Papers by Author: Ahmed Makradi

Abstract: In the selective laser sintering (SLS) manufacturing technique a pre-heated layer of material powder undergoes a laser radiation in a selective way to produce three dimensional metallic or polymeric solid parts. Here, we consider sintering of polymer powder. The phase transformation in this process involves the material heat transfer which is strongly affected by the material sintering phenomena. A transient three dimensional finite element model is developed to simulate the phase transformation during the selective laser sintering process. This model takes into account the heat transfer in the material (powder and solid), the sintering and the transient nature of this process. The numerical simulation of the set of equations, describing the problem, is made possible by means of the commercial finite element software Abaqus. A bi-level structure integration procedure is chosen, in which the density is integrated at the outer level and the heat equation is integrated in the inner level. After successfully computing the integration of the density, a material Jacobian representing the thermal phenomena is computed and supplemented the Abaqus Code via an implicit user subroutine material. Results for temperature and density distribution, using a polycarbonate powder, are presented and discussed.

Abstract: The arrangement of ceramic layers in laminated structures is an interesting way to enhance the flaw tolerance of brittle ceramic materials. The interfaces are expected to deflect cracks, increasing the fracture energy of the laminate compared to a monolithic material and thus raising the toughness. The target of this study is to predict the volume fraction of pores, in porous layers, required to cause crack deflection. Formulation of the fracture toughness and fracture energy as function of the material porosity is presented for random and ordered pores distribution. The effect of crack tip-flaws interaction is considered to estimate the pores volume fraction needed for crack deflection. In this work, dense and porous layers of NiO-YSZ material similar to the one used in the fuel cells technology are considered. The fracture energy of a porous material with an ordered distribution of pores shows a possibility of crack deflection at a porosity of 22.5%. However for a system with randomly distributed pores this possibility can be seen at 36% of porosity.