable of performing a wide range of heat treatment, surface treatment, and brazing processes.

For more information, visit: hta-global.com WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

Changes to the Certified Materials Professional (CMatP) Program Source: Alan Hellier, Stuart Folkard and Schree Chandran

The Certified Materials Professional (CMatP) program commenced in 2009 and has been very successful.

We currently have over 150 CMatPs. The CMatP Handbook (available in the Members Area of our website materialsaustralia. com.au) outlines the requirements of the CMatP program, including the continuing professional development (CPD) points required to maintain accreditation.

In recent times, auditing and verification of CPD points has not occurred. It has been unanimously agreed by the CMatP Sub-Committee that, to maintain the credibility of the CMatP title and ensure professional standards are maintained, auditing

must resume as soon as possible.

A review of the CPD points system for CMatP was undertaken. It was agreed to change the CPD points system to align with that of Engineers Australia (EA). This will greatly benefit CMatP members who also have Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) status with EA—they will only need to keep one set of CPD records.

Moving forward, CMatP members must obtain 150 hours of CPD over a period of three years, as per EA requirements. Assessment categories and associated hours have been aligned with EA. Auditing of CMatP CPD will commence on a calendar year basis, starting in January 2022. For the first two years,

we will be asking for volunteers only.

Regular auditing will commence in January 2024. One third of CMatPs will be audited each year. This will be done on a rolling alphabetical basis for simplicity. The CMatP members targeted for audit will be notified of their selection and will be able to download a revised table of CPD requirements plus the CPD recording sheet from the website from January 2022.

The completed CPD record will be emailed to our National Office, which will allocate it to a CMatP SubCommittee member for assessment.

The Sub-Committee reserves the right to request supporting evidence if there is some doubt about a particular claimed activity.

Rebranding of the Florence Taylor Medal to Recognise Female Materials Engineers Source: Stuart Folkard CMatP, Awards Chair

Florence Taylor was the first female architect, structural engineer and civil engineer in Australia, who for many years was the publisher of the Institute’s magazine. To commemorate the significant contribution made by Taylor to Materials Australia, a medal was named in her honour. Over the years, this medal been awarded to members (and non-members) to recognise their outstanding contribution to the science of materials engineering or the Institute.

Materials Australia is a society that strongly believes in diversity and inclusion. However, until now, we have not had an award that solely recognises the contribution of our WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

female members. Given its origin, a decision has been made to reassign the Florence Taylor Medal to recognise the efforts of a female member, as nominated by any of the Materials Australia branches.

Eligibility for the award requires that the female member of any age or career status meets at least one of the following attributes: • Delivered meritorious work over a period of years • Made a significant contribution to the advancement of the Science or Art of Materials Engineering • Made a substantial contribution to Materials Australia • In the opinion of her peers, has BACK TO CONTENTS

made a significant contribution to materials science and engineering The Award (comprising a medal and certificate) may be made once each calendar year to an individual.

Nominations, originating from Branch Councils or from Council, and supported by biographical and other appropriate information, shall reach the Nominations Committee at least 90 days before the Council meeting at which they will be considered. The President and the Honorary Secretary of the proposing Council must sign proposals.

The President shall make the presentation at the earliest general meeting of the Institute following Council's decision to make the Award.

DECEMBER 2021 | 7

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MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

WA Branch Annual Ron Cecil Lecture - 11 October 2021 Reducing Greenhouse Emissions and Waste From Recycling Castings Source: Eddy Derwort, Senior Welding Engineer, Bradken Eddy Derwort (Senior Welding Engineer, Bradken) presented the 2021 Ron Cecil Lecture on the topic Reducing Greenhouse Emissions and Waste From Recycling Castings.

Derwort, who holds a Master’s degree in welding from the University of Wollongong, started by challenging the common view of the place of recycling in the ‘circular economy’. It feels good, but does it do good?

Recycling cast materials is energy intensive, and while it may be a great improvement on waste, it is essentially the last step in the circular economy.

According to Derwort, the potential for life-extension, repair and reuse of cast parts should be considered first.

Derwort provided an example drawn from his own experience. He took the audience through the life cycle of the components of the crawler system in the hydraulic or electric shovels used in the mining industry. There are approximately 3,300 of these in service worldwide, each with a capacity of more than 100 tonnes. Each typically has around 76 track pads (crawler shoes), each of which is a steel casting weighing around 600kg. Each pad is typically replaced after 2.5 to 5 years.

Current practice in Western Australia, which is analogous to what happens elsewhere, is that worn pads are trucked to Perth, loaded into containers, and shipped to China. New replacement pads are then imported from China, and trucked to the mines. Derwort summarised the detailed calculations he has made of the energy costs for transport, remelting and casting, with allowance for manufacturing waste.

Across the worldwide fleet, the annual energy cost is enough to power a town.

Moreover, the reason for scrapping a pad is a loss of around 20mm by wear on the drive side; this is less than 10 per cent of the total mass.

Derwort proceeded to make the case for rebuilding of the pads, by 10 | DECEMBER 2021

L to R: Eddy Derwort, Chris Grant

weld deposition, as the alternative to recycling, based on energy, greenhouse gas emission, and cost savings.

part appears to outweigh uncertain personal rewards in the saving of money and greenhouse gas emissions.

Derwort has proved the process in practice; in only a few weeks, a robotic re-surfacing rig was built and demonstrated. The process is easy to automate, the energy cost is far lower than that for recycling, and the monetary cost is less than half that of a new pad.

Before moving to questions, Derwort explained the reason for his address: to help answer the question from future generations of “Why didn’t they do something?” even if it might take corporate resolve to energy reduction, or product stewardship, or possibly State action to drive change.

Furthermore, the choice of resurfacing alloy can be tailored to the operating conditions, and the rebuilding process can be applied repeatedly. The rebuilding process is not limited to the crawler pads, and in addition, the process can easily be undertaken on mine sites, thus removing the need for transport.

So, why is the process not being used?

The reason appears to be buyers’ lack of confidence in rebuilt parts, as compared to new replacement parts. The perceived risk of blame for loss of mine production due to the failure of a rebuilt BACK TO CONTENTS

Several members of the audience recounted their own experiences in attempting to introduce such improvements into the mining industry; crawler pad repair is only one of many such opportunities. Quality standards and certification already exist, but welding processes are particularly prone to undermining by unqualified operators offering to “do it cheaper”.

All agreed that it was a shame that Ron Cecil, who turned 98 this year, had not been able to attend; he would certainly have found the topic of great interest.

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Advancing Materials and Manufacturing

NEW CONFERENCE DATE ANNOUNCED

The 7th conference of the Combined Australian Materials Societies; incorporating Materials Australia and the Australian Ceramic Society.

2nd - 4th February 2022 | The University of Melbourne

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Symposia Themes • Additive, advanced & future manufacturing, processes and products • Advances in materials characterisation • Advances in steel & light metals technology, metal casting & Join Australia’s largest interdisciplinary technical thermomechanical processing meeting on the latest advances in materials • Biomaterials & nanomaterials for science, engineering and technology. medicine • Ceramics, glass and refractories, Our technical program will cover a range of themes, identified including materials for nuclear waste by researchers and industry, as issues of topical interest. forms & fuels • Corrosion & wear resistant materials CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS for demanding environments • Materials for energy generation, CAMS2021 conversion and storage 2nd - 4th February 2022 • Materials simulation & modelling The University of • Nanostructured/nanoscale materials Melbourne and interfaces VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA • Progress in cements, geopolymers and www.cams2021.com.au innovative building materials for civil Conference Secretariat: infrastructures Prof Xinhua Wu Dr Andrew Ang Tanya Smith • Surfaces thin films & coatings Monash University Swinburne University tanya@materialsaustralia.com.au • Translational research in polymers and xinhua.wu@monash.edu aang@swin.edu.au T +61 3 9326 7266 composites • Use of waste materials and environmental remediation/recycling and energy efficiency

www.cams2021.com.au

Photos courtesy of George Vander Voort

Opportunities for sponsorships and exhibitions are available.

www.cams2021.com.au

MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

WA Branch Technical Meeting - 8 November 2021

Hydrogen Embrittlement – Hydrogen Transport and Storage Source: Dr Gilles Dour (Principal Integrity Engineer, Advisan) The Western Australian Branch recently held a technical evening focused on hydrogen embrittlement, transport and storage. The evening included an engaging presentation

by Dr Gilles Dour, a multidisciplinary engineer with a research background in materials and process engineering, materials science and mechanical engineering.

Hydrogen is currently a hot greenenergy topic. While most of the focus has been on its generation and storage, intermediate transport will be required to link these two operations. One potential avenue for transport will be existing pipelines.

With this as background, Dr Dour shared the outcomes of the literature review undertaken by Advisian’s asset advisory team on hydrogen embrittlement in steels for pipelines used for hydrogen transport.

The two main modes of hydrogen transport are low-pressure (~10 MPa, 1bar) reticulation of hydrogenenriched natural gas or LPG (typically less than 10% hydrogen) and high pressure (>60 MPa) transmission of hydrogen at high concentration.

The main concern in transporting hydrogen is loss of containment, as mixtures of hydrogen and air are explosive over a very wide range of concentrations.

L to R: Schree Chandran, Richard Elving

12 | DECEMBER 2021

Loss of containment may occur by leakage through joints, diffusion through the pipe wall, cracks resulting from hydrogen embrittlement of pipeline materials, and rupture through catastrophic crack propagation. In this context, Dr Dour summarised the factors that need to be considered in determining whether a pipeline is safe for hydrogen transport.

Adsorption of hydrogen from dry gas required catalysis. With steels, this is provided through mobile surface dislocation, grain boundaries and existing cracks and notches. It can be slowed by thin (PVD or CVD) coatings of metals, such as tungsten or cobalt, in which the diffusivity of hydrogen is low. However, polymer coatings are ineffective because hydrogen can diffuse through them.

Surface preparation (such as chemical polishing) can reduce adsorption, as can traces of oxygen and water vapour; hydrogen sulphide promotes adsorption.

There are several laboratory methods of measuring adsorbed or nearsurface hydrogen, but only micro laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is approaching practical use outside specialised facilities.

Once adsorbed, hydrogen can diffuse through the steel. Diffusivity in ferrite is quite high; hydrogen can diffuse through a pipe wall in hours. In contrast, diffusivity in austenite is six orders of magnitude lower than in ferrite; it would take thousands of years to diffuse through the wall of an austenitic stainless steel pipe.

Hydrogen embrittlement in a dry gas with high external load is different from the hydrogen cracking experienced with, for example, wet hydrogen sulphide.

The hydrogen content BACK TO CONTENTS

is low (less than 0.1 ppm by weight) and embrittlement occurs through many varying mechanisms. This is because hydrogen is attracted to grain boundaries, precipitates, phase boundaries, voids and dislocations.

Thus, hydrogen embrittlement is ultimately dependent on microstructure. This has a critical implication in specifying steels for hydrogen pipelines. It is not safe to specify a steel based on strength (such as API 5L X70); it is necessary also to specify the microstructure.

Testing, using the dynamic punch test, shows no effect hydrogen partial pressures less than around 10-2 MPa (0.1 bar). The effects of hydrogen on steel properties increase with higher partial pressures up to around 10 MPa (100 bar), beyond which there is little further change. Dry hydrogen does not have much effect on yield or tensile strength, but has strong effects on elongation and notch sensitivity.

To minimise the effects of hydrogen ferrite-pearlite and lower bainitic structures should be avoided, along with inclusion-formers such as sulphur and oxygen. Vanadium reduces susceptibility to hydrogen sensitivity.

In light of this summary, it is evident why it is relatively straightforward to reticulate low-pressure gas containing less than 10% hydrogen in steel pipes.

The main issue is ensuring that the network does not contain plastic piping, through which hydrogen readily diffuses.

Regarding the design of pipelines for transport of hydrogen, Dr Dour identified several factors that are likely to be of greater concern, when compared to conventional pipeline design, for both onshore and offshore pipelines. Leak-before-break is a more critical failure criterion (as with pressure vessels); protection from dents and falling objects is also likely to be more critical. Full-pressurecycle fatigue, external corrosion and pressure containment are also likely to be of somewhat more concern.

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CONFERENCE DATES

APICAM2022 Asia-Pacific International Conference on Additive Manufacturing

4 - 7 December 2022 RMIT University, Melbourne The 3rd Asia-Pacific International Conference on Additive Manufacturing (APICAM) is the not-to-be-missed industry conference of 2022. APICAM was created to provide an opportunity for industry professionals and thinkers to come together, share knowledge and engage in the type of networking that is vital to the furthering of the additive manufacturing industry.

The purpose of this conference is to provide a focused forum for the presentation of advanced research and improved understanding of various aspects of additive manufacturing.

This conference will include lectures from invited internationally distinguished researchers, contributed presentations and posters. Contributions will be encouraged in the following areas of interest:

Additive Manufacturing of Metals

Additive Manufacturing of Polymers

Additive Manufacturing of Concretes

Advanced Characterisation Techniques and Feedstocks

Computational Modelling of Thermal Processes for Metallic Parts

Part Design for Additive Manufacturing

Failure Mechanisms and Analysis

Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Materials

New Frontiers in Additive Manufacturing

Process Parameter and Defect Control

Process-Microstructure-Property Relationships

Testing and Qualification in Additive Manufacturing

www.apicam2022.com.au

The Light Metals Technology (LMT) Conference is a biennial event that focuses on recent advances in science and technologies associated with the development and manufacture of aluminium, magnesium and titanium alloys and their translation into commercial products.

The conference presents an opportunity for academic researchers, students and industry to discuss cutting edge developments and to facilitate new collaborations.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS You are invited to submit abstracts on topics within the themes of Net Shape Manufacturing, Solid State Transformations and Mechanical Performance, and Translation to Applications.

For example, but not limited to: > Alloy development > Solidification and casting > Thermomechanical processing and forming > Machining and subtractive processes > Mechanical behaviour of light metal alloys > Corrosion and surface modification > Advanced characterisation techniques > Joining > Applications in bio-medical, automotive, aerospace, and energy industries > Simulation and modelling > Integrated computational materials engineering

www.lmt2022.com

Opportunities for sponsorships and exhibitions are available for both APICAM2022 and LMT2022.

Enquiries: Tanya Smith | Materials Australia +61 3 9326 7266 | imea@materialsaustralia.com.au

MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

WA Branch Presentation - 11 October 2021 Florence Taylor Medal Awarded to Bob Lawrence Jensen The Materials Australia Western Australian Branch recently presented the 2021 Florence Taylor Medal to Robert (Bob) Jensen. The Medal is presented annually to recognise a person who, by meritorious work over a period of years, has contributed to the advancement of materials science.

metallurgy, and gained a Diploma in Metallurgy from Perth Technical College.

Pursuing this interest further, Jensen proceeded to a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Metallurgy, awarded in 1980 from WAIT, now Curtin University.

For many years, Jensen has served the Western Australian Branch as Honorary Secretary. He took on this important role in 2004, and served continuously from 2008 to 2019. Jensen has also presented our short courses on failure analysis for many years. He has clearly met the criterion of providing meritorious services to the Branch.

Jensen’s responsibilities at Western Power increased over the years, from Analytical Chemist to Metallurgist, through to managerial responsibilities as Chief Metallurgist and finally Principal Scientist. His team at Western Power included a number of materials engineers and scientists who have gone on to play prominent roles in local industry, and in the Western Australian Branch of Materials Australia.

Jensen was born, and grew up, in Harvey, south of Perth. In 1964, he graduated from the University of Western Australia with a science degree, majoring in chemistry. After graduation, Jensen worked for the State Electricity Commission of WA (SECWA, which became Western Power). While working for SECWA, he became interested in

Jensen left Western Power in 1999 and established Jensen Engineering Metallurgy—a consultancy specialising in failure analysis. Jensen has continued to share his expertise with the wider engineering community, presenting papers at numerous conferences. In addition to teaching short courses for Materials Australia, for many years,

L to R: Stuart Folkard, Bob Jensen

Jensen has taught an eight day block release pressure equipment in-service inspection course at Central TAFE. There is no doubt that Bob Jensen has made a substantial contribution to materials science and engineering in Western Australia.

The Western Australian Branch of Materials Australia confers upon Bob Jensen the Florence Taylor medal award in recognition of his achievements, and gratitude for his service.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla Named 2022 NSW Australian of the Year A University of New South Wales (UNSW) scientist, engineer and inventor has been recognised for her pioneering research into waste, turning it into a new generation of green materials and products.

Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate, Professor Veena Sahajwalla, has been named the 2022 NSW Australian of the Year. Premier of NSW, the Hon Dominic Perrottet MP, presented presented the award to her in November at a ceremony which was attended by her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW. Founding Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) at UNSW Sydney, Professor Sahajwalla is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer and inventor who has revolutionised recycling science. She also heads the new ARC Microrecycling Research Hub and the Australian government's new National Environmental Science Program's Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub. She is renowned for pioneering the high temperature transformation of waste in the production of a new generation of green materials.

“I couldn’t believe I was nominated, let alone win the title of the 2022 NSW Australian of the Year. It is such a privilege to receive this award, and to live, work and have a family in Australia,” Professor Sahajwalla said.

“This means so much to me and is a reflection on the wonderful people I’ve had around me. I am so passionate about my work and team at the UNSW SMaRT Centre, where we have been pioneering the science of microrecycling and developing new ‘waste to product’ technologies.”

“Promoting STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] and greater sustainability continue to be extremely important to me. And as I engage with many people every day, I see these issues are generating a community and industry groundswell that we should embrace to help our society collectively tackle the challenges we face, to improve our environmental, social and economic wellbeing.”

14 | DECEMBER 2021

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MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

NSW Branch Technical Meeting - 17 November 2021 Undergraduate Student Presentation Competition Source: Scott Jones The New South Wales (NSW) Branch of Materials Australia was delighted to hold its annual Undergraduate Student Presentation Competition on Wednesday 17 November. This year’s event was held online via zoom, with a great attendance of students from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Newcastle (UON), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), University of Sydney (USYD) and University of Wollongong (UOW).

These students provided highly insightful and professional presentations on their honours theses, developed over the last year.

Topics ranged from advanced nuclear materials to additive manufacturing, advanced steel, boron nitrides, materials recycling, new methods for imaging biological materials, and next generation of advanced materials for water purification.

We were grateful to have a judging panel consisting of Professor Madeleine

Du Toit (UOW), Dr Igor Chaves (ACA National President, UON), Dr Rachel White (ANSTO) and Dr Taka Numata (Brickworks Building Products).

Together, the judges decided on the top four presenting students. This year’s students all provided presentations of exceptional quality, making the judges’ choices even more difficult.

The award-winning students were announced as: 1st Place: Lucy Chen – UNSW Engineering 2nd Place: Edward Whitelock – UNSW Science 3rd Place: Georgia Fardell – UON 4th Place: Vienna Wong – UNSW Science Award winners were provided with individual cash prizes. In addition, all presenting students were awarded a 1½ year free student membership of Materials Australia, normally $30 per year.

Our event sponsors—SOTO Group, Gravitas Technologies, United Steel and ANSTO—graciously provided the financial awards. Sponsors were each afforded an opportunity for a brief presentation or video to provide an insight into their businesses.

The Materials Australia NSW Branch is sincerely grateful to all those that attended the Undergraduate Student Presentation Competition including; the event sponsors, judges, student presenters and all other attendees from industry and academia. The presentations provided great insight into the research that is occurring in the different facets of materials science, despite the challenges associated with COVID-19 restrictions in the last few months, and gave all attendees an opportunity to broaden their understanding.

