Engineering: Additive Manufacture: LB-PBF SS316 Powder Oxygen Content Effects on Microstructure, Fatigue and Toughness

About the Project

Key Information

Open to: UK fee eligible applicants only

Funding Providers: DRIVERS DFA / Rolls-Royce

Subject Area: Materials Science & Engineering

Project Start Date: October 2026

Supervisors: Professor Robert Lancaster, Professor Nicholas Lavery

Aligned programme of study: Materials Engineering, Ph.D.

Mode of study: Full time

Place of study: Swansea University (Bay Campus)

Project title: LB-PBF SS316 Powder Oxygen Content Effects on Microstructure, Fatigue and Toughness

Project description: The oxygen content of LB-PBF SS316 material its typically much higher than wrought or HIP SS316. This high oxygen content can be traced back to the raw material supply. Improved methods of powder production could potentially enable starting powder oxygen content to be reduced significantly. Conversely, new LB-PBF hardware can recover powder currently wasted during the process that may have an increased oxygen content. This project aims to understand the impact of oxygen content on heat treatment, microstructure, fatigue performance and fracture toughness.

Funding Duration: 4 years