"PhD Position Sustainable Additive Manufacturing from Recycled Stainless Steel"

Join the Extreme Materials & Mechanics (X2M) Group at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), TU Delft, in a cutting-edge PhD project that aims to revolutionize how stainless steel scrap is reused in high-performance applications. This research is part of the national Groeien met Groen Staal (GGS) programme, which supports the Dutch steel sector’s transition to a circular, CO₂-neutral future by 2050.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is transforming the way we design and produce metal components. However, the sustainability of AM depends on the availability of high-quality powders—and that’s where this project comes in. Instead of relying on virgin materials, we aim to recycle 316L stainless steel from decommissioned industrial components into powders suitable for additive manufacturing processes.

This PhD project will experimentally validate the use of recycled stainless steel powders in AM by:

• Producing powders via gas atomization (with program partner Space XYZ) and ultrasonic atomization (TU Delft).
• Characterizing powder morphology, flowability, oxidation, and contamination.
• Fabricating parts using LPBF printing, optimizing process parameters for recycled feedstock.
• Benchmarking mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation, hardness) against commercial powders.
• Identifying industrial applications for recycled AM parts in sectors such as aerospace, medical, automotive, and marine.

You’ll work with TU Delft’s state-of-the-art facilities, including: Powder analysis: SEM, laser diffraction, flowmeter, XPS, LECO, EDS. Additive manufacturing: LPBF and Binder Jetting printers, post-processing tools. Mechanical testing: tensile, hardness, nanoindentation, in-situ testing. Microstructural analysis: optical microscopy, SEM, EBSD, XRD.

The expected start date is December 2025 (but can be later, depending on the candidate's availability and immigration procedures); the contract duration is 4 years.

It is highly recommended that the candidate is familiar with (or has a strong interest in): Additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy, and sustainability. Experience with experimental microstructural and mechanical characterization is a plus. Other job requirements: MSc degree in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field. Excellent analytical skills, initiative, inventiveness, curiosity, diligence, and critical thinking. Ability to work with scientific and industrial partners. Strong communication skills (high English proficiency), team player, and good social behaviour.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from Promovendus gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.