We highly anticipate next year’s event, which we are optimistic will provide new opportunities for networking and in-person presentations by students.

Screen capture of the student presenters, judges and other attendees at the Undergraduate Student Presentation online event

Thank You to Our Sponsors

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DECEMBER 2021 | 15

MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

VIC Branch – Borland Forum 2021 The Borland Forum honours the memory of Dr Doug Borland who made a significant contribution to the study and teaching of metallurgy and materials engineering during his long and distinguished career.

driven Neural Stimulation Using Surface-modified Diamond”

The Forum showcases high calibre postgraduate students nominated by their tertiary institution. Each student gives a short presentation on their materials-related research project.

All students get a Certificate of Participation, and the top presenter receives the Borland Forum Award and a cash prize.

Deakin University – Mr Chao Liu “Textiles Waste Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon Fibre for Water Purification and Energy Applications”

This year, the Borland Forum was hosted through a virtual medium by Swinburne University of Technology, and supported by ARC SEAM (Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials). Five of Victoria’s top universities were represented. The presentations were of a high calibre and represented a broad mix of materials research activities.

The presenters selected as this year’s premier postgraduate students and their respective topics were as follows: Swinburne University of Technology – Mr Duy Quang Pham “Plasma Spray Coatings of Bioceramics for Orthopaedic Implants” University of Melbourne – Mr Andre Chambers “Optically-

Monash University – Ms Georgia Hunter “Modelling and Design of Additive Manufactured ‘Brick-and-Mortar’ Structures”

RMIT University – Mr Alistair Jones “Laser Powder-Bed-Fusion of Complicated Cellular Structures” Materials Australia members, guests, postgraduate students, presenters, supervisors and numerous friends and colleagues joined the virtual conference to enjoy the informative and skilfully delivered presentations.

The independent judges were drawn from the Victoria and Tasmania Council, with Rosy Borland (Doug’s daughter) also acting as a judge on the night. Whilst the competition was fierce due to the high quality of the science and presentations, the judges determined a winner.

The 2021 Borland Forum Award was presented to Andre Chambers from Melbourne University, for his presentation on neural stimulation using surface-modified diamond.

VIC Branch – 23rd Annual Technologists' Picnic 2021 Friday 19th November 2021 Guest Speaker Fiona Campbell, East Melbourne Library

An extremely special Technologists Picnic was held on Friday night at Sovereign Hill. Fiona Campbell gave a riveting presentation of the 70 years of planning for and the final construction of the Spencer St Bridge, in 1927. As always it was a combined technologists meeting with members from Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Australian Foundry Institute, Materials Australia, Engineers Australia, and the Australasian Corrosion Association and was of interest to all. Fiona explained the planning, infighting and cost arguments that delayed the construction for 70 years and then progressed onto the fascinating actual construction. We learnt how the geology of strata both facilitated (on the north side) and hindered the construction (on the south side). How at least three methods of pylon construction were required, including the deep pylons in South Melbourne, that had to be constructed down to bed rock, which challenged the build. Fiona also explored the unique structure of the bridge and the subsequent its role up to present.

at East Melbourne Library since 2007. Her work includes development and management of archival collections, responding to local history enquiries, events programming and resource training. She aims to increase cultural and heritage awareness in the community by inspiring interest in our local stories, and promoting the wealth of freely available resources. Specialising in local history has enabled Fiona to develop her inner history detective. Since 2018 she has been researching the history and construction of the Spencer Street Bridge.

Gary Bunn presents Fiona Campbell with a fluid expression of thanks for an excellent presentation

Fiona has worked in the role of Local History Librarian 16 | DECEMBER 2021

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palladium catalysts

janus particles

glassy carbon

nickel foam

thin film 1

1

H

surface functionalized nanoparticles

organometallics

1.00794

Hydrogen

3

zeolites 11

anode

Li

2 1

4

99.999% ruthenium spheres

6.941

12

2 8 8 1

20

2 8 18 8 1

38

22.98976928

24.305

Sodium

19

K

osmium

Mg Magnesium

Ca

MOFs ZnS

Rb Cs

Sr

2 8 18 18 8 1

(223)

22

2 8 18 9 2

40

Ti

44.955912

56

Ba

2 8 18 18 8 2

57

Ra

Francium

(226)

La

Zr

Ac (227)

Radium

41

50.9415

Vanadium

91.224

2 8 18 18 9 2

72

Hf

138.90547

89

2 8 18 10 2

104

Rf (267)

2 8 18 32 10 2

73

140.116

Th 232.03806

Pr

2 8 18 32 32 10 2

2 8 18 21 8 2

Praseodymium 2 8 18 32 18 10 2

Thorium

91

Pa 231.03588

2 8 18 32 20 9 2

Protactinium

transparent ceramics EuFOD

spintronics

105

Db (268)

optical glass

2 8 18 32 11 2

2 8 14 2

27

2 8 18 15 1

45

74

W

Co

2 8 15 2

28

2 8 18 16 1

46

Ni

Tc

2 8 18 32 12 2

75

Re

106

2 8 16 2

29

2 8 18 18

47

Sg (271)

Ru 101.07

2 8 18 32 13 2

76

186.207

Os

107

Bh (272)

Seaborgium

Rh

Cu

2 8 18 1

30

2 8 18 18 1

48

102.9055

2 8 18 32 14 2

77

Ir

190.23

108

Hs (270)

Bohrium

106.42

2 8 18 32 15 2

78

Mt (276)

Hassium

2 8 18 23 8 2

62

(145)

93

Np (237)

Neptunium

63

150.36

Promethium 2 8 18 32 21 9 2

2 8 18 24 8 2

195.084

2 8 18 32 32 15 2

110

Ds (281)

151.964

Samarium

2 8 18 32 22 9 2

94

Eu

64

95

65

Tb

96

2 8 18 27 8 2

158.92535

Gadolinium 2 8 18 32 25 8 2

2 8 18 32 32 17 1

97

80

Rg (280)

Hg

Roentgenium

112

Cn

(244)

(243)

(247)

Americium

Curium

(247)

Berkelium

rhodium sponge

32

2 8 18 18 3

50

2 8 18 32 18 2

81

Tl

(285)

Nh (284)

2 8 18 4

33

Ge

2 8 18 18 4

51

Sn Pb

Sb

Fl (289)

Nihonium

52

83

2 8 18 32 18 4

Bi

Mc (288)

Flerovium

Dy

2 8 18 28 8 2

67

98

Ho

2 8 18 29 8 2

68

164.93032

Er 167.259

Holmium 2 8 18 32 28 8 2

99

(251)

Californium

(252)

69

Tm

100

(257)

Fermium

70

2 8 18 31 8 2

2 8 18 32 30 8 2

101

Md (258)

Yb

laser crystals

Te

84

Po

2 8 18 32 32 18 5

116

102

No (259)

Mendelevium

Lv (293)

71

2 8 18 32 32 8 2

103

Lu

pharmacoanalysis

(262)

Br I

2 8 18 32 18 6

85

At

86

117

2 8 18 32 32 18 7

118

calcium wires

(294)

(222)

Lawrencium

process synthesis

(294)

Oganesson

2 8 18 32 32 18 8

InGaAs AuNPs

superconductors

chalcogenides excipients CVD precursors deposition slugs YBCO

refractory metals metamaterials Fe3O4

shift reagents

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Og

h-BN

spectroscopy

platinum ink

cisplatin

Rn

2 8 18 32 18 8

Radon

NMR

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fluorescent microparticles

Xe

cermet

2 8 18 18 8

Xenon

Tennessine

2 8 18 32 9 2

2 8 18 32 32 8 3

Ts

2 8 18 8

131.293

(210)

2 8 18 32 32 18 6

Nd:YAG

83.798

cryo-electron microscopy

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dysprosium pellets

2 8 18 32 18 7

2 8 8

Krypton

Astatine

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ferrofluid dielectrics

54

Kr

Iodine

174.9668

Lr

2 8 18 18 7

39.948

Argon

126.90447

Lutetium

Nobelium

36

79.904

Livermorium

2 8 18 32 8 2

2 8 18 7

Ar

Bromine

(209)

Ytterbium 2 8 18 32 31 8 2

53

Polonium

173.054

Thulium

2 8 18 18 6

Cl

Neon

18

35.453

Se

ITO

20.1797

2 8 7

Chlorine

127.6

Moscovium

168.93421

Erbium 2 8 18 32 29 8 2

Einsteinium

2 8 18 30 8 2

35

Tellurium

silver nanoparticles

66

2 8 18 6

78.96

208.9804

115

17

32.065

Bismuth 2 8 18 32 32 18 4

2 8 6

Selenium

2 8 18 32 18 5

Ne

2 8

nano ribbons

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graphene oxide

biosynthetics

2 8 18 18 5

10

Fluorine

Sulfur

121.76

207.2

114

34

2 7

18.9984032

S

Antimony

Lead 2 8 18 32 32 18 3

2 8 18 5

74.9216

Tin

82

16

Arsenic

118.71

2 8 18 32 18 3

2 8 5

30.973762

72.64

F

15.9994

Phosphorus

As

9

Oxygen

P

Germanium

204.3833

113

15

28.0855

Thallium 2 8 18 32 32 18 2

2 8 4

2 6

O

14.0067

Silicon

114.818

Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm enantioselective catalysts Plutonium

8

Nitrogen

Si

Indium

Copernicium

Dysprosium 2 8 18 32 27 8 2

In

200.59

2 8 18 32 32 18 1

2 8 18 3

69.723

Mercury

162.5

Terbium

2 8 18 32 25 9 2

111

49

112.411

2 8 18 32 18 1

14

Gallium

Cd

Gold

Darmstadtium

157.25

Europium 2 8 18 32 24 8 2

Gd

2 8 18 25 9 2

Au

2 8 18 18 2

Ga

Cadmium

196.966569

Platinum

Meitnerium

2 8 18 25 8 2

79

31

Zinc

Silver

2 8 3

26.9815386

2 8 18 2

65.38

107.8682

2 8 18 32 17 1

Pt

192.217

109

Ag

Palladium

macromolecules 61

N

12.0107

Carbon

Aluminum

Zn

Copper

Pd

Iridium 2 8 18 32 32 14 2

63.546

Nickel

Rhodium

Osmium 2 8 18 32 32 13 2

58.6934

Cobalt

Ruthenium

Rhenium 2 8 18 32 32 12 2

58.933195

Iron

(98.0)

183.84

2 8 18 32 32 11 2

55.845

Technetium

Tungsten

144.242

U

44

C

2 5

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indicator dyes

tungsten carbide

Mo

Nd Pm Sm

Uranium

2 8 18 13 2

Fe

54.938045

95.96

2 8 18 22 8 2

238.02891

26

Manganese

Molybdenum

Neodymium 92

43

51.9961

Chromium

Dubnium

60

2 8 18 13 1

Mn

2 8 13 2

2

Helium

7

2 4

TM

sputtering targets

MOCVD

Ta

25

rare earth metals

mesoporous silica MBE

42

2 8 13 1

ultralight aerospace alloys

180.9488

140.90765

Cerium 90

quantum dots

Ce

59

2 8 18 12 1

Cr

Tantalum

Rutherfordium

2 8 18 19 9 2

24

92.90638

178.48

2 8 18 32 18 9 2

2 8 11 2

Niobium

epitaxial crystal growth drug discovery

Nb

Hafnium

Actinium

58

V

Zirconium

Lanthanum 2 8 18 32 18 8 2

23

47.867

Yttrium

137.327

88

Y

2 8 10 2

Titanium

88.90585

Barium 2 8 18 32 18 8 1

Sc

2 8 9 2

Scandium

87.62

Cesium

Fr

39

Strontium

132.9054

87

2 8 18 8 2

40.078

85.4678

55

21

Calcium

Rubidium

3D graphene foam

nanodispersions

2 8 8 2

Al

He

metal carbenes

6

Boron

13

2 8 2

isotopes

39.0983

Potassium

37

B

nanogels

2

4.002602

2 3

10.811

Beryllium 2 8 1

gold nanoparticles

bioactive compounds

9.012182

Lithium

Na

Be

5

2 2

buckyballs

III-IV semiconductors

screening chemicals

alternative energy

diamond micropowder

Now Invent!

metallocenes BINAP

conjugated nanostructures

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MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

CMatP Profile: Deniz Yalniz services that provide professional development and career advancement opportunities for welders, as well as greater quality assurance throughout the welding industry.

Weld Australia offers a broad range of engineering services that help substantially increase the operational life of plants and equipment and reduce the maintenance and repair overheads.

We are the Responsible Member Society of the International Institute of Welding in Australia.

My role is to make sure that our entire system complies with Australian and International Standards, and IIW technical guidelines. I also advise Weld Australia team members and engineers regarding procedures and processes.

Materials engineering is an integral part of my role as welding is closely related to materials science. It is a dynamic, exciting and a challenging role.

Deniz Yalniz is a Quality Engineer at Weld Australia—the peak body representing the welding industry in Australia. Deniz commenced his career at Jacon Technologies, first as a Design Draftsman, before progressing into various positions, including Technical Sales Engineer, Design Engineer and Quality Control Engineer. Prior to joining Weld Australia, Deniz was a Service Support Coordinator at Jacon Equipment.

What inspired you to choose a career in materials science and engineering?

I was very familiar with materials engineering from an early age. That’s why I pursued it as a profession. My first job was as a Design Engineer at a materials engineering company, so I decided to switch my focus more to quality as I found this area fascinating.

Who or what has influenced you most professionally?

With an adaptable nature and in-depth understanding of quality assurance and Australian Standards, Deniz holds a Bachelor in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Master of Engineering.

My professors when I was studying my bachelor’s degree. They showed what a great area the materials engineering field is. Their technical expertise provided me great knowledge to become a materials engineer.

Where do you work?

Describe your job.

Which has been the most challenging job/ project you’ve worked on to date and why?

I work at Weld Australia as a Quality Engineer. Weld Australia offers a broad range of services including, company certification according to a range of Australian and International Standards.

These certification processes enable fabrication businesses to improve their technical knowledge, bolster productivity and profitability, and reduce the risk of failure and rework.

We also offer individual certification 18 | DECEMBER 2021

To be honest, when I was working as a design engineer, every project I worked on was a challenge—each project had its own unique requirements and material needs. One particular project was more challenging than the others.

As a design team, we were working on new machinery for coal mines. After the brainstorming stage, the critical components of design and material selection for the structural elements BACK TO CONTENTS

were vital to ensure the mechanical integrity of the product.

Selecting the correct material with the right mechanical properties and behaviour under statics, dynamics, vibrations, wear resistance and fatigue was a challenge—we always have to consider the environment in which our design will operate.

However, the mine regulations and Australian Standards were limiting us to design freely. After we started to design our machinery in computer aided design software, our stress analysis calculations and FEA results were showing structure failure. Therefore, we had to approach our design from a new perspective completely. After the new design and few steps of design optimisation, our new machine design had no problems. As a result, our customer was more than happy.

What does being a CMatP mean to you?

Being a CMatP means recognition that I have achieved a high professional standard as a materials engineer in Australia. It is the only professional qualification in the world, of which I am aware, that is specifically for materials people.

What gives you the most satisfaction at work?

As a quality engineer in the materials field, I get a great deal of satisfaction by navigating the systems and processes to achieve the correct outcomes, thus providing others with the tools and knowledge to become more independent throughout the quality journey.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

For me, the best advice comes in the form of encouragement and acknowledgement—where someone has recognised your contribution in making a pattern of work better, or improving something for others.

However, everyone makes mistakes.

You learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. The important thing is, never make the same mistake twice.

What are you optimistic about?

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I have a great interest in metal additive manufacturing. It is a growing scientific area in industry. It has greater benefits than the conventional traditional manufacturing methods. Hopefully, in the future, we will see more about metal additive manufacturing in every industry.

What have been your greatest professional and personal achievements?

I also studied at Istanbul University’s Conservatorium of Music for seven years and can play three musical instruments. I believe improving yourself in other areas is as important as improving yourself in the professional arena.

I have always had an interest in

languages. Therefore, in 2012, I moved to Munich for a year to learn German.

I had great experiences there, while becoming fluent in German.

What are the top three things on your “bucket list”? > To become more fluent in other languages than I currently speak, which are Italian, German and

Tritex Multigauge 6000 A Drone Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge

Russian. > To travel the world, once these dire times end. > To improve myself in my professional area even more. Currently, I am undertaking the International Welding Engineer course, which is the highest qualification engineers can obtain in the welding area.

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My greatest professional achievement was my bachelor thesis: Sub-zero treatment on Tool Steels and its effects on microstructure and mechanical properties. I had the chance to work with scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Also finishing my master’s degree at UTS was a challenge.

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DECEMBER 2021 | 19

MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

Our Certified Materials Professionals (CMatPs) The following members of Materials Australia have been certified by the Certification Panel of Materials Australia as Certified Materials Professionals.

A/Prof Alexey Glushenkov ACT Dr Syed Islam ACT Prof Yun Liu ACT Dr Karthika Prasad ACT Dr Takuya Tsuzuki ACT Prof Klaus-Dieter Liss CHINA Mr Debdutta Mallik MALAYSIA Prof Valerie Linton NEW ZEALAND Mr Dashty Akrawi NSW Ms Maree Anast NSW Ms Megan Blamires NSW Dr Todd Byrnes NSW Dr Phillip Carter NSW Dr Anna Ceguerra NSW Mr Ken Chau NSW Dr. Igor Chaves NSW Dr Zhenxiang Cheng NSW Dr Evan Copland NSW Mr Peter Crick NSW Prof Madeleine Du Toit NSW Dr Azdiar Gazder NSW Prof Michael Ferry NSW Mr Michele Gimona NSW Dr Bernd Gludovatz NSW Mr Buluc Guner NSW Dr Alan Hellier NSW Prof Mark Hoffman NSW Mr Simon Krismer NSW Prof Jamie Kruzic NSW Prof Huijun Li NSW Dr Yanan Li NSW Mr Rodney Mackay-Sim NSW Dr Matthew Mansell NSW Dr Warren McKenzie NSW Mr Arya Mirsepasi NSW

Dr David Mitchell NSW Mr Sam Moricca NSW Dr Anna Paradowska NSW Prof Elena Pereloma NSW A/Prof Sophie Primig NSW Dr Gwenaelle Proust NSW Prof. Jamie Quinton NSW Mr Ehsan Rahafrouz NSW Dr Mark Reid NSW Prof Simon Ringer NSW Dr Richard Roest NSW Mr Sameer Sameen NSW Dr Luming Shen NSW Mr Sasanka Sinha NSW Mr Frank Soto NSW Mr Carl Strautins NSW Mr Alan Todhunter NSW Ms Judy Turnbull NSW Mr Jeremy Unsworth NSW Dr Philip Walls NSW Dr Rachel White NSW Dr Alan Whittle NSW Dr Richard Wuhrer NSW Mr Deniz Yalniz NSW Mr Michael Chan QLD Prof Richard Clegg QLD Mr Andrew Dark QLD Dr Ian Dover QLD Mr Oscar Duyvestyn QLD Mr John Edgley QLD Dr Jayantha Epaarachchi QLD Dr Jeff Gates QLD Mr Payam Ghafoori QLD Miss Mozhgan Kermajani QLD Dr Andrii Kostryzhev QLD Mr Jeezreel Malacad QLD Dr Jason Nairn QLD Mr Sadiq Nawaz QLD Mr Bhavin Panchal QLD Mr Bob Samuels QLD Mr David Schonfeld QLD Dr Mathias Aakyiir SA Mr Ashley Bell SA Ms Ingrid Brundin SA Mr Neville Cornish SA A/Prof Colin Hall SA Mr Mikael Johansson SA Mr Rahim Kurji SA Mr Greg Moore SA Mr Andrew Sales SA Dr Thomas Schläfer SA Dr Christiane Schulz SA Prof Nikki Stanford SA Prof Youhong Tang SA Ms Deborah Ward SA Mr Kok Toong Leong SINGAPORE Mr Devadoss Suresh Kumar UAE Dr Ivan Cole VIC Dr John Cookson VIC Miss Ana Celine Del Rosario VIC Dr Yvonne Durandet VIC Dr Mark Easton VIC Dr Rajiv Edavan VIC Dr Peter Ford VIC

20 | DECEMBER 2021

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They can now use the post nominal ‘CMatP‘ after their name. These individuals have demonstrated the required level of qualification and experience to obtain this status. They are also required to regularly maintain their professional standing through ongoing education and commitment to the materials community.

