Jinbiao Zhou is a PhD researcher in I-Form and is based in NUI Galway working in the area of physically based computational modelling. He completed his MSc in the School of Mechanical and Power Engineering at Nanjing Tech University in 2018. During that time, his main research focus was on anisotropy of pure titanium (TA2) tubes. His main research interests are in the areas of additive manufacturing technologies (including welding), physically based computational modelling and fatigue crack initiation prediction.
Research Interests (Lay Summary)
Since moving to I-Form in 2021, Jinbiao is deveoping physically based computational models of the effects of manufacturing processes on fatigue, with specific application to additive manufacturing (AM) dies for the pharmaceutical industry and welded connections for the power generation industry. AM is an exciting new technology which facilitates the manufacture of complex geometries at high speed, with significant opportunities for reduced material waste. Associated with the disruptive nature of AM, there is a significant lack of knowledge and understanding about the effects of defects on AM components. The proposed computational modelling framework will be used to investigate the key strengthening and degradation mechanisms of in-service loading components, with fatigue crack initiation predicted using a mechanistic approach.
Technical Summary
A macro-scale physically-based methodology will be developed for modelling the effects of manufacturing-induced defects and microstructure on low-cycle fatigue (LCF) of welded components and structures and additively-manufactured (AM) components and dies. Thermal histories and residual stresses will be predicted for standard and representative test specimen geometries and for realistic 3D components, such as conformally-cooled dies for injection moulding. The primary objective is to predict the effects of microstructure and defects on fatigue crack initiation in AM and welded metallic materials under thermo-mechanical loading. Macro-scale physically based constitutive modelling will be adopted, to incorporate the effects of key microstructure parameters from manufacturing processes. A specific novelty will be the introduction of a physically-based fatigue crack initiation (FCI) criterion, based on the Tanaka-Mura model. Calibration and validation will be achieved via experimental test programs, including LCF tests, along with DIC, microCT and residual stress measurements. This work will provide a new tool for the manufacturing and power generation industries, for determining the effects of manufacturing processes on fatigue in complex geometries.