Roderick Smith

Professor
Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering
Imperial College London, UK

Biography: Roderick Smith is currently Emeritus Professor of Railway Engineering, Imperial College London and Chair of the Future Railway Research Centre. He was Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department for Transport from 2012 to May 2014 and 126th President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 2011-12. He is President of the Engineering Integrity Society and Director of FESI. He is frequently called as an expert witness in legal cases, particularly in cases involving fatigue. He has published extensively on structural integrity, fatigue, railway engineering and energy and is frequently invited to address international meetings and conferences. He is director of his own consulting company, Roderick A Smith Consulting Engineer and has advised on many engineering issues throughout the world. He has been awarded honorary degrees from the Universities of Sheffield and Lincoln and is an Honorary Fellow of Queens’ College Cambridge. He is a fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering.

Invited Lecture: Fatigue: still an intractable problem - A review of outstanding issues

Abstract: Experimental studies of fatigue started long ago with the failure of railway axles in the 1840’s. Empirical rules were discovered, the fatigue limit in steels being particularly useful. The early 1950’s saw the investigations into the Comet failures and the beginnings of quantitative fracture mechanics and the study of crack propagation. The past 50 years have seen a huge increase in materials research and in fatigue research in particular. This has been assisted by enormous increases and availability of cheap computing power, remarkable improvements in our ability to measure real service environments, the development of electron microscopy and the technical ability to match service conditions with those in the laboratory. In this same period, my own career has developed away from laboratory-based research of fundamentals into involvement in many failure investigations in a wide range of industries, including shipping and railways. But these and other industries are now being subjected to changing pressures, including climate change and the effects of extreme weather events on resilience, the need to reduce carbon emissions and light-weighting of structure. Failures can range from the super critical, such as the recent loss of a fan blade on a Boeing 777 near Denver to the trivial such as knobs and small parts on domestic equipment. These and many other apparently diverse structural failures have many common features. Principal amongst these are the frequent lack of definition of the stresses to which critical parts are subjected, the interactions of several failure modes, typically fatigue, corrosion and wear and the difficulty associated with monitoring developing deterioration by non-destructive examination. Surprisingly, lack of appreciation of stress concentrating features of design and local stresses near joints is still widespread. This lecture will illustrate why failures still occur despite the explosion in publications on fatigue in recent years. Too much research overextends its applicability by extrapolating from a limited data set and fails to recognise the scatter inherent in fatigue, together with lack of strict similitude between test and application.

J.N. Reddy

Professor
Member of National Academy of Engineering
Texas A&M University, USA

Biography: J.N. Reddy is a Distinguished Professor, Regents’ Professor, and the holder of the O’Donnell Foundation Chair IV in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Dr. Reddy, an ISI highly-cited researcher (over 100,000 citations as per Google Scholar), is known for his significant contributions to the field of applied mechanics through the authorship of a large number of textbooks (25) and journal papers (over 900). His pioneering works on the development of shear deformation theories (that bear his name in the literature as the Reddy third-order plate theory and the Reddy layerwise theory) have had a major impact and have led to new research developments and applications. Some of the ideas on shear deformation theories and penalty finite element models of fluid flows have been implemented into commercial finite element computer programs like ABAQUS, NISA, and HyperXtrude. In recent years, Reddy's research has focused on the development of locking-free shell finite elements and nonlocal and non-classical continuum mechanics problems, involving couple stresses, surface stress effects, micropolar cohesive damage, and continuum plasticity of metals.
Dr. Reddy has received numerous honors and awards. Most recent ones include: 2023 Leonaro da Vinci Medal from the European Academy of Sciences, 2022 IACM Congress (Gauss-Newton) Medal from the International Association of Computational Mechanics, the 2019 SP Timoshenko Medal from American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the 2018 Theodore von Karman Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the 2017 John von Neumann Medal from the U.S. Association of Computational Mechanics, the 2016 Prager Medal from the Society of Engineering Science, and 2016 ASME Medal from American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is a member eight national academies, including the US National Academy of Engineering, and foreign fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Brazilian National Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Royal Engineering Academy of Spain, the European Academy of Sciences, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Invited Lecture: Modeling and analysis of the integrity of architected materials and structures

Abstract: One of the most important things engineers and scientists do is to model physical phenomena. The development of realistic mathematical models of physical phenomena is a part of scientific investigation, which requires the translation of mathematical models into meaningful discrete models that enable us to systematically evaluate various parameters of the mathematical model and hence the physical process. Mathematical model development and numerical simulations help designers, who seek to maximize the reliability of products and minimize the cost of production, distribution, and repairs. Computational methods can be used to investigate the effects of various parameters (e.g., geometry, material parameters, loads, couplings, and so on) of the system on its response to gain a better understanding of the system being analyzed. Architected materials are an emerging class of structures with enhanced mechanical properties to meet desired functionalities. Advanced additive manufacturing and related approaches have made it possible the creation of a wide variety of architected materials with complex geometries. The most common class of architected materials are lattice-based structures, which can be considered as a form of a very dense set of interconnected frame elements. While their superior mechanical properties make them highly desirable in engineering, their intricate microstructure results in complex failure modes and makes it a challenge to predict how they fail. This lecture will discuss (a) nonlocal approaches for modeling architected materials and structures and (b) localized damage evolution in a variety of frame structures. In the first case, the non-local continuum models that account for material and/or structural length scales are discussed to model architected materials and structures (e.g., web-core sandwich panels) using the micropolar elasticity. The model for damage evolution is in accordance with the ideas of continuum damage mechanics, where we model damage to be a continuously varying field that is sufficiently smooth in the closed domain. The usefulness of these approaches will be demonstrated using several nontrivial examples.