We now have over one hundred Certified Materials Professionals, who are being called upon to lead activities within Materials Australia. These activities include heading special interest group networks, representation on Standards Australia Committees, and representing Materials Australia at international conferences and society meetings.

To become a CMatP visit our website:

www.materialsaustralia.com.au

Mrs Liz Goodall Mr Bruce Ham Ms Edith Hamilton Mr Nikolas Hildebrand Mr Hugo Howse Dr Shu Huang Mr Long Huynh Mr. Daniel Lim Dr Amita Iyer Mr Robert Le Hunt Dr Michael Lo Dr Thomas Ludwig Dr Roger Lumley Mr Michael Mansfield Dr Gary Martin Dr Siao Ming (Andrew) Ang Dr Eustathios Petinakis Mr Paul Plater Dr Leon Prentice Dr Dong Qiu Mr John Rea Mr Steve Rockey Miss Reyhaneh Sahraeian Dr Christine Scala Mr Khan Sharp Dr Vadim Shterner Dr Antonella Sola Mr Mark Stephens Dr Graham Sussex Dr Jenna Tong Dr Kishore Venkatesan Mr Pranay Wadyalkar Mr John Watson Dr Wei Xu Dr Ramdayal Yadav Dr Sam Yang Dr. Matthew Young Mr Graeme Brown Mr Graham Carlisle Mr John Carroll Mr Sridharan Chandran Mr Conrad Classen Mr Chris Cobain Ms Jessica Down Mr Jeff Dunning Dr Olubayode Ero-Phillips Mr Stuart Folkard Prof Vladimir Golovanevskiy Mr Chris Grant Dr Cathy Hewett Mr Paul Howard Dr Paul Huggett Mr Ehsan Karaji Mr Biju Kurian Pottayil Mr Mathieu Lancien Mr Michael Lison-Pick Mr Ben Miller Dr Evelyn Ng Mr Deny Nugraha Mr Stephen Oswald Mrs Mary Louise Petrick Mr Johann Petrick Mr Stephen Rennie

Mr James Travers

VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC VIC WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA

WA

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MATERIALS AUSTRALIA

Why You Should Become a Certified Materials Professional Source: Materials Australia Accreditation as a Certified Materials Professional (CMatP) gives you recognition, not only amongst your peers, but within the materials engineering industry at large. You will be recognised as a materials scientist who maintains professional integrity, keeps up to date with developments in technology, and strives for continued personal development.

The CMatP, like a Certified Practicing Accountant or CPA, is promoted globally as the recognised standard for professionals working in the field of materials science.

There are now well over one hundred CMatPs who lead activities within Materials Australia. These activities include heading special interest group networks, representation on Standards Australia Committees, and representing Materials Australia at international conferences and society meetings.

Benefits of Becoming a CMatP • A Certificate of Membership, often presented by the State Chapter, together with a unique Materials Australia badge.

• Access to exclusive CMatP resources and website content.

• The opportunity to attend CMatP only

networking meetings.

• Promotion through Materials Australia magazine, website, social media and other public channels.

• A Certified Materials Professional can use the post nominal CMatP. • Materials Australia will actively promote the CMatP status to the community and employers and internationally, through our partner organisations.

• A CMatP may be requested to represent Materials Australia throughout Australia and overseas, with Government, media and other important activities.

standards. They are recognised as demonstrating excellence, and possessing special knowledge in the practice of materials science and engineering, through their profession or workplace. A CMatP is prepared to share their knowledge and skills in the interest of others, and promote excellence and innovation in all their professional endeavours.

The Criteria

• Networking directly with other CMatPs who have recognised levels of qualifications and experience.

The criteria for recognition as a CMatP are structured around the applicant demonstrating substantial and sustained practice in a field of materials science and engineering. The criteria are measured by qualifications, years of employment and relevant experience, as evidenced by the applicant’s CV or submitted documentation.

• The opportunity to assume leadership roles in Special Interest Networks, to assist in the facilitation of new knowledge amongst peers and members.

Certification will be retained as long as there is evidence of continuing professional development and adherence to the Code of Ethics and Professional behaviour.

What is a Certified Materials Professional?

Further Information

• A CMatP may be offered an opportunity as a mentor for student members.

A Certified Materials Professional is a person to whom Materials Australia has issued a certificate declaring they have attained all required professional

Contact Materials Australia today: on +61 3 9326 7266 or

imea@materialsaustralia.com.au or visit our website:

www.materialsaustralia.com.au

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DECEMBER 2021 | 21

WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

Professor Joanne Etheridge ‘defects’ can have a profound impact on the properties of the material. Professor Etheridge is interested in developing new methods for determining the atomic structure and bonding in materials by exploiting the physics of how electrons scatter in matter. She often uses electron beams that can be focussed to a diameter smaller than an atom. These tiny probes can be stepped across an atom and, every few picometres, the pattern of scattered electrons can be recorded, providing rich information about the atom and its environment.

From this, different types of ‘images’ of atoms and their arrangement can be generated.

Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy

Professor Joanne Etheridge investigates materials at the level of atoms to understand their fundamental properties. An expert in electron microscopy, she has developed novel microscopy methods that have revealed new, often unexpected, features in material structures. This has enabled structure-property relationships to be uncovered in materials that are being engineered for applications in areas such as nanoelectronics, energy storage, catalysis and photovoltaics.

Professor Etheridge is Founding Director of the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy and a Professor in Monash University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Having completed a PhD in physics in Melbourne, she moved to the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge to continue her research in electron microscopy. While there she was awarded a Newnham College, Rosalind Franklin Research Fellowship, and then a prestigious Royal Society University Research Fellowship which she held until she joined Monash University in 2002. More recently, she held a Visiting Professorship at the Brockhouse Institute at McMaster University in Canada.

In many types of materials, atomic-scale

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After joining Monash University, Professor Etheridge established the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy (MCEM).

Today, MCEM is recognised internationally for its research and training in electron microscopy.

It provides a critical capability in electron microscopy to university researchers, government research agencies, and industry consultants, and has been engaged to investigate an extraordinary range of problems across science and engineering. This includes everything from water purification; optical communications; drug delivery; ancient meteorites; nanoelectronics; photovoltaics; caterpillar processions; batteries; National Gallery masterpieces; volcanic chemistry; fuel cells; catalysis; bioimplants; chemical sensors; strong alloys; corrosion control; nanocrystal growth; criminal forensics; Egyptian artefacts; to nanoparticles used in COVID-19 PCR tests.

MCEM provides some unique capabilities to Australian researchers, and is a node of the national microscopy network, Microscopy Australia. Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Elizabeth Croft, commented on the fantastic achievements of Professor Etheridge in developing and leading the Centre.

“Professor Etheridge has made a major contribution to the field of Materials Science and Engineering through her

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world-leading work, which has placed Australia and the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy near the top of the field,” Professor Croft said.

“Her leadership in the development of microscopy tools and techniques has contributed to a fantastic array of discoveries in materials science, and her work has attracted collaborations with top materials researchers both nationally and internationally.”

“Many of these discoveries have quickly translated into important outcomes in areas such as corrosion prevention and coatings, energetic and biocompatibility properties, and new stronger, lighter, and more sustainable materials.

Australia’s leadership in Materials Science and Engineering benefits greatly from Professor Etheridge’s commitment to delivering the world’s best microscopy in service of the world’s best research.”

In the latest addition to its capability, MCEM has just installed a world-first “Spectra φ” transmission electron microscope manufactured by Thermo Fisher Scientific. The custom-built instrument was designed to meet the specifications of Professor Etheridge and the MCEM team to advance the imaging of complex material systems.

Professional Life As well as being an extremely accomplished researcher and academic, Professor Etheridge engages in a range of industry and professional activities to mentor young researchers, and to further the discipline and the understanding of materials science.

She is the Chair of the National Committee for Materials Science and Engineering at the Australian Academy of Science, President of the Australian Materials Research Society, and has previously been a member of the Commission for Electron Crystallography at the International Union of Crystallographers.

At the Australian Academy of Science, she has previously chaired the Materials Characterisation Working Group, as part of the National Nanotechnology Research Strategy (2011) and been a member of the National Committee for Crystallography (2013 - 2016).

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WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

Professor Etheridge is on the editorial Board of several publications, including Physical Review Materials (APS), Accounts of Materials Research (ACS), Microscopy (OUP), and Ultramicroscopy.

Professor Etheridge has been the recipient of a number of awards across her career. In 1995, she was awarded the KM Stott Prize, for excellence in scientific or medical research, from the University of Cambridge. In 2016, she was awarded the John Sanders Medal by the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Society.

The John Sanders Medal was established to promote excellence in developing or applying electron microscope techniques in the physical or chemical sciences.

Fellow at the Australian Academy of Science In 2019, Professor Etheridge was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, recognising her research in the development of “new electron diffraction and microscopy techniques to measure the structure of materials at the atomic scale.”

“I am astonished and honoured to receive this fellowship,” Professor Etheridge said at the time of receiving the fellowship. “I see it as recognition of the people around me, from my wonderful colleagues in the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy, collaborators and students, as well as a reflection of the research environment at Monash, from the research platforms to the Faculty of Engineering and its Department of Materials Science and Engineering.”

The Academy noted that her work in measuring the structure of materials at the scale of atoms has been crucial to solving some of the most challenging problems facing the field. Application of her techniques, along with other established practices, has allowed for a diverse range of functional materials – including superconductors, semiconductors, ion-conductors, photoactive and plasmonic materials – to be structurally studied.

Research into Perovskite Solar Cell Performance Professor Etheridge has a special interest in materials that have the “perovskite” structure, which can be manipulated to generate diverse properties from piezoelectricity to

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Professor Etheridge working on the custom-built, world-first Spectra φ transmission electron microscope, just installed at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy.

pyroelectricity. With her research group using specially-developed electron microscopy techniques, she has uncovered a variety of subtle structural effects that influence the properties of perovskite superconductors, ion conductors, colossal magneto-resistors and photon emitters and and absorbers.

Her research has been reported in journals such as Nature, Nature Materials, Nature Energy and Nature Communications.

Most recently, Professor Etheridge led an international team of researchers that discovered that defects in a popular perovskite light absorber impede solar cell performance. They found a change in the nature and density of these ‘intragrain planar defects’ correlated with a change in solar cell performance.

Perovskite photovoltaics are exciting candidates for improving solar cell technology. They could also assist in the reduction of humanity's reliance on fossil fuels, furthering the push towards a more sustainable future.

The research team used the imaging and diffraction protocol developed at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy to study the crystal structure of a range of perovskite solar cell materials.

Perovskite light absorbers have the potential to improve the efficiency of established silicon solar cells by adding an additional layer, which can absorb colours of sunlight that current silicon

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Imaging perovskite octahedral tilts with picometre precision in a lithium-ion conductor. From research published in Y. Zhu, R. Withers, L. Bourgeois, C. Dwyer and J. Etheridge, Nature Materials 14 1142 (2015) note this graphic was not published.

solar cells cannot. Combining perovskite and silicon photo-absorbers into what is known as a tandem solar cell, has the potential to boost the overall performance of the stack beyond 40 per cent.

“Being able to map the local crystal structure of a thin film of perovskite light absorber and correlate this with the overall solar cell device performance provides exciting new insights into how device performance can be improved,” Professor Etheridge said.

DECEMBER 2021 | 23

INDUSTRY NEWS

Reviewing Pressure Effects On Iron-Based High-Temperature Superconductors Source: Sally Wood Since the discovery of iron-based superconductors, with a relatively high transition temperature Tc in 2008, a new era has emerged in the history of developing high temperature superconductivity.

In the past decade alone, new theories, applications and experiments using ironbased semiconductors have taken place.

Researchers have gained a deeper understanding about how superconductivity works and its wider applications.

A recent research paper from the University of Wollongong reviewed the progress, existing research and future challenges or opportunities for high-pressure studies on properties of iron-based superconductor families.

FLEET PhD student, Lina Sang from the University of Wollongong, was the first author on the Materials Today Physics review paper, which investigated effects on the superconductivity, flux pinning, and vortex dynamics of ISBC materials, including: • pressure-induced superconductivity • raising transition temperature Tc • pressure-induced elimination/reemergence of superconductivity • effects of phase separation on superconductivity • increasing critical current density • significantly suppressing vortex creep • reducing flux bundle size.

Sang has a wide variety of research expertise and interests. She has worked closely with the University of Wollongong, and undertaken studies at Shanghai University.

During her time in China, she worked collaboratively on studies including research on hydrostatic pressure, atomically thin semiconductors, and ultra-high thermoelectrics.

Her latest review spotlights the use of pressure as a versatile method for exploring new materials. It also gains crucial insights into the physical mechanisms of high-temperature superconductors.

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Superconductors: A Background In a superconductor, an electrical current can flow without any energy loss to resistance.

Iron-based superconductors are a type of ‘high temperature’ (Type II or unconventional) superconductor in that they have a transition temperature (Tc) that is much higher than a few degrees Kelvin above absolute zero.

The driving force behind such Type II superconductors has remained elusive since their discovery in the 1980s.

First author, FLEET PhD student Lina Sang from University of Wollongong.

Unlike ‘conventional’ superconductors, it is clear they cannot be directly understood from the Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer, or BCS, electron-phonon coupling theory.

The BCS analyses the source of the attraction that binds two electrons into a paired state. In successive discoveries, the transition temperature Tc has been driven steadily higher.

Professor Xiaolin Wang is the node and theme leader of FLEET, who defined the goal for the recently published research.

“The ultimate goal of the research of superconductivity is finding superconductors with a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) at room temperature.”

Professor Wang is also affiliated with the University of Wollongong through the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials. He is also Ms Sang’s PhD supervisor.

“Pressure can significantly enhance the Tc for the Fe-based superconductors.”

“And recently, superconductivity was observed near room temperature in hydrogen alloyed compounds,” Professor Wang explained.

The Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials is a world-leading collaborative team of researchers that conduct research into electronic materials technology and science, and superconducting.

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Team leader, and leader of FLEET’s novel materials studies, Prof Xiaolin Wang from University of Wollongong.

characterise energy storage materials, and temperature superconducting. In addition, the facilities include a battery testing facility that has the ability to test industrial sized batteries.

The University of Wollongong is among the top 100 universities in the world for materials science. The University offers a broad range of specialised study areas, including professional development and industry-based learning initiatives across the mechanical materials, biomedical engineering, and mechatronic spaces.

The University also ranks second in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory for undergraduate engineering. Postgraduate students work closely with academics and researchers to align their expertise with the future needs of Australian industry.

This study was recently published in Materials Today Physics. It was supported by the Australian Research Council through ARC Centre of Excellence in FLEET. WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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Is a Rotary Tube Furnace Right for your Process?

Source: Deltech Furnaces Established in 1968, Deltech’s motto is We Build The Furnace To Fit Your Need™. Deltech builds furnaces to order, with many of their new products and design innovations created in response to unique customer application requirements.

Rotary tube furnaces provide efficient heat and mass transfer, and minimise material handling in applications such as powder processing. Like all their products, Deltech’s rotary tube furnaces are custom designed and built for specific application requirements.

This means that clients can specify a range of elements, including: • Maximum operating temperatures up to 1,700°C • Workspace size • Residence time • Tube rotation rate • Tube inclination angle • Temperature profile • Atmosphere flow rate • Powder bed depth • Feed rate

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Furnace Tube Tube stresses include rotational speed, amount of material, diameter of the tube, suspended length, and tube thickness.

For tube diameters larger than 9”, alloy tubes are best, but are limited to temperatures under 1,200°C. Ceramic tubes should be used when metals in the alloy may react with a high purity product or off gas. These are also required for high temperature processing.

Lower grade silicon carbide tubes are porous, as are alumina oxide tubes. The porous nature of these tubes makes them undesirable for most applications that require processing in a controlled atmosphere.

Quartz tubes are not permeable, but only suitable for processing under 1,300°C. Rotary tube furnaces are unsuitable when long residence times – requiring a small angle of inclination and a slow tube rotation rate – are required. It is difficult to control residence time for more than two hours. Look to a lab scale or production size bottom load, front load, or top hat furnace if your product requires longer processing times. These furnaces are available with optional controlled atmosphere capability.

Not sure what you need for your application?

Deltech can help. Contact us www.deltechfurnaces.com

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DECEMBER 2021 | 25

INDUSTRY NEWS

RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing Source: Distinguished Professor Milan Brand RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing was established in 2014 to focus on the new and emerging field of additive manufacturing. The Centre researches and develops new products and processes based on additive manufacturing, trains future industry and academic leaders and opens new horizons for additive manufacturing globally.

It brings together researchers from the Schools of Engineering and Industrial Design with expertise in laser technologies, materials science, digital design and additive manufacturing. It is a world-leading research platform in 3D printing, with some 40 academics and researchers and 30 PhD students.

A key focus of the Centre’s research is additive manufacturing of components in advanced materials, including high performance metals, plastics and composites.

Research is focused on moving from ‘rapid prototyping’ to full-scale production of customised functional final products and parts, directly from design without the need for tooling.

This is particularly suited to low-medium volume, higher value, customised and difficult-to-manufacture products.

These technologies have the potential to deliver a ‘quantum leap’ in the manufacturing process, dramatically increasing manufacturing flexibility, efficiency and customer responsiveness, and significantly reducing time to market, cost and energy consumption. Targeted industry sectors include biomedical devices, aerospace, defence and mining.

With numerous grants and collaborations through ARC, CRC and industry, the Cenre is working with orthopaedic surgeons at the St Vincent's and Royal Children’s Hospitals and Stryker Medical to design bone implants for patients with bone cancer, supported through the IMCRC. Other research involves laser repair technology for aerospace components involving the DMTC and RUAG Australia; laser deposition technology with ARC SEAM and RUAG; technology for metal and polymer printers with Siemens; ballistic protection with DST; and other projects with Ford Australia, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The Centre has delivered a number of ‘3D printed firsts’ in Australia. Working closely with Anatomics Pty. Ltd, we successfully 3D printed Australia’s first patient specific vertebral lattice cage implant in 2015. In 2019, working with the UQ Department of Veterinary, we designed and delivered the first 3D printed implant for a dog, saving its leg from amputation. In 2018-2019 with ADFA engineers, we 3D printed the chassis for the recently launched M2 cube sats.

Profiled in this article are three of the Centre researchers, together with a brief summary of their projects.

