MECHANICAL ENGINEERING & MATERIALS SCIENCE
Ian Nettleship, PhD
502 Benedum Hall | 3700 O’Hara Street | Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Associate Professor
P: 412-624-9735 nettles@pitt.edu
Research Capabilities and Experience Ian Nettleship’s research focuses on powder processing of ceramics. He has worked in this area for 30 years. Most of his research has focused on sintering; the high temperature process by which the porosity is removed from ceramics and the internal microstructure and properties evolves to their final state. Over the last 10 years Dr. Nettleship has also worked on the processing of macroporous ceramics for specific applications, including low-cost filters for removing of harmful bacteria and parasites from drinking water and also highly porous ceramics used in bioreactor cores for bone marrow stem cell culturing. The Nettleship research laboratory has facilities for powder processing of ceramic materials using pressing and colloidal based techniques such as slip casting. The laboratory also has high temperature furnaces and facilities for preparing hard ceramic materials for microstructure analysis.
Dr Nettleship has recently extended his work into sustainable materials through a research collaboration called PittNOCMAT. The goal of this collaboration is to enhance and broaden the impact of materials research by combining it with service learning on sustainably (typically locally) sourced materials and appropriate technologies that empower underserved communities. Specific examples include clay based materials for low-cost ceramic water filters and bamboo construction materials. In this new approach, Dr Nettleship collaborates closely with NGOs who work in the field to put stateof-the art research in the service of marginalized communities. In return, the real-life experience of these communities informs research at the graduate and the undergraduate level as well as student design projects.
Ceramic with oriented pore channels processed by freeze casting and sintering
Collaboration with small, local ceramic water filter makers in Nigeria
Current Projects and Recent Interests Recent project reflect the continued interests of the Nettleship group in multidisciplinary research on: (i) sintering of ceramics, (ii) processing of highly porous ceramics and (iii) sustainable materials. For sintering, the research projects involve additive manufacturing of ceramics. In particular, the dry powder printing methods used in additive manufacturing of metals are being adapted to ceramics through post printing infiltration with ceramic precursors and sintering aids. The objective is to print complex ceramic structures, minimize shrinkage on sintering and improve reproducibility. The research in highly porous ceramics continues to be focused on filters for water treatment. In particular, the processing of low-cost clay water filters for removing parasites and bacteria
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from drinking water. This is a Pitt NOCMAT initiative in which the research involves 3D imaging of filter pore structures and surface nanoparticle functionalization to add extra capability to the filters (such as removal of chemical contaminants). The service learning component collaborates with NGOs to provide quantitative information to small, local filter makers concerning the effects of processing variables on the properties of the clay filters. Finally, research on sustainable materials is a Pitt-NOCMAT collaboration focused on providing engineering standards for bamboo construction materials that can accommodate the variability in natural materials. The service learning projects provides new engineering field tests for NGO practitioners.
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCE
