Merve Nur Doğu is a Ph.D. researcher in I-Form, based in DCU. Her research is in the development of an additive manufacturing production knowledge-base for Ni-based superalloys (i.e. IN625, IN718, and IN939) with Prof. Dermot Brabazon. She completed her master’s degree in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department at Middle East Technical University (Turkey) in 2019, where she studied thermo-hydrogen processing (THP) of Ti6Al4V alloy produced by Electron Beam Melting (EBM). She received her bachelor’s degree in the Materials Science and Engineering Department from Çankaya University (Turkey) in 2016 (ranked 1st). Her main research interests are materials characterization, additive manufacturing, post-heat treatments, Ni-based superalloys.
Research Interests (Lay Summary)
Merve started her Ph.D. with I-Form in 2020. She is investigating the effects of initial metal powder particle size, the process parameters of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) such as laser power, the laser spot size, the build layer thickness, pre-heating temperature, the scanning speed, and etc., and post-heat treatments on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni-based superalloys such as IN625, IN718, and IN939. Ni-based superalloys are frequently used in the aerospace industry (i.e., gas turbine engines, space vehicles, rocket engines, etc.) due to their outstanding properties such as high-temperature strength, high creep resistance, and good corrosion resistance. The understanding of processing-structure-properties route is significant for the optimisation of components using these alloys.
Technical Summary
In order to produce Ni-based superalloys with conventional manufacturing techniques, several materials processing techniques (e.g., casting, machining) are generally used together to fabricate only one part. In addition, production of complex geometries is difficult with these conventional manufacturing techniques. Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) technology, which is an effective and economical method, can produce geometrically complex Ni-based superalloys parts in a single step.
It is important to understand the relationship between the metal powder characteristics (size, shape, surface chemistry, and etc.), the process parameters of PBF-LB (laser power, the laser spot size, the build layer thickness, pre-heating temperature, the scanning speed, and etc.), post-heat treatment, and their effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the product for the manufacturer and AM users. The aim of Merve’s work is to gain an understanding of how initial metal powder characteristics, different process parameters, and post-heat treatments influence the microstructure and mechanical properties of IN625, IN718, and IN939.