For further information contact milan.brandt@rmit.edu.au.

First 3D printed spinal disc at RMIT in a model of vertebrae.

The disc was implanted into a patient in 2015.

26 | DECEMBER 2021

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Dr Cameron Barr Researcher DMTC/RUAG on the laser repair of aircraft structures

Dr. Cameron Barr is a research fellow at the RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing, with specialities in metallurgy and process development for direct laser metal deposition (DLMD). Dr. Barr graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical and Manufacturing) in 2010, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science in 2015. After completing his Ph.D. thesis on the Severe Plastic Deformation of Nickel Aluminium Bronze, he has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at RMIT University and has been involved with a range of different projects. His studies have varied from the quantification of scratch resistance for textured polymeric automotive interiors, to the manufacture of nickel aluminium bronze components through laser powder bed fusion, and the assessment of different steel compositions for their suitability with DLMD processing.

Dr Barr’s primary area of focus is the laser additive repair of high value aerospace components through DLMD. This is a collaborative project with RUAG Australia and DMTC Ltd. which aims to enhance the readiness of the Royal Australian Air Force and reduce overall sustainment costs.

Traditional repairs are becoming increasingly difficult for modern aircraft, as the extreme light-weighting of new components often leaves little excess for existing subtractive processes. Instead, laser additive repair seeks to rebuild damaged sections with newly deposited material, thus allowing the repaired component to maintain its original geometry and load bearing area. Not only does this allow modern components to be returned to service, but it also allows for the recovery of legacy components previously deemed unsalvageable.

Heat management is a key challenge to laser additive repair, which is needed to both protect the substrate from thermal damage and to ensure suitable in-situ heat treatment for the deposited material. Bulk heat treatments can be unviable for repaired components, as warpage through the relaxation of service stresses can make parts unusable.

Instead, the multiple cycles of rapid heating/cooling of laser processing are exploited to recreate the typical quench and temper cycles required by most alloys, with different delay times between tracks and layers used to control the buildup of residual heat.

This process has been successful in repairing a number of steel components at RUAG Australia, with the deposited material able to meet the specified design requirements.

Current work now seeks to expand this knowledge to a wider array of aerospace steels to better understand their different tempering needs and suitability to laser additive repair.

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Dr Edward Lui

Dr Alex Medvedev

IMCRC/RUAG on the additive manufacture of Ti aerosapce components

DST on the additive manufacture for ballistic protection

Researcher

Dr. Edward Lui is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Additive Manufacturing at RMIT University. Dr. Lui graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (1st Class Honours) in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in 2006, and PhD in Materials Engineering in 2012, both from the University of Melbourne.

His PhD thesis is on the Multiphase and multiscale TiAl consolidated by severe plastic deformation. Dr. Lui previously worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne on the solid-state recycling of titanium machining swarf. Dr. Lui joined RMIT in 2015 and has been performing research on the additive manufacturing (AM) of lightweight materials, including microstructure tailoring of Ti-6Al-4V via laser powder bed fusion, wire-based laser deposition of Ti-6Al-4V, and ballistic protection properties of additive manufactured titanium armour plates.

Researcher

Dr Alexander Medvedev is a Research Fellow at the RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing (RCAM). Dr Medvedev completed his PhD in Materials Engineering at Monash University in 2015 with a thesis focusing on the intercorrelation between microstructural state, surface properties and mechanical properties of pure titanium and its biocompatibility and affinity to attract human and bacterial cells.

Following the PhD completion, he held research positions at Monash University and Deakin University and focused on multiple research topics such as, CAD-assisted design for additive manufacturing (AM), manufacture-driven microstructure-properties relationships, development of new materials and porous structures for additive manufacturing as well as the mechanical and diffusion phenomena in hybrid multimaterial assemblies.

Dr. Lui currently performs research on additive manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V aerospace components using direct laser metal deposition (DLMD), in collaboration with IMCRC and RUAG Australia. RUAG Australia has identified that metal damage to aircraft components during service as a real problem, particularly wear and corrosion damage.

The current strategy is to repair or replace, which can lead to extended aircraft downtime. AM provides on-demand manufacturing of replacement parts, or to restore both geometry and integrity to damaged metal components.

In 2019, Dr Medvedev joined RCAM as a part of the research collaboration between RMIT University and DST Group to develop a lightweight alternative to conventional high strength and hardness armour steels using additive manufacturing of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. The research has indicated that, despite traditionally undesirable Ti armour initial microstructure forming intrinsically in the AM Ti6Al4V, the ballistic protection of the alloy could be dramatically enhanced to a level on par with, and even exceeding that of, commercially available titanium materials.

The research aims to optimise the build quality and properties of Ti-6Al-4V AM parts and to ultimately manufacture a proof-of-concept replacement part for testing. Mechanical testing of test coupons demonstrated that AM parts achieved static and dynamic properties that exceeded industry standards for Ti-6Al-4V because of defectfree builds and favourable microstructure in the as-built condition. A one-to-one scaled part from an aircraft was additive manufactured using optimised process parameters and tested in tension using a custom-built fixture and attached with several uniaxial and biaxial strain gauges.

Further, such performance boost was achieved through multiple approaches, including (i) in-situ optimisation of AM processing parameters, developed in-house at RCAM, (ii) more traditional, but carefully tailored, post-manufacturing heat treatment, and (iii) smart solutions combining microstructural control with unique complex geometry made possible by AM methods.

Test results show consistent tensile performance comparable to the test coupons, and fracture surface analysis revealed that fracture did not initiate from any internal defects and that the part failed normally.

Furthermore, finite element analysis of the part was performed, and achieved a good correlation of final maximum strains and predicted where fracture was most likely to take place. These results demonstrate that with optimised process parameters, DLMD can produce defect free parts with excellent properties, paving the way for part certification and the placement of one of these parts on an active service aircraft.

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DECEMBER 2021 | 27

INDUSTRY NEWS

Metals Analysis: Future Trends Source: Mikko Järvikivi, Global Head of Product Management - Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science From the rise of robots in the manufacturing process, to the fall in quality of raw materials from certain sources, our industry has never been a more challenging place to operate. And yet it’s never been more interesting and exciting.

Here are just five areas that keep us talking at Hitachi High-Tech; highs and lows that are influencing the way we develop our technology to ensure a successful future for those working with metals, or in the metals industry.

1. 3D Printing in Metal 3D printing is here to stay, and the ability to ‘print’ in metals is moving far beyond prototype components, shifting to finished metal components that could potentially fail. Hailed as the new technique for fabrication, 3D printing is a disruptive technology that will change traditional methods in an exciting way.

Having worked with the metals industry for many years, we get excited about advancement in technology and this is definitely up there.

In the future, we believe that the analysis of finished products will be straightforward. However, it’s the testing of the raw materials that could make analysers your most valuable tools.

Raw materials can include aluminium, cobalt, chrome, copper, stainless steel, titanium and tungsten. But for any of these to be used, they must first exist as pure elements or alloy powder. This ‘powder’ could be tested with an XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) metals analyser to ensure it’s of the quality you need before turning it into a vital component.

Alternatively, stationary spark optical emission spectrometers (OES), like the OE750 and OE720 from Hitachi, can be used to test powders using a re-melting furnace. This provides the advantage to analyze C, P, S, B and N (if powder is nickel, cobalt or steel based), which XRF machines cannot analyse. WDXRF and combustion analysers are an alternative, but these can be up to three times more expensive than the OE750.

2. Metals Analysis and Big Data We’ve seen data emerge as a key

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resource for businesses in the last decade, and the metals industry is no different. While investment has been made into process control and optimisation, the industry has for many years lagged behind sectors, such as banking and media, in its adoption of new digital technologies.

However, the pace is picking up with innovations in analytics, mobile solutions and automation delivering significant gains. For us, the speed, simplicity, and convenience of a metals analyser enabling a member of staff to take thousands of readings in a working day, means we also need to adapt to keep pace.

Data and information is now an essential part of a complete metals analysis ‘toolkit’. Whether it is through the device being connected to the cloud, through the IoT, or installed within the instrument itself.

3. Why Sccuracy Matters As global competition increases, or as is the current case, material shortages, there is no doubt that the quality of materials from some areas will decrease.

In some countries, huge tax advantages are offered to manufacturers that add low-cost elements, such as boron to materials such as steel. The government of one of the world’s largest alloyed

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steel exporters supports it with a tax reduction of between three and nine percent.

So, while someone else might be getting a tax break, you should be doing incoming inspection on the raw material being received, to ensure you’re not paying the cost. For this application, either a handheld XRF analyser such as the X-MET8000 or handheld laser analyser like the Vulcan, would be appropriate. However, when higher precision and accuracy is needed, our stationary optical emission analysers, such as the OE720 or OE750, would be the best choice to ensure you are getting the best price-quality ratio for your incoming raw materials verification.

4. Rise of the Robots Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are at the heart of a new era in manufacturing - the drive to digitise industry. In many industries, robots and AI already take a crucial and prevalent role – improving accuracy and consistency, shortening throughput and enhancing product quality. The rise of the cobots, 24/7 factory floor and laboratory, and cloud robotics are all trends we’re seeing in metal manufacturing and how things are changing.

We’ve also been increasing our research

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into ways to help you with connectivity and automation to help optimize production. While the robot analyser that walks and talks is some way off, contact us in regards to the devices that can be integrated into your production process right now.

5. Materials and Their Impact on the Environment Phrases like ‘green’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ are all too common nowadays, and our industry has never been more alert to these issues. While recycling scrap metal is a more environmentally friendly practice than extracting, processing and refining raw materials, it’s not without its downfalls.

Even very small amounts of additives or tramp elements, can cause serious issues later down the line and dramatically alter the quality and usability of metal. That’s why in order to create high-quality, reliable products in which the materials behave as expected, it’s crucial to control and measure tramp and trace elements in incoming raw materials - something that is only achievable with the right equipment.

Our latest spark OES analysers, the OE750 and OE720, could be the answer to just that, also ensuring future flexibility as well.

As metals analysis experts, our range of LIBS, OES and XRF means our PMI toolbox of metal composition testing analysers could be just the solution for you.

About Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science The Hitachi High-Tech range of X-ray, laser and optical emission spectrometer analysers provide superior analysis for incoming inspection, factory floor process control and NDT for final inspection to provide you with cutting-edge solutions. Their range includes: XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) is available in both benchtop and handheld formats, is ideal for measuring a wide range of elements and concentrations in many different materials, including metal alloys. XRF technology utilises an X-ray tube to induce a response from the atoms in the tested sample. This technique is ideal when you need low limits of detection for accurate grade separation.

OES (Optical Emission Spectroscopy) is available in mobile and stationary formats. OES can analyse all the key elements at low limits of detection, like phosphorous, sulphur, boron – and carbon, starting with a detection limit of 30ppm. Compared to handheld XRF, the OES technique requires more sample preparation and a small but visible burn spot is left on the surface.

LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) is a fast, handheld format, ideal for the identification of different types of alloys. With a LIBS analyser, there are no X-rays as it uses a focused laser pulse to hit the sample surface, removing a very small amount of material for analysis. This means the LIBS burn mark is so small that it can often be used for finished goods.

100% Positive Material Identification The Hitachi High-Tech range of metals analysers and technologies ensures: • Rapid, reliable material verification, even in the most demanding quality assurance and control applications • Meeting of standards, avoiding potentially devastating results for your customers, your company and even your reputation • Avoidance of costly reworks through incoming inspection of alloy material before the production phase • Avoidance of costly recalls by confirming chemical composition and material verification prior to shipment • Production lines kept running at optimum efficiency • Access to powerful data management and reporting

Read the metal.

Reveal the quality.

Hitachi’s range of materials analyzers support the end-to-end metals production process from incoming inspection to final product assembly and finished goods testing to ensure product reliability, safety and regulatory compliance.

See the full range at: hhtas.net/read-the-metal X-MET8000 - XRF

VULCAN - LIBS

MOBILE AND STATIONARY OES

Complete metals analysis you can count on.

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DECEMBER 2021 | 29

INDUSTRY NEWS

An Innovative Way to Deliver Drugs Using Nanocrystals Shows Potential Benefits Source: Sally Wood Researchers from Monash University have used advanced techniques to investigate the production of new, elongated polymer nanocapsules.

The research, conducted at ANSTO, involved a high payload of drug nanocrystals to potentially increase drug targetability, and decrease dosage frequency and side effects.

the elongated structure could be retained, and also confirms that the loading method to form rod-like drug nanocrystals inside liposomes was a practical solution.

This method has not been previously investigated and represents a breakthrough in the field of colloidal science applications for drug delivery.

The combination of the high drug payload, in the form of encapsulated nanocrystals, and the non-spherical feature of liposomes represents a more efficient delivery system.

Nanoparticles have been used to increase the delivery efficiency of cancer therapy because of their biocompatibility, versatility and the easiness of functionalisation.

Sperical hollow nanocapsules have been studied extensively, but the formation of elongated nanocapsules has previously been largely unsuccessful.

In this project, the research team engineered novel elongated polymer nanocapsules, which are unlike the more well-known spherical nanocapsules.

The researchers used vesicles made of surfactants as templates, which allowed for the polymerisation of a less permeable shell inside these.

The elongated polymer nanocapsules were made with elongated liposomes or surfactant vesicles and used drug nanocrystals as a template.

In this experiment, nanocrystals of the antibiotic drug ciprofloxacin were encapsulated in the elongated nanocapsules.

Yunxin Xiao, a PhD canditate working in the nonlaminar group at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, said these types of studies have been largely unsuccessful.

When the test drug nanocrystals were extracted from the elongated nanocrystals in a dissolution process, the nanocrystal capsules retained their shape.

“There are difficulties in retaining the elongated shape and their encapsulation efficiency is low.”

Researchers believe this opens new possibilities in delivering a range of active pharmaceuticals, such as anticancer drugs.

“The elongated shape is better because it is more difficult for immune cells to internalise them and because their therapeutic efficiency at the target site can be maximised,” she said.

Xiao was the recipient of the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Post Graduate Research Award.

The result in this research provides strong evidence that

Advanced Instruments for Leading Research The researchers used the Bilby instrument to analyse the formation of the polymers on the surface of the elongated liposomal template.

The Bilby is a small-angle neutron scattering instrument. It boasts two sets of detectors installed on two carriages, which can move independently within an 18m-long vacuum vessel.

Researchers also determined the thickness of the elongated polymer layer and found specific parts of the system that were being stretched.

“The approach makes it possible to visualise different parts of the samples independently,” said Xiao.

Unlike directly delivering the liposomes, synthesising a layer of polymer on the surface of the nanocapsules gives the cross-linked polymer the ability to release a drug slowly and safely.

The polymer shell slows down the diffusion of drugs from the nanocarriers, which decreases the side effects and reduces dose frequency.

The use of different instruments also granted researchers with the opportunity to investigate at different length scales.

Elongated nanocapsules can be prepared by polymerisation at the surface of elongated liposome templates with drug nanocrystals.

30 | DECEMBER 2021

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This research was a finalist in ANSTO’s Neutron and Deuteration Impact Awards. It was also recently submitted for publication.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Sandwich-Style Construction: Towards Ultra-Low-Energy Exciton Electronics Source: Sally Wood A new ‘sandwich-style’ fabrication process is placing a semiconductor that is only one atom thin between two mirrors.

This breakthrough research is a significant step towards ultra-low energy electronics based on the light-matter hybrid particle excitonpolaritons.

The Australian National University (ANU) demonstrated robust, dissipationless propagation of an exciton mixed with light bouncing between the high-quality mirrors.

Conventional electronics relies on flowing electrons, or ‘holes.’ A hole is the absence of an electron, or a positivelycharged quasiparticle.

Instead, a major field of future electronics focuses on use of excitons.

In principle, they could flow in a semiconductor without losing energy by forming a collective superfluid state.

Excitons in novel and actively studied atomically-thin semiconductors are stable at room temperature.

As such, atomically-thin semiconductors are a promising class of materials for low-energy applications like novel transistors and sensors.

These semi-conductors boast properties, including the flow of excitons, which are strongly affected by disorder or imperfections and can be introduced during fabrication.

This FLEET team of researchers— alongside colleagues at Swinburne University and Wroclaw University— coupled the excitons in an atomicallythin material to demonstrate their long-range propagation without any dissipation of energy, at room temperature.

When an exciton (matter) binds with a photon (light), it forms a new hybrid particle.

These are known as exciton-polaritons, which occur when trapped light between two parallel high-quality mirrors in an optical microcavity.

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Microcavity Construction Is the Key A high-quality optical microcavity that ensures the longevity of light (photonic) component of exciton-polaritons is the key to these observations.

The study found that exciton-polaritons can be made stable if the microcavity is constructed in a particular way.

“The choice of the atomically-thin material in which the excitons travel is far less important,” said lead author Matthias Wurdack.

“We found that construction of that microcavity was the key. And while we used tungsten sulfide in this particular experiment, we believe any other atomically-thin TMDC material would also work,” he explained.

The research team built the microcavity by stacking all of its components. First, a bottom mirror of the microcavity was fabricated, then a semiconductor layer placed onto it, and then the microcavity was completed by placing another mirror on top.

But the team did not deposit the upper mirror structure directly onto the notoriously fragile atomically-thin semiconductor, which is easily damaged during any material deposition process.

Lead author FLEET PhD student Matthias Wurdack (Credit: Phil Dooley ANU).

Left: Electron-hole pairs in atomically-thin WS2 on a substrate where dielectric disorder is similar size to excitons.

Right: Hybridisation of excitons and photons leads to formation of polaritons in an all-dielectric high-Q optical microcavity, reducing effect of dielectric disorder.

“Instead, we fabricate the entire top structure separately, and then place it on top of the semiconductor mechanically, like making a sandwich,” Wurdack said.

The researchers used this sandwiching method to make the cavity very short, which maximised the exciton-photon interaction.

“We also benefitted from a bit of serendipity. An accident of fabrication that ended up being key to our success,” Wurdack added.

FLEET ANU researchers: from left Research Fellow Dr Eliezer Estrecho, PhD student Matthias Wurdack, PhD student Tinghe Yun (Credit: Phil Dooley ANU).

either up or down the incline.

This ‘accident’ came in the form of an air gap between the two mirrors, which made them not strictly parallel.

The researchers also discovered that a proportion of exciton-polaritons travel with conservation of total energy, both up and down the incline.

This wedge in the microcavity creates a voltage, or potential ‘slope’ for the exciton-polaritons, as the particles move

This means that no energy is lost in heat, which signals ‘ballistic’ or dissipationless transport for polaritons.

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DECEMBER 2021 | 31

INDUSTRY NEWS

Benchtop NMRs – Bringing NMR Spectroscopy within Reach

By Dr Cameron Chai and Peter Airey, AXT PTY LTD NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectrometers have traditionally been huge instruments that require cryogenic cooling. This makes them expensive to acquire and run, requiring specialist technicians and often difficult to access.

In the last six years, benchtop NMR spectrometers have become available. During this time, they have grown rapidly in capability and performance so that they can now perform a significant part of the analytical tasks normally carried out using high field (superconducting) instruments.

What is NMR Spectroscopy?

NMR spectroscopy is an analytical chemistry technique. It is used for determining the composition, purity and molecular structure of a sample. It can be used for quantitative analysis of known mixtures and compounds, as well as identifying unknowns, with or without referencing against spectral libraries.

The peak intensity is proportional to the number of nuclei that are resonating at that frequency.

