MeccPhD Lecture “New opportunities in advanced manufacturing: Design of damage-resistant and reusable alloys”

Prof. C. Cem Tasan, MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Progetto Rocca MIT-Italy Seed Funds SAMM – Smart Additive Manufacturing for Metals

Metals are poor at self-repair due to the ambient temperature sluggishness of transformations compared to, e.g., polymers. On the other hand, they respond well to non-autonomous repair treatments aimed at macroscopic discontinuities (see, for example, repair of bridge steel cracks, worn turbine blades, forging of casting defects, etc.). This forgiving nature of metals, however, has not been systematically utilized to focus on early stages of microscopic damage nucleation, where preventive healing becomes a feasible option. The challenge thereof arises due to the complexity of plasticity and damage micro-mechanics, and phase transformation kinetics in multi-phase microstructures.
In the Tasan Group at MIT, by developing multi-field mapping tools and methods, we improve our understanding of these microstructural processes, and by utilizing this understanding, we design resettable alloys: alloys where each microstructural constituent has the capability to revert back to its exact pre-deformation state, with feasible resetting treatments. This design-for-reuse approach thus sets the foundations for the introduction of metals that can be used continuously.

Prof. C. Cem Tasan is the Thomas B. King Career Development Professor of Metallurgy, in the Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He received his BSc and MSc degrees from the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept. of METU, Ankara/Turkey. He then moved to Eindhoven/ Netherlands, to carry out his PhD within the group of Prof. Marc Geers in the Mechanical Engineering Dept. of Eindhoven University of Technology. Following his PhD degree in 2010 he moved to Dusseldorf/Germany, for a 2-year post-doc position with Prof. Dierk Raabe in Max-Planck-Institut fur Eisenforschung (MPIE). He was then appointed in MPIE as a Group Leader, leading the Adaptive Structural Materials group until joining MIT in January 2016.
Prof. Tasan’s research explores the boundaries of physical metallurgy, solid mechanics, and in-situ microscopy, in order to provide game-changing materials solutions to environmental challenges. His research activities have led to 55+ journal publications in top journals (Science, Nature, Nature Comm, Acta Materialia; H-index ~ 20) and +35 invited talks in various institutions or meetings.

Contact and registration: phd-dmec@polimi.it