The Evolution of Benchtop NMRs Traditional NMR spectrometers relied on large superconducting magnets, weighing hundreds of kilograms and requiring cryogenic cooling, to generate large fields.

These massive magnets were seen as necessary, as bigger magnets provided greater resolution.

In the 2000s, advanced in permanent magnet design and technology (samarium-cobalt and neodymium) facilitated the development of benchtop NMRs which can operate at room temperature with no cooling requirements.

Current Benchtop NMRs The X-Pulse by Oxford Instruments is the only broadband instrument allowing the measurement of 1H, 19F, 13C, 31P, 7Li, 29Si, 11B and 23Na on a single probe. It is capable of a wide range of 1D and 2D measurements, for example, experiments as a function of time or temperature and offers amongst the highest resolution (<0.35 Hz / 10Hz) of any benchtop NMR. Its compact size, combined with capabilities and affordability make the instrument and the technology a reality for commercial, industrial and teaching labs.

Applications With the advent of benchtop NMRs, the applicability of the technology has been growing. As a chemical analysis technique, it has found applications both in materials science and other fields for chemical analysis, reaction monitoring, as well as quality control and quality assurance in commercial production environments. Some examples include: Stacked plot of 19F 1D spectra of a sample of Li[PF6] in an organic

Materials Science

Other

Electrolyte from a Li-ion battery acquired over three hours to monitor progression of the decomposition reactions.

• Battery research • Polymers • Textiles • Construction materials • Chemical engineering

• Agriculture and food • Drugs and illicit substances • Pharmaceuticals/ biopharmaceuticals • Geology, mining and minerals • Fuels • Oil and gas

How does NMR work?

When placed inside a powerful magnet, the nuclei of some atoms begin to behave as tiny magnets. When subjected to a broad range of radio waves, the nuclei will resonate with certain frequencies.

When an NMR spectra is examined, the frequency at which the nuclei resonates, or where a peak is centred, provides information about the surroundings of the atom in question, that is, neighbouring atoms and their relative locations.

Atoms in close proximity to one another can also cause each other to resonate. Looking at these cross peaks allows the determination of 3D structures.

32 | DECEMBER 2021

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Summary Benchtop NMR is now a viable alternative to much larger and expensive systems. With the improved affordability, performance, and no requirements for special infrastructure, benchtop NMRs, such as the X-pulse, can be easily located alongside related instrumentation, resulting in improved accessibility and convenience, increasing the appeal and applicability of NMR spectroscopy.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Correlating SEM and AFM In-Situ

By Dr Cameron Chai and Dr. Kamran Khajehpour Correlating datasets from complimentary analytical/ imaging techniques is growing in popularity as the combined datasets result in a deeper understanding of the materials being investigated. Being able to collect these individual datasets in-situ saves time, and eliminates the possibility of changes such as oxidation, as all measurements are taken under the same experimental conditions at the same time.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) are two such complimentary techniques that allow us to probe materials down to the nanoscale.

SEM offers high resolution 2D imaging with rapid sample navigation that can be augmented with chemical analysis using EDS or WDS (Energy Dispersive and Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy). AFM adds atomic resolution imaging capabilities as well as the ability to translate these images into 3D. Through a range of different modes, AFM uniquely affords the user the ability to measure mechanical, magnetic and electrical properties, all of which can be correlated with structural data. Adding all these complimentary datasets makes highly detailed nanostructural studies possible.

Nenovision has made these studies a reality with the

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development of LiteScope, a compact AFM designed for use in your SEM, using a process called Correlative Probe and Electron Microscopy or CPEM. The clever system scans your sample, simultaneously using both techniques, with a known offset between the AFM tip and SEM focal spot. By subtracting this offset from the two datasets, they can be precisely overlaid providing improved insights into the structure and properties of your materials.

LiteScope is compatible with most existing SEMs, and can be easily installed in a matter of minutes. The software allows SEM and AFM channels to be selected, viewed, and recorded at the same time.

CPEM enables sample analysis in a way that was difficult, or impossible, using SEM and AFM modes individually.

By marrying the two techniques resulting in advanced correlative imaging new possibilities become a reality in fields such as materials science, nanotechnology, semiconductors, life sciences and more.

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DECEMBER 2021 | 33

INDUSTRY NEWS

Phenom SEMs Provide Key Insights on Structure and Composition to Advance Battery Manufacturing Source: ATA Scientific Pty Ltd Global energy storage demand has driven a battery power revolution in research and development. Lithiumion batteries (LIB) have progressed in terms of power density, safety, and cycle life, however, advances in manufacturing LIBs wane behind.

The required quality checks, such as the inspection of raw materials, intermediate components and final product, are central to this lag. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is an unrivalled technique for inspecting and analysing nanoscale materials, that could benefit production processes and root cause analysis. SEM can help solve some key issues of battery manufacturing, which may eventually result in increasing battery safety and production efficiency, while lowering the cost and energy consumption.

This process is fast, but importantly, the lithium samples remain protected.

Phenom SEM Reveals Detailed Sample Surface Information

• Three-dimensional structure of electrodes after production processes

An electrodes’ nano-structural shape and orientation is crucial to a battery’s longevity and efficiency. Materials used for cathodes typically look like agglomerates of smaller particles (Image 1) prompting the quest for higher resolution. Phenom SEMs can be used to inspect the morphology and surface topography of the sample with the Everhart-Thornley Secondary Electron Detector (SED).

The accompanying four-quadrant backscattered electron detector (BSD) reveals areas of different compositions by varying contrast. Additionally, elemental identity of these regions can be confirmed using the fully integrated high-throughput energy-dispersive detector (EDS). This trinity of detectors render Phenom SEMs a formidable tool in the hunt for contamination.

Battery insulating membranes are typically non-conductive and electron beam sensitive, promoting the value of the low voltage option (1 to 20kV) and variable vacuum levels of the Phenom Pharos, that help prevent sample damage and reduce charging effects.

• Response of materials to electrical or thermal solicitations

Phenom SEM Detects Sources of Contamination

Simple to Operate and Fast to Learn, the Phenom XL G2 SEM Allows Users to Observe: • Size and granulometry of powders used as raw materials • Size and orientation of pores and fibres in insulating membranes

• Presence of contaminants in the battery sublayers.

The Phenom XL G2 is the only SEM that can be placed within an argon-filled glovebox, allowing users to perform research on air sensitive lithium battery samples.

Air reactivity of LIB materials is a key challenge in analysis, and whilst investigations in Argon can provide an inert environment, an SEM’s high acceleration voltage may cause sparking. The Phenom XL G2 employs technology dedicated to avoiding this issue, offering users a protected environment to characterise air sensitive battery samples. A glovebox is filled with Argon, and via a bypass, air is replaced with Argon to safely transport the samples in preparation for imaging.

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During the production of Li-ion powders, there are several sources of contamination. Calcination which is used to bind Li under high temperature, can introduce Al and Si contamination.

Additives are used to influence the crystalline structure and improve the flexibility, increasing the number of charge cycles and voltage. Coatings are added to improve conductivity and make the powder last longer. Powder transportation and cell manufacturing processes can introduce further contaminants, which can accumulate, grow larger and larger and affect battery efficiency by lowering performance and reducing recharging cycles.

Thankfully, the Phenom SEM comes to the rescue, given contaminants can pierce insulator membranes and cause

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Image1. Raw Powders used in the production of cathodes. SEMs are ideal tools for investigating small particles in the range of micrometres or nanometres.

Image 2: Lithium dendrite observation on cathode. Charging and discharging cycles tend to reduce capacity, and can even break due to Li dendrite formation.

short circuits, thus becoming a fire hazard.

Automated SEM Imaging Combined with EDX Analysis Using Perception Software The Phenom ParticleX SEM advanced software analysis enables key measurements to be automated, providing more accurate results, and saving operators a great deal of time.

Automated SEM plus EDS analysis can be used for monitoring different parts of the production environment.

Contaminants are automatically detected and characterised, with reports showing powder purity and environmental cleanliness level complying with the latest industrial manufacturing standards.

Phenom Desktop SEM can accelerate research and development to help design safer, more powerful and longer lasting batteries. Call us for a demonstration today!

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CALL US NOW FOR A DEMO!

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FASTEST ALL-IN-ONE FEG-SEM FOR SUPERIOR IMAGING OF SENSITIVE SAMPLES Easy-to-use Field Emission Phenom Pharos SEM

PHENOM PHAROS BENEFITS Phenom Pharos G2 Desktop FEG-SEM offers Foormodelperformanceonadesktop microscopewithloadsofaddedbene*tsthat makeitfastandeasytooperate.Fullscreen high quality images are presented in <30 seconds, at 2.0 nanometer (nm) resolution and up to 20 kilovolts (kV). Users can also image soft, beam-sensitive or insulating samples at energy levels as low as 1 kV, without sample coating.

High Resolution imaging at 2nm magnifications of up to 2 million times 1kV: without damage

5kV: damage

Wide Acceleration Voltage of 1-20kV for a greater range of samples

Fastest time to image

FEG-SEM IMAGING Left: pharmaceutical powder, imaged without damage at 1 kV.

of just 30sec for high throughput

Integrated low/medium/high Vacuum modes

Right: the same sample imaged at 5 kV, with damage,

Easy-to-use interface

illustrating the need for low-kV imaging.

on a widescreen, 24-inch monitor

&9&8cienti*c5ty1tdenVuiries%atascienti*c. a acom. www.au atascienti*c.com.au

INDUSTRY NEWS

Advanced Technologies Provide a Point of Difference in Materials Science Source: Sally Wood The ICR. IAS Joint Venture team is committed to innovation and safety, through complex end-to-end solutions across the Australasian region.

ICR. IAS operates its world-class facilities from Perth, with over 80 local employees. Together, the organisation is committed to ongoing maintenance, integrity, corrosion and repair works that meet high customer service standards.

The company has recently become a member of Materials Australia, which opens up a suite of new opportunities to connect with likeminded organisations; professional staff; academics; research scientists; and technical advisors in the materials science space.

Materials Australia’s corporate memberships are designed to benefit organisations that are committed to ongoing professional development in the materials engineering and science space.

It provides a clear and measured pathway to meet future challenges, and grasp a range of opportunities for the future.

A Response-Ready Team with Integrity ICR. IAS staff form a global network who are committed to three core values: integrity, team, and technology.

Together, this ensures a rapid response and high-end results on critical works and other complex scopes.

The ICR. IAS team delivers smarter solutions, which boast innovative design and thinking to overcome any challenges that a client is facing. The team uses an out-of-the-box approach that supports clients to extend their asset lifecycle, reduce operational costs, and minimise production downtime.

The team uses a series of advanced technologies that are internationally recognised to achieve such an impressive feat.

These technologies include the fully accredited composite repair system, Technowrap Structural Rehabilitation System, and the Quickflange technology.

These advanced technologies offer an

36 | DECEMBER 2021

innovative approach to pipe, and flange repair and other complex modifications.

experienced significant section loss because of external corrosion.

In all, these technologies offer cold work solutions, which are a point of difference in the Australasian market.

But the ICR. IAS team was unable to conduct hot works on the circular column, as it was located on an offshore platform.

The team continues to expand and grow, and has ambitious plans to enter the international market.

Finite Element Analysis Modelling The ICR.IAS team delivers a range of comprehensive and detailed solutions to repair complex composites in steel.

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) modelling provides a rapid verification of complex non-standard repairs, which is not matched by other technologies in the sector.

As such, a TechnowrapTM was used to provide structural reinstatement of the column.

The project team used ropes to complete the surface preparation, repair works and final coating. Bristle blasters were used to prepare the surface.

Finally, the through-wall defects were covered with pre-cured sections of TechnowrapTM, and bonded, to serve as a former for the TechnowrapTM SRS.

The FEA is supported by test data and industry third party verification. The team also applies the TechnowrapTM system for complex structures to meet pressure containment and applied load demands.

The project team did not conduct any hot works to complete the repair, and no shut-down periods were required, which maximised platform productivity and service.

The modelling allows ICR.IAS personnel to test and analyse the stress loads in steel and other first layer composites, which support physical test data.

The flexibility of the Technowrap SRS application process allowed the rope accessed repair works to stop and start as required, which was dependent on the weather conditions on the platform.

ICR.IAS’ ongoing innovation ensures that the company remains at the forefront of technological advances in the sector.

Radio Tower Corrosion Repairs In this project, a Radio Tower

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The team’s quality assurance and quality control procedures ensured a complete record of the repair materials, and application processes for future reference.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Ultra-Short or Infinitely Long: It All Looks the Same Source: Sally Wood A new, Swinburne-led study proves that ultrashort pulses of light can be used to drive transitions to new phases of matter.

The research aids the search for future Floquet-based, low-energy electronics.

Ultrashort pulses of light are indistinguishable from continuous illumination, in terms of controlling the electronic states of atomically-thin material tungsten disulfide (WS2).

But there is significant interest in transiently controlling the band-structure of a monolayer semiconductor by using ultra-short pulses of light to create and control exotic new phases of matter.

The ultra-short pulses of light necessary for detecting the formation of Floquet states were shown to be as effective in triggering the state as continuous illumination.

A Continuous Wave or UltrashortPulses: The Problem with Time Floquet physics, which has been used to predict how an insulator can be transformed into a Floquet topological insulator, is predicated on a purely sinusoidal field.

However, only ultrashort pulses offer

sufficient peak intensities to produce a detectable effect.

Dr Stuart Earl from Swinburne University of Technology explained this phenomenon “Ultrashort pulses are about as far as you can possibly get from a monochromatic wave.”

“However, we’ve now shown that even with pulses shorter than 15 optical cycles (34 femtoseconds, or 34 millionths of a billionth of a second), that just doesn’t matter,” he said.

Pump-Probe Spectroscopy of Atomic Monolayer Elicits an Instantaneous Response Dr Earl, alongside a wide collaboration of FLEET researchers subjected a WS2 to light pulses of varying length but the same total energy, which alters the peak intensity in a controlled manner.

WS2 is a transition metal dichalcogenide, which is a family of materials investigated for use in future ‘beyond CMOS’ electronics.

The team used pump-probe spectroscopy to observe a transient shift in the energy of the ‘A’ exciton of WS2 because of the optical stark effect.

“It might sound odd that we can

harness virtual states to manipulate a real transition. But because we used a sub-bandgap pump pulse, no real states were populated,” Dr Earl said.

Professor Jeff Davis, who is also from Swinburne University of Technology, explained how the WS2 responded instantaneously.

“Its response depended linearly on the instantaneous intensity of the pulse, just as if we’d turned on a monochromatic field infinitely slowly, that is, adiabatically.”

“This was an exciting finding for our team. Despite the pulses being extremely short, the states of the system remained coherent,” he explained.

An adiabatic perturbation is introduced relatively slowly. As such, the states of the system have time to adapt, which is a crucial requirement for Floquet topological insulators.

The results provide clear evidence that for these atomic monolayers, ultrashort pulses are compatible with these requirements.

This will enable the team to attribute any evidence of non-adiabatic behaviour to the sample, rather than to their experiment.

Together, these findings allow the FLEET team to explore Floquet-Bloch states in these materials with an above-bandgap pulse.

This is expected to drive the material into the exotic phase, which is known as a Floquet topological insulator.

In all, understanding this process should help researchers and industry representatives to incorporate these materials into a new generation of low-energy, high-bandwidth, and potentially ultrafast, transistors.

Professor Jeff Davis (Swinburne University of Technology) leads Swinburne’s ultrafast spectroscopy lab.

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Systems that exhibit dissipationless transport when driven out of equilibrium are studied within FLEET’s third research theme. Under this research theme, researchers are seeking new, ultra-low energy electronics to address the rising, unsustainable energy consumed by computation.

DECEMBER 2021 | 37

INDUSTRY NEWS

The Advantages of Precise Temperature Control for Block-on-Ring Lubricant Testing Source: Coherent Scientific Pty Ltd A significant number of mechanical components function under lubricated conditions, where the primary role of the lubricant is the reduction of both friction and wear of sliding contacts. Variation of interfacial friction in a wide range of operating conditions affects the behaviour and performance of the lubricant. Hence, it is critical that lubricant and machinery manufacturers understand the oil-surface interaction so that better selection of both lubricants and component materials can be made for different applications.

Bruker’s UMT TriboLab allows the complex interplay of sliding velocity, force and temperature to be easily evaluated. The newly introduced liquid heating chamber stores up to 170 mL of lubricant, and is specially designed to prevent liquid spillage, even during high-speed horizontal axis rotation (≤5000 rpm), on the TriboLab Block-On-Ring Module. Elevated temperature testing is enabled with the chamber’s direct-contact heat transfer between the heater and liquid, via rapid and homogenous heating to the entire lubricant reservoir, from ambient to 150°C. Test sequences including ramp rates, temperatures velocities and many other parameters are easily programmed to simulate different real-world work conditions in material and lubrication testing across a wide range of applied loads. The rate of wear and/or total wear is easily calculated through real-time monitoring and data acquisition of the test specimen dimensional change.

Coefficient of Friction and Lubrication Regimes Frictional characteristics of metal to metal during lubricated sliding contacts are influenced by the asperity height and lubricant film thickness. With a proper tribosystem setup, the contact interface going through the region of asperity contact (boundary), semi fluid-film separation (mixed), as

well as full fluid-film separation (hydrodynamic), can be easily distinguished by plotting the coefficient of friction (COF) against the V/Fz ratio. High friction (COF >0.1) was observed at low V/Fz as the two metal surfaces came into direct contact, and the load is mainly supported by surface asperities.

In boundary-friction-dominated operating conditions, the relationship between the friction coefficient and temperature at the contact surface is important to determine the performance of lubricants, where viscosity of a lubricant changes with temperature. The friction coefficients of Bio-A and Synthetic-B lubricants were observed to increase as the contact temperature increased from 25°C to 120°C. Typically, the rise in friction coefficient is less rapid in the lower temperature range.

At lower temperatures, the lubrication film is thicker due to higher viscosity. Both lubricants were very close in performance, so enhancing the understanding of their small differences made it possible to identify the former as a greener substitute in the pursuit of green tribology and sustainability.

Lubricated Sliding Wear Test The block-on-ring wear test is a common method for assessing the wear behaviour of materials in laboratories due to its feasibility in scientific investigation of wear mechanisms under various conditions. The ASTM G77-17 standard describes the reporting of scar width, scar depth, scar volume, and COF, in the ranking resistance of materials to sliding wear using block-on-ring wear tests. The UMT TriboLab provides real-time monitoring of in-situ scar depth measurements and COF that provides better understanding to the mechanisms of wear formation during sliding wear tests. This study found the Bio-A and Synthetic-B lubricants were very close in performance, across the tested temperatures.

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INDUSTRY NEWS Conclusions

References

The Stribeck curve generation that is done using unidirectional testing has been demonstrated as a reliable method for lubricant evaluation due to its clearer discrimination of boundary, mixed, and hydrodynamic lubrication regimes. The benchtop UMT TriboLab equipped with a liquid heating chamber and block-on-ring module provides unprecedented flexibility that allows researchers to perform multiple measurements at different conditions, which is essential in understanding key performance differences of lubricants at different regimes.

This modular design of TriboLab enables lubricants and materials testing, at a horizontal axis rotation, that is ideal for a wide range of test methods including, ASTM G77, ASTM D2509, ASTM D2714, ASTM D2782, AST D3704 and other testing standards.

1. Earle, J. and S. Kuiry, “Characterisation of Lubricants for Research and Development, Quality Control and Application Engineering” Bruker Application Note #1000 (2012) 2. Shaffer, S., “Generating a Stribeck Curve in a Reciprocating Test (HFRR/ SRV-type test),” Bruker Application Note #1004 (2014) 3. ÄSTM G77-17, Standard Test Method for Ranking Resistance of Materials to Sliding Wear Using Block-on-Ring Wear Test, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, (2017).

Author Damien Yiyuan Khoo, Senior Applications Scientist, Bruker NanoSurfaces and Metrology Division damien.khoo@bruker.com Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology Division, San Jose, CA, USA Ph: +1 866 262 4040 productinfo@bruker.com www.bruker.com/tribolab

Smart, Flexible, Powerful Automatic transition from optical image to scanning electron microscope (SEM) image Real time display of elemental composition during image observation Advanced auto functions provide clean images from low to high magnification Low vacuum (LV) mode for imaging non-conductive specimens, without pre-treatment High vacuum (HV) mode enables observation of detailed morphology 3D reconstruction (Live 3D) during image observation SMILE VIEW Lab links optical and SEM images, EDS data and locations for data review and reporting

m mode

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Ph: (08) 8150 5254 / Mob: (0488) 177 540 jeshua.graham@coherent.com.au www.coherent.com.au

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DECEMBER 2021 | 39

UNIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT

Charles Darwin University Source: Sally Wood Charles Darwin University is a multisector university providing a globally recognised education to 21,000 students. With eight campuses and centres in a diverse range of locations – from Alice Springs to Sydney – this Northern Territory based university offers a unique experience for researchers and students.

Charles Darwin University (CDU) is ranked one of the top 100 universities in the Asia Pacific region. Recognised worldwide for its outstanding commitment to research, CDU is also a global leader in their work towards the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for Quality Education. The ranking has been welcomed by the educators of CDU, who work hard to ensure a wellrounded and excellent education for their students.

“The result reflects CDU’s commitment to teaching, learning and research which is critical to positively impacting our region, our nation and the world,” Charles Darwin University ViceChancellor Professor Scott Bowman AO said.

As a cross-sectoral institution, CDU assists students from around Australia

and the world to become ‘futureready’ workers. Students develop the knowledge, skills and resilience to meet the challenges of an everchanging world and become lifelong learners who are equipped to find success in any sector.

The culture of CDU is deeply committed to sustainability, social justice, and collectively held values.

The University deeply respects the history and culture of Indigenous Australians, central to the Northern Territory locations of the campuses.

CDU’s vision is to bring people together to collectively strive for excellence, integrity, accountability and equality of opportunity for all.

Materials and Engineering Named after one of the great observers and researchers of history, Charles Darwin University encourages curiosity, creativity, and the constant pursuit of knowledge.

CDU is a leader in research and innovation, making significant advances in materials, manufacturing and engineering. Through collaboration with industry, CDU students are given the opportunity to gain real world experience and work

with leaders within the sector.

The College of Engineering, IT and Environment provides students and researchers with state-of-theart technology and an inspiring learning environment. The College delivers creative and flexible teaching programs and research excellence in the areas of environment and livelihoods, energy and renewables, materials and resources.

“The staff of the College are renowned, both for the new knowledge they have created and for their ability to pass on this knowledge,” said Professor David Young, Dean of the College of Engineering, IT and Environment.

“Our courses are accredited by their professions and you will be expertly trained as an engineer, IT professional or environmental scientist with qualifications recognised world-wide.

Our graduates have attained success in their careers, and we look forward to seeing you also contribute to the world of the future.”

Part of the College, the Energy and Resources Institute (ERI) provides high-quality research and consultancy for all aspects of energy and resources, including engineering, scientific, economic, environmental, social, community, legal, policy and digital considerations. With a scope ranging from renewables to corrosion engineering, the Institute considers: • Fossil-based and renewable energy • Mineral resources • Digitisation of energy and resources • Energy materials • Process safety, including fire and explosion safety • Environment protection and social mandate to operate.

Charles Darwin University Engineering Pavilion. Image courtesy of Charles Darwin University.

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CDU partners with the Northern Territory Government to promote the renewable-energy sector and provide leadership on the deployment of renewable energy and low emissions and energy-efficient technologies.

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UNIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT

Project Spotlight: Renewable Energy Charles Darwin University has long been a leader in the renewable energy space. In December 2020, CDU took over a facility that will enable industry and government to continue to ensure the reliable flow of energy throughout the vast expanse of the Northern Territory, and to further integrate renewable and conventional energy.

CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Maddocks said the institute was formed through a merger of the North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas (NACOG) and the Centre of Renewable Energy (CRE), and the microgrid facility would provide the critical infrastructure to support research and training into the future.

conversion of waste-to-energy, effective maintenance of solar PV systems and efficient hybrid renewable energy systems.

Advanced Manufacturing Alliance CDU has partnered with SPEE3D to form the Advanced Manufacturing Alliance, a joint initiative that utilises a world-first 3D metal printing technology.

The Alliance aims to engage with industry partners, trades and academics.

SPEE3D printers are the world’s first metal 3D printing production cell, enabling the most affordable metal additive manufacturing process in the world. They make metal parts the fastest way possible, leveraging metal cold spray technology to

produce industrial quality metal parts in just minutes, rather than days or weeks. The process harnesses the power of kinetic energy, rather than relying on high-power lasers and expensive gasses. It allows the flexibility of metal 3D printing at normal production costs.

There is a myriad of possibilities for the Advanced Manufacturing Alliance. The Alliance has scope for: • Digital inventory • Mouldless foundry • Just-in-time spares • Short manufacturing runs • Legacy replacement parts • Metal forming makerspace • New material properties • New alloys and composites

“The research at the ERI using the facility will be highly relevant not only to the NT, particularly remote areas where there are multiple energy inputs, but also for other parts of Australia and the world,” Professor Maddocks said.

Professor Maddocks added that Hitachi ABB Power Grids had generously donated the facility located at the Smart Energy Hub, in the East Arm industrial precinct.

“The capabilities of this testing facility are unique and will assist CDU to address the challenges that come with incorporating multiple forms of renewable generation needed to support a carbon neutral energy future.

Grids that are flexible, stronger, smarter and greener will create social, environmental and economic value for future generations,” said Bernard Norton, Managing Director – Australia at Hitachi ABB Power Grids.

ERI Director, Professor Suresh Thennadil, said there were various configurations of renewable and conventional energy that had to be achieved to maintain reliable energy flow.

“The major challenge in achieving a high proportion of renewable energy (especially solar PV) in power grids is the instability and unreliability of the grid due to the intermittent and hard-to-predict nature of the renewable sources,” Professor Thennadil said.

“In order to achieve the 50 per cent Northern Territory Government target and further to net zero emissions, it is essential to develop innovative methods that can deliver safe and stable operation of high-penetration renewable energy grids. Using this facility, we can conduct scenario testing of an energy system from anywhere in the world.”

CDU is also exploring opportunities to use the testing facility as a training tool for engineers and operators of Remote Area Power Systems.

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BREAKING NEWS Sustainable Solution to The Mining Industry's ‘Red Mud’ Waste Enters Final Stage of Testing Technology that could rehabilitate mine waste back to useful soil is entering full-scale trials at two Queensland refineries.

Researchers at The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute recently developed the bio-engineering technology in partnership with Rio Tinto and Queensland Alumina Limited.

Professor Longbin Huang said the process will transform the bauxite residue, known as ‘red mud’, into a soil-like material capable of hosting plant life. “The team has secured more than $3 million in funding from Rio Tinto and QAL that will allow us to trial the technology at an operational scale at two red mud sites. This project demonstrates how transformative industry-academia partnerships can,” Professor Huang said.

There are more than four billion tonnes of red mud stored in dams around the world. Australia is the second largest producer of the mineral waste by-product of alumina refining.

“The salinity and alkalinity associated with the minerals in red mud means rehabilitation can be challenging,” Professor Huang said.

The process eco-engineers the mineral and organic constituents into material that is more hospitable to plant life.

Trent Scherer, who is the Environment and Tailings Manager at Queensland Alumina Limited, is excited to see the project moving to a full-scale trial.

“After years of watching various trials unfold within our daily work environment, to now be able to see the tangible outcomes of UQ’s work has been encouraging. QAL is committed to minimising our environmental footprint through our $440 million 5-Year Environmental Strategy, and the funding and resources provided to this project are further steps in that journey,” said Scherer.

RMIT University is a world leader in the development of advanced manufacturing technologies for aerospace and other industries.

Image courtesy of RMIT University.

Boeing and RMIT Partner to Build Space Manufacturing Capability Australia’s space research will take a giant leap forward at RMIT University’s world-leading advanced manufacturing hub.

A recent partnership between RMIT and Boeing will focus on product design strategy, materials research and process innovation.

The collaboration will harness global networks and expertise to develop local solutions for the manufacturing of space equipment.

RMIT’s Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Professor Calum Drummond AO, said the research and development will be undertaken at RMIT’s Space Industry Hub. “Our ultimate goal is to maximise opportunities for commercialisation of the products that we co-develop with Boeing,” Professor Drummond said.

The hub is a launchpad that is dedicated to industrial solutions for Australia’s growing space sector.

“This is a pioneering project which provides a tangible pathway for Australian businesses to upskill, innovate and export globally as manufacturers of products for space applications.”

“Leveraging Boeing and RMIT’s joint expertise and facilities, we believe we can unlock boundless future opportunities for Australian industry,” Professor Drummond said.

Paul Watson is the Director of Aerospace Engineering and Production at Boeing Defence Australia. He said Australia’s space sector requires the production of complex, low volume, and bespoke components that are not suited to conventional manufacturing techniques.

Revegetation underway at a red mud site near Gladstone. Image courtesy of the University of Queensland.

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“This partnership will develop new knowledge in advanced manufacturing technologies, which will not only stimulate the development of a local fabrication capability, but will also expose Australian industry to space export markets as part of Boeing’s global supply chain,” he said.

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BREAKING NEWS New Manufacturing Facility Takes Victorian Bioengineering Expertise to The World Australia’s first facility with bioengineering expertise and technology to create medical devices for clinical trials was recently opened. The manufacturing facility, NeoBionica, marks the beginning of a new era in medical device development capability in Victoria.

The Bionics Institute and the University of Melbourne are collaborating to bring the state-of-the-art laboratory to life at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne.

Bionics Institute CEO, Robert Klupacs, said Neo-Bionica will significantly enhance the time it takes to develop and trial a medical device, which means earlier benefits to patients of the technology.

Lead author Dr Chi Xuan Trang (FLEET/Monash) is an expert in molecular beam epitaxy growth (MBE) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) of topological materials.

Electrons On the Edge: The Story of An Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Insulator An intrinsic magnetic topological insulator has been discovered with a large band gap.

The breakthrough research makes ‘MnBi2Te4’ a promising material platform for fabricating ultra-low-energy electronics, and observing exotic topological phenomena.

The material hosts both magnetism and topology, and is ultra-thin. It was found to have a large band-gap in a Quantum Anomalous Hall (QAH) insulating state.

The almost-zero resistance along the 1D edges of a QAH insulator, make it promising for lossless transport applications and ultra-low energy devices. Magnetism that is introduced in topological-insulator materials breaks timereversal symmetry in the material, and leads to a gap in the surface state of the topological insulator.

“Bionics Institute researchers have discovered that vagus nerve stimulation can be used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. However, to create a prototype device for use in future clinical trials, we had to contract a company in America, resulting in an 18-month delay.” said Klupacs.

Mr Klupacs said a medical device, which was invented by Bionics Institute researchers and collaborators, stimulates the vagus nerve, and connects the brain to the gut with branches to several major organs.

“Neo-Bionica has the latest cleanroom technology needed to create implants for human trials, as well as the latest engineering equipment, 3D printers and, most importantly, the combined expertise of our highly-trained engineers, scientists and clinicians,” he explained.

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Maskell, said he is delighted to see Neo-Bionica become a reality. “I look forward to taking Victorian bioengineering expertise to the world as we continue to build our global reputation as a powerhouse in this extremely important field.”

Several devices are currently under development at the Bionics Institute, and will be prototyped in Neo-Bionica.

“Although we cannot directly observe the QAH effect using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we can use this technique to probe the size of a band-gap opening on the surface of MnBi2Te4 and how it evolves with temperature,” said Dr Trang, who is a Research Fellow at FLEET. In an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator, such as MnBi2Te4, there is a critical magnetic ordering temperature.

In this process, the material is predicted to undergo a topological phase transition from QAH insulator to a paramagnetic topological insulator. FLEET PhD student Qule Li, is a co-lead author on the study, and explained the benefits of an angle resolved photoemission technique.

“We could measure the band gap in MnBi2Te4, opening and closing to confirm the topological phase transition and magnetic nature of the bandgap.”

Together, FLEET researchers used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations to study the electronic state and band structure of MnBi2Te4.

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The opening of Neo-Bionica sees a new era in medical device development. Image: Alchemy Construction. Image courtesy of the University of Melbourne.

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DECEMBER 2021 | 43

BREAKING NEWS University Spin-Out Gelion to Make Next-Gen Batteries in Sydney

Discovery Paves Way for Improved Quantum Devices Physicists and engineers recently discovered a method to identify and address imperfections in materials for one of the most promising technologies in commercial quantum computing.

Researchers at the University of Queensland developed treatments and optimised fabrication protocols for building superconducting circuits on silicon chips.

Dr Peter Jacobson, who co-led the research, said the team had identified that imperfections during the fabrication process, reduced the effectiveness of the circuits. “Superconducting quantum circuits are attracting interest from industry giants such as Google and IBM, but widespread application is hindered by ‘decoherence,’ a phenomenon which causes information to be lost,” he said.

Inside the Gelion lab. Image courtesy of the University of Sydney.

“Decoherence is primarily due to interactions between the superconducting circuit and the silicon chip—a physics problem—and to material imperfections introduced during fabrication—an engineering problem. So we needed input from physicists and engineers to find a solution,” said Dr Jacobson.

Global renewable-energy storage company, Gelion, recently joined forces with Battery Energy Power Solutions to make and distribute the Gelion Endure zinc-bromide battery for the Australian market.

The team used a method called terahertz scanning near-field optical microscopy—an atomic force microscope combined with a THz light source and detector. This provided a combination of high spatial resolution—seeing down to the size of viruses—and local spectroscopic measurements.

The batteries were invented by Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, and will be produced at Battery Energy’s Fairfield factory in Western Sydney.

Professor Aleksandar Rakić said the technique enabled probing at the nanoscale rather than the macroscale by focusing light onto a metallic tip.

“There is a revolution coming in energy production and distribution worldwide,” said Professor Maschmeyer.

“This provides new access for us to understand where imperfections are located so we can reduce decoherence and help reduce losses in superconducting quantum devices. We found that commonly used fabrication recipes unintentionally introduce imperfections into the silicon chips, which contribute to decoherence,” said Professor Rakić.

Professor Maschmeyer has a wide range of expertise in turning foundational science into a commercial reality. He is the incumbent holder of the Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation and a member of the Sydney Nano and the School of Chemistry. The research team reimagined zincbromide chemistry to produce a revolutionary new battery, and replace a flowing electrolyte with a stable gel.

“Across the globe, governments and companies are setting ambitious net-zero-carbon emission targets. To achieve these goals, renewable energy will need to be stored everywhere—and that means batteries,” said Professor Maschmeyer.

“Gelion batteries are safe, robust and recyclable. For stationary energy storage, zinc-bromide batteries do away with the need for expensive cooling and maintenance systems. And they can’t catch fire,” he said.

The battery operates at temperatures of up to 50 degrees and can be completely discharged of energy with no loss of function.

The battery was recently tested by heating it on a barbeque plate at about 700 degrees for half an hour.

“In the coming months, we will be focused on demonstrating our next-generation battery systems in-field in Australia, commencing later this year,” said Professor Maschmeyer.

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Crystal structure and initial characterisation of F5GT.

A SP-FET transistor, with F5GT flake on a solid proton conductor (SPC) – scale = 10µm.

Schematic of a superconducting circuit (thin black lines) on a silicon chip (yellow base), being imaged using terahertz scanning near-field microscopy (red beam focused into yellow tip). Image courtesy of the University of Queensland.

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BREAKING NEWS ANU Scientists Set New Record with Bifacial Solar Cells

New Sulphur Chemistry Possible Key to Greener Batteries Researchers at the University of Adelaide are developing the next generation of batteries using innovative sulphur chemistry, which will reduce their environmental impact.

The research team has conducted innovative work on sulphur oxidation processes.

Professor Shizhang Qiao, who is the Director at the Centre for Materials in Energy and Catalysis, said the research is a breakthrough. “[It] is pushing the boundaries of the design of the next generation of batteries. Sulphur is an important electrode material in metal—sulphur batteries due to its abundance on Earth and its chemical properties, which may improve the capacity of batteries.”

ANU researchers (L to R): Marco Ernst, Wensheng Liang and Kean Fong.

Image courtesy of Eric Byler and The Australian National University.

Scientists at The Australian National University recently produced a more efficient type of solar cell that uses laser processing.

The solar cells are dual sided, which means that both the front and back of the cell generate power.

Dr Kean Chern Fong said the bifacial solar cells beat the performance of single sided silicon solar cells. "We have developed what I would call a true bifacial solar cell, as it has nearly symmetrical power generation capacity on both surfaces of the device.”

"When deployed on a conventional solar farm, a bifacial cell absorbs direct incoming light, while also taking advantage of ground reflection, which can contribute up to an additional 30 per cent power generation,” Dr Fong said.

“Sulphur could provide the key to improving the energy capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteries,” said Professor Qiao.

The research team has demonstrated the reversible electrochemical oxidation of a sulphur cathode, and has applied this new process into aluminium–sulphur batteries.

“We have achieved the highest voltage output of an aluminium–sulphur battery: approximately 1.8 volts of steady power output which is significantly greater than present technology which can only achieve approximately 0.6 volts output,” said Professor Qiao.

“Aluminium-sulphur batteries cost much less than current commercial lithium-ion batteries as the materials used in them are low-cost and environmentally friendly chemicals.”

Advances in this type of chemical technology are reducing the environmental impact of batteries.

Bifacial solar cells are a valuable tool used in solar farms.

The solar cells are expected to have a market share of over 50 per cent in the next five years.

But the demand for the chemicals that they contain, like lithium, is having a severe impact on places where it is mined.

"Our work demonstrates the incredible capabilities of this technology,” Dr Fong said.

“Our research provides valuable inspiration for the design of other metal-sulphur batteries, not just ones that use aluminium-sulphur technology,” Professor Qiao concluded.

The research team used specific laser doping technology to fabricate the cells. This technique is a low-cost, industry-compatible process for boosting solar cell efficiency.

Researchers were able to achieve a front conversion efficiency of 24.3 per cent and a rear conversion efficiency of 23.4 per cent.

This performance represents an effective power output of 29 per cent, which exceeds the performance of the best single-sided silicon solar cell.

This research was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics.

Scientists at The Australian National University recently produced a more efficient type of solar cell.

Image courtesy of Eric Byler and The Australian National University.

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BREAKING NEWS Star Attraction: Magnetism Generated In 2D Organic Material by Star-Like Arrangement of Molecules

Next Gen 3D Printed Catalysts to Propel Hypersonic Flight

A recent study shows the emergence of magnetism in a 2D organic material due to strong electron-electron interactions.

These interactions are the direct consequence of the material’s unique, star-like atomic-scale structure. This is the first observation of local magnetic moments emerging from interactions between electrons in an atomically thin 2D organic material.

The findings have potential for applications in nextgeneration electronics based on organic nanomaterials, where tuning of interactions between electrons can lead to a vast range of electronic and magnetic phases and properties.

This Monash University-led study investigated a 2D metalorganic nanomaterial composed of organic molecules arranged in a kagome geometry, which follows a ‘star-like’ pattern.

The 2D metal-organic nanomaterial consists of dicyanoanthracene molecules, which are coordinated with copper atoms on a weakly-interacting metal surface. The researchers found that the 2D metal-organic structure— whose molecular and atomic building blocks are by themselves non-magnetic—hosts magnetic moments confined at specific locations.

Theoretical calculations showed this emergent magnetism is a result of the strong electron-electron Coulomb repulsion given by the specific 2D kagome geometry.

Associate Professor Agustin Schiffrin said this is a breakthrough development. “We think that this can be important for the development of future electronics and spintronics technologies based on organic materials, where tuning of interactions between electrons can lead to control over a wide range of electronic and magnetic properties.”

This research and experiments were performed at Monash University, and supported through the Australian Research Council.

Developed as part of NASA’s Hyper-X program, the X-43A hypersonic research vehicle made aviation history in 2004, reaching speeds above Mach 9.6 or over 10,000km/h. Image courtesy of NASA and RMIT University.

RMIT University researchers have developed highly versatile catalysts that are cost-effective to make and simple to scale.

The ultra-efficient 3D printed catalysts could help solve the challenge of overheating in hypersonic aircraft, and offer a revolutionary solution to thermal management across countless industries. Lab demonstrations show the 3D printed catalysts could be used to power hypersonic flight while simultaneously cooling the system.

Lead researcher, Dr Selvakannan Periasamy, said the work tackles a major challenge in the development of hypersonic aircraft: controlling the incredible heat that builds up when planes fly at more than five times the speed of sound.

“Our lab tests show the 3D printed catalysts we’ve developed have great promise for fuelling the future of hypersonic flight,” Dr Periasamy said. “Powerful and efficient, they offer an exciting potential solution for thermal management in aviation—and beyond.”

“With further development, we hope this new generation of ultra-efficient 3D printed catalysts could be used to transform any industrial process where overheating is an ever-present challenge, Dr Periasamy explained.

In theory, a hypersonic aircraft could travel from London to Sydney in four hours, but many challenges remain in the development of hypersonic air travel, like extreme heat levels.

The star-like ‘kagome’ molecular structure of the 2D metal-organic material results in strong electronic interactions and non-trivial magnetic properties (left: STM image, right: non-contact AFM).

But PhD researcher, Roxanne Hubesch, explained that using fuel as a coolant was one of the most promising experimental approaches to the overheating problem.

“Fuels that can absorb heat while powering an aircraft are a key focus for scientists, but this idea relies on heat-consuming chemical reactions that need highly efficient catalysts,” Hubesch said.

A range of experimental designs for the 3D printed catalysts.

Image courtesy of RMIT University.

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BREAKING NEWS

Australian Start-Up Additive Assurance Goes Global

CSIRO Report Reveals Potential of Synthetic Biology Ecosystem

Additive Assurance, an Australian start-up providing world-leading quality assurance solutions for additive manufacturing, today announced a partnership with global car manufacturer Volkswagen.

Spun out of Monash University and backed by IP Group, Additive Assurance has developed an innovative technology solution, AMiRIS™, for quality assurance in metal additive manufacturing (3D Printing).

Able to detect, notify and correct variations in the 3D printing build process, AMiRIS™ offers a unique solution to inconsistent production quality, a huge problem faced by the industry.

Additive Assurance has signed a partnership with Volkswagen to develop a manufacturing system to suit the global car manufacturer’s production printers.

Additive Manufacturing will allow Volkswagen to develop and produce car components and prototypes faster, with greater flexibility and using fewer resources.

Volkswagen will use Additive Assurance’s innovative AMiRIS™ solution to verify the quality of each individual part that is printing, ensuring exact replicas are produced.

Commenting on the partnership, Additive Assurance CoFounder, Marten Jurg, said: “Metal additive manufacturing is taking the world by storm, but quality is still not at the level it needs to be for important applications. We see a huge opportunity for Additive Manufacturing and are thrilled to be working with a leading company like Volkswagen to transform how they develop their products.”

Oliver Pohl, who leads the Additive Manufacturing division at Volkswagen commented: “Volkswagen is actively integrating additive manufacturing in their workflow and by adopting the pioneering solution for quality assurance from Additive Assurance, we will be able to further push the boundaries towards serial production using additive manufacturing”.

AMiRIS™ combines hardware that observes each layer during printing and cloud-based machine learning software to generate a real time map of defects. The solution then analyses and feeds this information directly back to the operators.

Volkswagen will install the AMiRIS™ unit on their Additive Manufacturing printer at the car maker’s 3D printing facility in Wolfsburg, Germany.

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A new report from CSIRO says Australia could develop an industry worth up to $27 billion a year and create 44,000 jobs by 2040 by building its synthetic biology ecosystem.

Synthetic biology is a rapidly growing field that applies engineering principles and genetic technologies to biology, drawing on biology, engineering, and computer science, as well as many other fields.

According to the new report, A National Synthetic Biology Roadmap: Identifying commercial and economic opportunities for Australia, the two biggest areas to benefit from synthetic biology are the food and agriculture (up to $19 billion) and health and medicine sectors (up to $7 billion).

CSIRO says it is focused on developing capacity in synthetic biology including through a new BioFoundry facility in Queensland that provides a bioengineering capability to the research and development community to rapidly design, build and test new biotechnologies.

Australia has invested at least $80 million in developing synthetic biology research capabilities in recent years.

Professor Claudia Vickers, synthetic biology director at CSIRO, said the scientific impact was encouraging and with sustained investment can deliver increased impact and economic benefit.

“Synthetic biology can help overcome a range of global challenges, particularly in agriculture and health. It can also enable Australia to transform its economy by creating new, more sustainable industries and generating jobs,” said Professor Vickers.

“Bringing technology, the research community and other stakeholders together to enable start-ups, private investment and growth of market share will be essential to achieve the vision outlined in the Roadmap.”

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

Securing Australia’s Future: Materials Science and Engineering in the Defence Industry For the Australian Department of Defence, there is no greater priority than protecting the thousands of service men and women, and everyday Australians, who may be in harm’s way.

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

For the Australian Department of Defence, there is no greater priority than protecting the thousands of service men and women, and everyday Australians, who may be in harm’s way.

on the move for more efficient, safer, stronger, and sustainable materials that can provide a point of difference, enhanced security, and longevity for Australia’s defence personnel.

The Department seeks to defend Australia’s sovereignty, national interests and promote stability in the world.

ING Bank believes that advanced manufacturing could increase the production of locally manufactured goods and decrease global trade by 40 per cent in the years leading up to 2040.

But an unprecedented level of complex geopolitical challenges is keeping the nation’s leaders on their toes when it comes to future policy and strategy. It is also prompting the Department to rethink traditional practices and fill any existing gaps in technologies or equipment for increased safety and security.

As such, materials science plays a critical role in bridging this gap.

Materials development and engineering supports the defence sector to meet safer, efficient, and sustainable practices in the air, land, and sea.

In fact, new and advanced materials are being discovered and developed at an extraordinarily rapid pace, which has not been matched throughout history.

This provides enhanced opportunities to meet any strategic or geopolitical challenges.

Materials scientists believe that the next 20 to 30 years will see advanced metals and composites with greater usage in strong, lightweight structures— opening a suite of new opportunities for Australia’s defence sector.

Meanwhile, the sector has identified several priority areas for future research and development, including: • Nanomaterials • Metamaterials •M aterials for energy storage and generation • Multi-functional materials These areas are backed by the Federal Government’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing report, which outlines the implications for Australia’s defence sector to 2040 and beyond.

The report examines the ‘materials paradigm’, which considers the factors that allow materials to perform in specific ways. These include, but are not limited to: composition; processing; microstructure; properties; and performance.

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But these advances in defence science and technology are not possible without strong partnerships between stakeholders, industry professionals, research institutions and an international conglomerate of agencies.

Together, these stakeholders cast their eyes and thinking towards emerging threats, and investments in modern technologies powered by materials. In practice, these collaborations and partnerships can create game changing opportunities for Australia’s defence sector.

Australian Government Linking Research with Practice The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is Australia’s lead agency for linking science and technology to safeguard Australia’s future. The Department operates several research facilities across every Australian state and territory.

The Department brings together engineers, researchers, scientists, and practitioners to deliver tailored advice and innovative solutions towards defence and national security.

Around 2,300 staff are employed by DST, who are bound by core values including: operations; sustainment; future proofing; strategic research; advice to government; partnerships and outreach.

DST has several capability areas that are heavily impacted by advanced materials and manufacturing, including: 1. E xtreme environments: which refers to the capacity for people and vehicles to operate in a range of extreme conditions—from the depths of the sea to the bounds of space.

Scientists and researchers are always

2. Uninhabited aerial vehicles: which can maintain a hidden surveillance of a suspected target or threat. Their speed and distance are essential for DST’s intelligence gathering and national security.

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

3. P ower and energy storage: which analyses automated devices and ‘wireless’ sensors that may be used in the context of national security without interference.

4. Survivability: this focuses on equipment that can withstand long-term damage from the environment or intentional impacts.

This can be overcome by developing equipment that avoids detection, or is more durable.

5. S ensor systems: which refers to sensing systems that can detect objects. This is entirely dependent on materials and manufacturing techniques to increase the detection performance of these systems.

These advances rely on materials development and technology, which has been crucial for the defence sector and human civilisation for centuries.

Since the Bronze Age— where copper and bronze were the primary materials used in weapons development— which occurred around 5,000 years ago; to the modern-day processes of manufacturing iron and steel, humans have grasped technology, research, and materials to shape the world.

DST is underpinned by the More, together: Defence Science and Technology Strategy 2030, which builds on Australia’s strategic advantages to position defence as a pivotal part of the nation’s security.

The plan outlines DST’s commitment to advising the Federal Government and remaining a collaborative partner and an innovation integrator in the Australian policy landscape.

To meet these targets, DST has a range of partner facilities and collaborations, which streamline the use and development of materials science in defence.

For example, the HA Wills Structures and Materials Test Centre is an internationally recognised facility for materials testing. This state-of-the-art facility is crucial for fatigue testing structures like small coupons and aircraft components, or placing actual airframe structures in large purposebuilt rigs.

Researchers and engineers understand the types of loads that are equated to flying hours. This means that when cracks appear in the test, they can estimate a time at which 50 | DECEMBER 2021

HA Wills Structures and Materials Test Centre. Image courtesy of Australia Government Department of Defence.

cracking may occur within the fleet.

As such, the centre has delivered cost savings of around $400 million to the Department of Defence in relation to the Royal Australian Airforce’s (RAAF) FA-18 Hornet fleet. Through research and development, this work discovered that the aircraft could be safely flown without a major replacement of its central structure for the remainder of its planned life with the RAAF.

Amaero and Monash University’s strong partnership signifies a new era of materials science—where research is conducted and then put into practice. Monash University’s worldclass researchers and facilities open a new range of possibilities for the Amaero team, including 3D printing technology for the defence sector.

The Amaero 3D printing technology provides enhanced manufacturing capabilities, including: • On-demand replacement of existing apparatus

The facility is also home to static fracture, composite, and corrosion tests that can be applied to a wide range of materials.

• Better speed and reliability

This grants the Department of Defence with a wide range of life expectancy data and information about different components in service, and the number of hours aircraft can be flown before future work or retirement is necessary.

• Reduced manufacturing times and productivity

Hitting the Mark with Global Partnerships at Amaero Amaero has a simple mission: solving complex problems for their customers.

Since it was founded in 2013, Amaero has partnered with Monash University to commercialise additive manufacturing of metals and alloys technology.

Together, the partnership services the aviation, defence, tooling, and automotive sectors.

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• Increased quality assurance • Rapid prototyping opportunities

• Heavy-duty components with increased life • Reduced costs These developments offer superior durability and performance, which are critical to the defence sector.

Amaero also has a facility in Los Angeles, which links the company with some of the world’s leaders in the defence, aerospace and industrial sectors.

Barrie Finnin, who is the Chief Executive Officer at Amaero, said the international possibilities are endless for his company. “Amaero’s presence in North America enables it to exploit its WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

Amaero’s 3D printed jet engine.

capabilities with direct line of sight to its defence and aerospace customers, as well as on-shoring tooling manufacturing,” he said.

The company is capitalising on the additive manufacturing market, which is expected to grow to $34.4 billion by 2025.

“I am confident that Amaero will more than play its part,” said David Hanna, who is the Chair of Amaero.

“The use of metal 3D printing is growing rapidly in the aerospace, defence, and industrial sectors with manufacturers competing to secure the latest technology to improve their product capabilities,” he explained.

End-User Driven Research at CSIRO It is essential that Australian soldiers wear clothing and equipment that provides a high level of protection from direct and indirect chemicals.

These chemicals may be biological or radioactive in nature. As such, soldiers must have access to highly specialised protective gas masks, or respirators for premium safety.

Together with the Department of Defence, Australia’s leading science agency, the CSIRO, has developed the most capable respirator canister in the world. The canister aids all defence personnel by reducing the risk of exposure to toxic industrial chemicals, and hence, casualties.

The materials are made from metal organic frameworks, which are made of joined metals by organic linkers.

Royal Military College staff cadets in Nuclear Biological and Chemical (NBC) suits during a patrol as part of Exercise Shaggy Ridge in the Wide Bay training area, Queensland. Image courtesy of Corporal Bernard Pearson and CSIRO.

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The CSIRO team has been investigating these frameworks for over a decade.

The project has shown that these smart materials have a variety of applications—from carbon capture, batteries, gas storage, and even pharmaceuticals. The smart materials are filled with molecular-sized holes that can absorb, separate, store or protect chemicals. Once these frameworks are incorporated into respirator filters, they absorb toxic chemicals.

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$349,946. The research project will power the use of advanced materials in armour—a pivotal component for military personnel in the defence sector.

“Our aim is to give the men and women of both defence forces a competitive advantage, and this program will be a further important step in achieving that aim,” Minister Price said.

The breakthrough is already being used by Australian Defence Force practitioners under a $2.9 million deal to keep Australia’s soldiers, sailors, and air personnel safe.

The CSIRO has a strategic relationship with the Department of Defence, which is designed to advance research for greater use in the defence sector, and civilian life. It covers advanced materials, manufacturing, sensors, biotechnology, and emerging technologies.

It also links with the Defence Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) program, which connects researchers with end-user practitioners in the sector.

The CRC has two main priorities: • Develop technologies to improve Australia’s national security and defence • Address critical gaps in the Next Generation Technologies fund The Next Generation Technologies fund is a Federal Government initiative, which bridges the gaps for the ‘future defence force after next.’

Australian Manufacturing Boasts Global Partnerships The defence sector heavily relies on funding and developments in research.

As such, five groups were recently awarded a pool of $1.6 million for advanced materials research.

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technologies that accelerate advanced materials integration in the defence sector.

Defence Industry Minister, the Hon. Melissa Price MP, explained how the joint projects will advance Australia’s close and technical relationship with the United Kingdom’s defence industry and research institutions.

“Joint research such as this not only strengthens our bilateral defence relationship but provides support and opportunities to each country’s respective defence industries to overcome the capability challenges, we face,” she said.

These projects were funded by the Federal Government’s Next Generation Technologies Fund.

The first project brings together researchers from Western Sydney University, Imperial College London, University of New South Wales, and practitioners from Metrologi, and Airbus Australia Pacific to develop specific nanotechnologies to be more durable in bonded joints.

Secondly, Qinetiq Australia and RMIT were awarded $349,317 to develop a modelling framework that supports Multi-functional Shape Memory Alloy Tufted Composite Joints, or MuST technology. MuST increases systemlevel efficiency of materials and boasts a range of competitive advantages.

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A $330,500 grant was also awarded to RMIT University and BAE Systems to scope more effective metal-tocomposite hybrid joints. These joints will rely on developments in advanced materials to keep defence personnel safe.

Finally, the University of Adelaide, France’s Research Institute of SaintLouis and the Materials Science Institute at Lancaster University received $209,510. Together, this project will investigate adhesives in ageing military platforms, and how vulnerable areas can be identified.

Minster Price said these research partnerships were critical for securing a stronger defence industry for the future, and Australia’s position in the world.

“Academic and industry partners are vitally important to both defence forces.”

“Australia’s academics and small business sector have a wealth of talent and innovative expertise and the Next Generation Technologies Fund program is designed to draw out the best ideas to support our Defence capability,” Minister Price said.

A Disruptor in The Materials Space: AML3D Limited Operating from a state-of-theart facility in Adelaide, AML3D is a disruptor in the metal part supply chain space. The company brings together world-class welding science, with robust automation processes to produce 3D materials.

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

AML3D’s patented Wire Additive Manufacturing (WAM®) technology supports greener, efficient, and smarter manufacturing processes. The patented WAM® technology provides a suite of benefits, including: • Products that meet near net shape • Robotic automation • Rapid fabrication • Layer on layer • Minimal stress • High deposition rates • Fully dense parts Unlike other technologies in the sector, WAM® is used to print metal parts in an open free-form fabrication environment. The process uses localised inert gas, which opens the window for a wide variety of possibilities for component manufacturing.

AML3D recently announced an extension to the Stage 2 trials it has been conducting with Lightforce Australia for their next-generation

‘made-to-fit’ titanium body armour prototype trials. Results of the first phase of the Stage 2 testing scope identified additional opportunities across the ballistics range and testing plate parameters. Therefore, the initial testing scope has been expanded to accommodate this broader range.

Lightforce is a developer and manufacturer of defence solutions, with operations across Australia and the United States. The Memorandum of Understanding between AML3D and Lightforce has resulted in AML3D’s WAM® being used to manufacture the early titanium body armour prototypes. Once the full range of detailed testing is completed and assessed, Lightforce will be focused on the commercialisation and business opportunities for the product range.

WAM® has unique capabilities in that it is able to print bespoke, customised body armour using ‘unforgiving’ materials, such as titanium, with significantly lower emissions and less waste than traditional manufacturing

techniques such as forging and casting.

Andrew Sales (Managing Director, AML3D) said, “The global body armour market is massive and growing, so it is important that we cement a foothold in this market. It is a real credit to our team that their work on the earlystage prototypes of next- generation ‘made-to-fit’ titanium body armour has resulted in AML3D moving to the next stage of manufacturing and testing with Lightforce.”

“We have the in-house capability and capacity to take on the commercialisation of ‘made-tofit’ titanium body armour and are confident that the quality of our prototypes in this next round of manufacturing and testing will deliver further successful results. This latest development follows a strong year for AML3D as we move from early-stage development of our business model to a company with sustainable and material revenue growth.”

AML3D’s WAM® is used to print metal parts in an open free-form fabrication environment.

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

DMTC Links Research with Practice for Increased Safety Source: Sally Wood Australia’s defence industry is underpinned by highly technical and advanced research that powers the next generation of armoured vehicles, ships, and technologies.

As such, the University of Wollongong’s Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) specialises in the weldability and performance of structural steel for the defence sector.

DMTC analyses the strength of materials that are used in high-level defence and security projects and assesses any potential weldability issues. These issues consider whether fabrication is a viable option; what procedural constraints may exist; and better ways of thinking or manufacturing for the future.

lower distortion. However, these processes risk hydrogen assisted cold cracking in high strength steels.

But research at DMTC and its partners is essential for managing these challenges in the sector and to bridge the gaps between research and practice.

The DMTC has several key objectives: • Advancing the weldability and subsequent performance of high strength structural steels for ships • Advancing the weldability and performance of existing and alternative armour materials • Developing enhanced welding processes for improved productivity • Tailoring automation of air platforms

It is crucial that all defence components are made to measure, with little room for error.

• Tailoring automation and robotic welding for a range of platforms on land and in the sea

Weldability and process technology are linked. For example, high thermal intensity processes provide increased speed, a reduction in heat input, and

In all, these priorities lead to improved productivity and sustainable

• Improving welding repair and marine components

manufacturing in Australia, which means that the sector is ready to grasp future opportunities in the defence sector.

Working Together for Increased Possibilities The key to DMTC’s success is working collaboratively with a range of Australian industry partners. The centre brings together 16 research institutions, alongside government partners, including CSIRO; BAE Systems; Thales; and BlueScope.

These institutions deliver enhanced defence and national security capabilities and strengthen Australia’s industrial capacity.

Unlike other sectors, crosscollaboration in the defence sector is crucial for ensuring the safety and security of all Australians. DMTC is underpinned by high-quality research and technology adoption across the air, land, maritime, industry, health, and sensor systems.

HMAS Sirius (left) and United States Navy destroyer USS Stockdale conduct a replenishment at sea, while a helicopter from USS Carl Vinson, conducts a vertical stores transfer during Exercise Malabar, in the Indian Ocean.

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

high-level partners, and fill any gaps in the nation’s defence capabilities.

Finally, DMTC forms a fundamental part of Australia’s ambitious naval agenda. DMTC works closely under Australia’s Naval Shipbuilding Plan, which seeks to position Australia as a leader in supply chains across the international shipbuilding and sustainment market. DMTC is a crucial piece of this puzzle, as the centre matches industrial innovation with science and technology.

For example, DMTC has developed piezoelectric materials for sonar applications. This accumulates electric charges in some solid materials. It provides a depth to Australia’s naval capabilities through remote undersea surveillance.

HMAS Brisbane’s embarked MH-60R helicopter prepares to land on the flight deck, while transiting the Sea of Japan during a Regional Presence Deployment.

For example, a recent DMTC study analysed Australian carbon fibre capabilities, and their development for future defence projects. The study discovered new carbon fibre and composite manufacturing capabilities across Australia’s industrial and research sectors.

builds on the Federal Government’s Defence Strategic Update, which intends to build the Department of Defence’s capabilities in the air and in space. As such, DMTC is developing technologically advanced systems that will support intelligence gathering; surveillance; and reconnaissance.

“There is growing demand on defence projects for advanced materials, to take advantage of particular performance characteristics,” said Dr Mark Hodge, who is the Chief Executive Officer at DMTC.

In practice, it will enhance communications and networking, and bring a new era of defence to life. This work capitalises on recent advances in materials science, such as the use of additive manufacturing technologies for air and space travel.

He explained that the project will provide a basis for DMTC to undertake future work in building Australia’s industrial capability and supply chain depth in this emerging area of the defence industry.

“Composites can be attractive because they offer important performance characteristics including strength to weight ratio, ability to integrate functions, corrosion resistance and signature reduction,” Hodge said.

Air, Land and Maritime Capabilities at DMTC At DMTC no stone is left unturned in regards to the safety of Australians, who remain at the forefront of all research and operations.

In the sky, DMTC is capitalising on new technology horizons. The facility WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

On the ground, DMTC is working with the Australian Army to prepare for emerging threats. DMTC supports the ongoing development of better and smarter materials for Australia’s defence systems and platforms. These include reducing the payload of military systems on the ground; and providing greater mobility for personnel.

For example, DMTC researchers recently developed a fuel cell auxiliary power unit. This concept could replace existing diesel generators on armoured vehicles, which are quite noisy.

These hydrogen-powered fuel cells can run quietly for longer periods of time, and are an environmentally friendly alternative. The innovative solutions utilise research and development to deliver tailored solutions to DMTC’s BACK TO CONTENTS

Extra Funding to Fill DMTC’s Research Gaps The centre recently received a new round of funding, from the Federal Government, to develop cutting-edge technologies.

DMTC will harness existing textile technologies to develop a range of new protective suits that can withstand chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear danger.

Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Melissa Price MP, explained that technology will be crucial for the Australian Defence Force and civilian applications. “This suit has the potential to reduce heat exhaustion and fatigue during very arduous activities”.

DMTC has brought a diverse and multidisciplinary team together to work on this complex challenge.

“Innovations that will protect our Australian Defence Force against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents, demonstrate the ingenuity of Australian industry and the positive impact of partnering with Defence to build sovereign industry capability,” Minister Price said.

The funding is part of the Federal Government’s Defence Innovation Hub, which invests in innovations generated by Australian industry, and research organisations alike. It intends to strengthen Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base as the nation prepares for a future with complex challenges and threats.

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

Bisalloy Steels’ Mega Defence Efforts Pay Off Source: Sally Wood Defence policy and equipment are highly complex in nature. There are several key components that must be considered, including geography, strategy, sustainability, and emerging threats.

Bisalloy Steels understands the importance of these concerns and provides a series of abrasion-resistant plates and equipment that is used for armour, structural, and wear-resistant steel applications.

The company is Australia’s only manufacturer of high strength, quenched and tempered steel plates.

So it’s no surprise that the name ‘BISALLOY’ has become synonymous for quenched and tempered performance steels in Australia.

a US specification that significantly outperformed the equivalent US manufactured steel plate. Australia’s four US-built FFG 7 frigates were subsequently retrofitted with the HY80 plate. Bisalloy went on to produce approximately 1,000 tonnes of steel for the FFG program.

Thorough and detailed advance work resulted in Bisalloy becoming the preferred supplier for the Collins Class submarine program, at the end of the 1980s. Bisalloy supplied the Collins Class submarine program with more than 8,000 tonnes of hardened steel with excellent low-temperature impact properties — also developed with BHP and the DSTO.

"Bisalloy is the only quenched and tempered plate steel products manufacturer in Australia,” said Glenn Cooper, who is the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. “This gives customers the ability to come to us to create one-off special blends, and tailored solutions for end user requirements,” he explained.

At the company’s Australian production site, over 60,000 tonnes of steel is produced each year.

Today, Bisalloy Steels employs 80 people across Australia, and over 150 internationally.

Protecting Australia’s Defence Force The strength and reliability of Bisalloy armour steel has long been selected to protect Australia’s defence forces—an achievement of which Bisalloy Steels is justifiably proud.

Bisalloy’s internationally recognised armour capability commenced with an order for hull plates for the local construction of two FFG 7 guided missile frigates. Bisalloy developed a local HY80 type steel in cooperation with (then) BHP Port Kembla and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) to 56 | DECEMBER 2021

Bisalloy successfully produced the BIS 812EMA plate; a weldable, microalloyed, high yield stress steel with excellent low temperature impact properties that had, until then, been an experimental Swedish product in its embryonic developmental stage.

Specifically designed by Kockums Marine AB of Sweden for Australia's unique geographic and strategic circumstances, and built by the Australian Submarine Corporation in Adelaide, at the time, the boats were the most advanced diesel-electric submarines in the world.

The submarines originally had a predicted operational life of around 30 years, with the first ship, Collins, expected to be decommissioned around 2025. This timeline has

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somewhat changed, with the ships to remain operational until the new SEA 1000 Future Submarine project is delivered.

Since 1993, Bisalloy has produced over 3,500 tonnes of steel for the Bushmaster program. The Bushmaster was originally part of the Australian Army’s LAND 116 program, and was produced by Thales in Bendigo. It has been an extremely successful platform with over 1,100 Bushmaster variants produced, including exports to several countries.

More recently, Bisalloy has been working closely with Rheinmetall on the LAND 400 Phase 2 project. In June 2020, Bisalloy announced that the first of two high performance armour steel grades had passed stringent German Government certification after two years of research, development, and testing in collaboration with Rheinmetall Defence Australia. This qualifies the steel to be manufactured for Rheinmetall’s Australianbuilt BOXER 8×8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV).

Bisalloy developed a new type of ‘O-grade’ armour steel in order to meet the protection levels required for the BOXER 8×8 CRV. Testing of even stronger ‘Z-grade’ armour steel will soon take place to meet the exacting protection levels required for each BOXER 8×8 CRV, and ensure the best protection for Australian soldiers.

Ongoing engagement with major defence prime contractors and manufacturers has been integral to Bisalloy’s defence business evolution.

Bisalloy continues to work with companies such as South Korean based Hanwha Defense to achieve significant milestones for the Australian defence industry. As a result, all the Hanwha Redback vehicles, including their turrets (which are to be delivered for the upcoming Land 400 Phase 3 evaluation program) WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing will be built of Bisalloy steel. Bisalloy will also look to support Hanwha on the LAND 8116 program. Bisalloy has been a part of the process from the beginning, including detailed design, qualification, and testing, Bisalloy has been a part of the process.

Bisalloy’s Defence Materials

Steel Hub Project Kicks Off with Bisalloy Steels Despite Bisalloy Steels’ widespread international services, the company's heart remains in Australia. The company recently announced a collaborative new partnership with the University of Wollongong’s Steel Research Hub. Under this agreement, PhD students will investigate and trial automated, or robotic wire arc additive manufacturing. This is a production process that is typically used to print or repair metal parts.

Together, researchers and industry professionals will assess the additive manufacturing of welded materials, to fabricate welded hard-facing overlay on quenched and tempered steels.

Hard-facing is a process that involves a single, or multiple layers of materials with unique properties.

The materials are deposited on the base metal to increase its surface performance. As such, it typically leads to greater corrosion resistance.

The technique deposits hard-facing consumable materials on surfaces, or in critical positions. The consumable materials are generally cheaper than the base material. This is a crucial research project for the industrial and defence sectors, where equipment is routinely exposed to extreme conditions, and the replacement of entire components is not a sustainable option.

In addition, the sophisticated and automated nature of this process will grant a higher level of product quality consistency and assurance for clients.

It will also lead to a reduction in labour, and an improved environment for operators.

A Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment, manufactured using Bisalloy Armour plate. © Commonwealth of Australia 2020.

Armour Steel Offering quality that is second to none, Bisalloy Armour steel has become the first choice in defence applications, both here and abroad, and is specified for hulls in Armoured Personnel Carriers, Light Armoured Vehicles and the Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicles. In addition to such traditional support for manufacturers of armoured vehicles, Bisalloy Steels is also increasingly supplying Bisalloy Armour steel to police, military forces, government and civilian applications worldwide for use in security vehicles, training facilities, security booths, splinter boxes, embassy ‘safe rooms’ and a myriad of other applications.

Protection Steel Developed to complement the Bisalloy Armour steel range, the Bisalloy Protection steel range offers tested and certified, lighter weight plate products with superior ballistic performance to suit a wide range of applications for the protection of life, valuables and property.

The Bisalloy Protection steel range runs the gamut of vital performance characteristics, including strength, toughness and shock loading resistance, and the ability to be readily formed, fabricated and welded.

The Bisalloy Protection steel range also adds convenience to its list of attributes—it is a standardised product range that can be easily specified and ordered (even spot orders and small volumes) with short lead times. Source: steel Australia, Spring 2020

The University of Wollongong’s Steel Research Hub seeks to create a platform of teams which deliver innovative steel solutions and technologies. The $28 million centre connects nine universities with nine industry partners to accelerate Australia’s defence capabilities.

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FEATURE – Materials Engineering in Manufacturing

Titomic Breaks the Mould in the Defence Sector Source: Sally Wood Titomic provides next-generation defence and manufacturing services across Australia.

Titomic embraces a strong research utilisation focus, which is backed by new technology.

Since 2014, the company has led the way in innovative solutions in the additive manufacturing space. But Titomic’s story begins much earlier.

This approach has paved the way for new methods of manufacturing high-performance metal parts, and created several possibilities and nextgeneration manufacturing methods for defence-specific applications.

In 2007, Jeff Lang was invited by CSIRO to take part in the ‘Ore for More’ initiative, which sought to add value to Australia’s titanium mineral sands.

Australia has the world’s largest deposits of titanium mineral sands, with over 300 million tonnes widely available.

The initiative brought researchers, and industry professionals together to understand how larger volumes of titanium could be better utilised if they were manufactured at a higher speed or scale.

As such, the project team developed a technique that supersonically placed metal particles onto a scaffold to develop metal coatings.

This process created metal parts through a simple layer upon layer process of building particles. The findings were remarkable. The process provided a range of unique advantages for increased additive manufacturing possibilities.

The breakthrough was such a success, that researchers patented and licensed the technology in partnership with CSIRO. It was dubbed the ‘Titomic Kinetic Fusion.’

As such, Titomic was born, with Jeff Lang as the company’s founder.

Titomic’s focus was to commercialise the modern technology and develop other novel manufacturing capabilities.

Today, the Titomic team still focuses on developing industrial-scale solutions using high-performing metals, such as titanium.

The company understands the need to work collaboratively in the manufacturing sector. As such, Titomic works with colleagues — such as the defence and aerospace industry, and multiple government research bodies—to develop cutting-edge surface engineering and material science.

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Titomic Kinetic Fusion for Defence Manufacturing Titomic Kinetic Fusion has opened a new pathway of engineering possibilities for the defence and manufacturing sectors. The technology creates heterogeneous metal alloys that are not matched by other players in this space.

The process consolidates manufacturing, fusing dissimilar metals, and creates heterogeneous metal alloys, which increase the performance of existing parts.

Titomic Kinetic Fusion provides a suite of benefits to existing parts as it reduces weight, and increases strength and longevity. Through vigorous testing and research, Titomic has used high-performance alloys to deliver exceptional results.

Similarly, Titomic’s Kinetic Fusion has allowed clients to manufacture composite metal armour, which is heat resistant, at an increased speed.

By using metal alloys such as titanium, clients in the defence sector can create new armour materials by unlocking the possibilities through the patented Titomic Kinetic Fusion technology.

Titomic can also manufacture heatresistant gun barrels for small arms or howitzers.

This solves the complex problem associated with the manufacture of gun barrels, as gun barrels have traditionally been manufactured from a small range of alloys. The Titomic Kinetic Fusion innovation is expanding the scope of Australia’s barrel manufacturing and defence industries.

The company believes that this technology can metallise plastics and composites, including carbon fibre, for lighter, stronger, and stiffer parts, BACK TO CONTENTS

across the defence and aerospace sectors.

The technology creates large, and flawless parts, that can be manufactured up to four metres in diameter and three metres in length. It also allows a rapid manufacture, with minimal turnaround times. Together, these are essential pillars in the defence sector, where time is critical.

Sustainable practices are also crucial to Titomic’s operations. The company has integrated renewable energy technologies and advanced manufacturing systems that are environmentally friendly.

The international metal manufacturing industry generates around nine per cent of all carbon emissions. But Titomic Kinetic Fusion does not melt metal, and uses far less energy than traditional processes. As such, it leads to a 60 per cent overall reduction in carbon emissions.

In addition, the company has a variety of waste minimisation schemes.

Titomic Kinetic Fusion assembles parts that are very close to their final output, which has led to a company-wide reduction of waste by 80 per cent.

Titomic’s Ambitious Plans Are Out of This World Titomic has ambitious plans to expand into the defence and space sectors, which are rapidly growing in Australia.

Titomic was recently awarded a $2.325 million grant to manufacture and commercialise low carbon emission ‘green’ titanium space vehicle demonstrator parts. This grant will form part of a planned project expenditure of $4.65 million. It will power Titomic to use green titanium, materials blends, and other highperformance coatings, for genes shielding and greater protection in space.

It will also capitalise on Titomic’s unique Kinetic Fusion additive manufacturing technology, to build and commercialise space vehicle parts with green titanium.

The space sector is an emerging area of interest for the Federal Government, and Titomic’s funding reflects these interests.

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These short courses provide you with an engaging learning experience. Courses may include flash animations, video of instructors teaching the course in a classroom, video segments from ASM’s DVD series relevant to the learning material, and PDFs of instructor Power Points used in the instructor led training.

All online courses require internet access for reading and viewing course content. Both HTML pages and PDF files for each lesson are downloadable and printable for easy offline access.

www.materialsaustralia.com.au/training/online-training BASICS OF HEAT TREATING

HEAT TREATING FURNACES AND EQUIPMENT

Steel is the most common and the most important structural material. In order to properly select and apply this basic engineering material, it is necessary to have a fundamental understanding of the structure of steel and how it can be modified to suit its application. The course is designed as a basic introduction to the fundamentals of steel heat treatment and metallurgical processing. Read More

This course is designed as an extension of the Introduction to Heat Treatment course. It discusses advanced concepts in thermal and thermo-chemical surface treatments, such as case hardening, as well as the principles of thermal engineering (furnace design). Read More

NEW - INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSITES HOW TO ORGANISE AND RUN A FAILURE INVESTIGATION Have you ever been handed a failure investigation and have not been quite sure of all the steps required to complete the investigation? Or perhaps you had to review a failure investigation and wondered if all the aspects had been properly covered? Or perhaps you read a failure investigation and wondered what to do next? Here is a chance to learn the steps to organise a failure investigation. Read More

MEDICAL DEVICE DESIGN VALIDATION AND FAILURE ANALYSIS This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of the design process necessary to make robust medical devices. Fracture, fatigue, stress analysis, and corrosion design validation approaches are examined, and real-world medical device design validations are reviewed.

Further, since failures often provide us with important information about any design, mechanical and materials failure analysis techniques are covered. Several medical device failure analysis case studies are provided. Read More

Composites are a specialty material, used at increasing levels throughout our engineered environment, from high-performance aircraft and ground vehicles, to relatively low-tech applications in our daily lives. This course, designed for technical and non-technical professionals alike, provides an overarching introduction to composite materials. The course content is organised in a manner that guides the student from design to raw materials to manufacturing, assembly, quality assurance, testing, use, and life-cycle support. Read More

METALLURGY FOR THE NON-METALLURGIST™ An ideal first course for anyone who needs a working understanding of metals and their applications. It has been designed for those with no previous training in metallurgy, such as technical, laboratory, and sales personnel; engineers from other disciplines; management and administrative staff; and non-technical support staff, such as purchasing and receiving agents who order and inspect incoming material.

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PRACTICAL INDUCTION HEAT TREATING

This course provides essential knowledge to those who do not have a technical background in metallurgical engineering, but have a need to understand more about the technical aspects of steel manufacturing, properties and applications.

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Taking a fundamentals approach, this course is presented as an introduction to the world of induction heat treating. The course will cover the role of induction heating in producing reliable products, as well as the considerable savings in energy, labor, space, and time. You will gain in-depth knowledge on topics such as selecting equipment, designs of multiple systems, current application, and sources and solutions of induction heat treating problems. Read More

PRINCIPLES OF FAILURE ANALYSIS

TITANIUM AND ITS ALLOYS

Profit from failure analysis techniques, understand general failure analysis procedures, learn fundamental sources of failures. This course is designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice of failure analysis.

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Titanium occupies an important position in the family of metals because of its light weight and corrosion resistance. Its unique combination of physical, chemical and mechanical properties, make titanium alloys attractive for aerospace and industrial applications. Read More

METALLURGY OF STEEL FOR THE NON-METALLURGIST

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