Tetsuo Shoji

Professor
Member of the Japan Academy of Engineering
Tohoku University, Japan

Biography: Tetsuo Shoji had been serving as a Professor of Tohoku University since 1986 until March 2018 and an Executive Vice-President for research and international affairs of Tohoku University since 2005 for 3 years. He was honored as a Professor Emeritus of Tohoku University in 2015. Now he continues his research work as a Senior Research Fellow at New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe) of Tohoku University. He has served as the PI of various national and international programs such as the Center of Excellence Program on Physics and Chemistry of Fracture and Failure Prevention, the Co-Director of CNRS LIA ELyT laboratory and International cooperative research programs of PEACE, POLIM and SMEtana, working on mechanics and mechanisms of Environmentally Assisted Degradation. He has received 22 national and 9 international awards such as W. R. Whitney Award NACE USA, the Lee Hsun Award CAS CHINA, the Great Medal from CEFRACOR France in 2016, UR Evans Awards from the Institute of Corrosion UK in 2019, Marcel Pourbaix Award ICC (International Corrosion Council) in 2021 and Beijing Science and Technology Award – Zhongguancun Award for International Cooperation in 2023. He was appointed as a Council Member of Science Council of Japan in 2011 for 7 years by the Prime Minister and was elected as a Member of Science Council of Japan in 2018 for 6 years and elected as a member of the Japan Engineering Academy. He published more than 600 journal papers.

Invited Lecture: Mechanics and mechanisms of environmentally assisted cracking and its implication to structural integrity assessment

Abstract: The structural integrity of NPP components is properly assessed using Fracture Mechanics in terms of subcritical and critical crack growth by the appropriate Code and Standard. In case of environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) such as stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in welded structures and components, weld residual stress distribution can affect stress intensity factor, K value with crack growth, where the K value can be increased or decreased with crack growth. Negative dK/da with crack advance likely happens when crack growth reaches either in the region of decreasing tensile residual stress and/or in the region of compressive residual stress. In this study, the effects of negative dK/dt on SCC crack growth retardation behaviour were examined based on the experimental and theoretical/numerical study. Crack growth tests were performed to simulate crack growth under K decreasing condition by use of CDCB specimens of Ni-base alloy 182 and a pressure vessel steel under load control condition. Results on alloy 182 demonstrated a crack growth rate decreased when crack growth took place under K decreasing condition and even crack growth stopped under rather higher K decreasing condition. The numerical analysis of the equation indicates that both K and dK/dt affect the CGR and the K decreasing stress field slows down a crack growth rate and may stop a crack growth under some condition, suggesting non uniqueness of crack growth rate as a function of K depending upon EAC test condition of K increasing or K decreasing tests. More detailed results and its implication to structural integrity assessment will be discussed.

Javier LLorca

Professor
Member of the Academia Europaea
Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain

Biography: Prof. Javier LLorca is scientific director and founder of the IMDEA Materials Institute, where he leads the research group on Bio/Chemo/Mechanics of Materials, and professor and head of the research group on Advanced Structural Materials and Nanomaterials at the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
A Fulbright scholar, Prof. LLorca is Fellow of the European Mechanics Society and of the Materials Research Society, member of the Academia Europaea and has held visiting positions at Brown University, Indian Institute of Science, China Central South University, Yanshan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has received the Leonardo Torres Quevedo National Research Award in Engineering, the Research Award from the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, the Morris Cohen Award of TMS, the Distinguished Scientist Award of the Structural Materials Division of TMS, the Research Award from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the Career Award from the Spanish Society of Materials.
His current research interests – within the framework of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering – are aimed at the design of advanced materials for engineering applications in transport, health care (implants) as well as energy (catalysis), so new materials can be designed, tested and optimized in silico before they are actually manufactured in the laboratory.

Invited Lecture: Corrosion and mechanical degradation of additively-manufactured Mg scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

Abstract: Abstract: Temporary implants and scaffolds from bioresorbable Mg alloys, that are progressively degraded and absorbed in the human body and can be manufactured by 3D printing, have tremendous potential for tissue engineering applications. As opposed to permanent implants, that remain as foreign materials in the body after healing and may require second surgeries because of inflammatory reactions, bioresorbable implants disappear and only the natural tissue remains. Moreover, 3D printing technologies allow to design implants and scaffolds that are customized to the patient’s needs.

In this talk, fabrication and optimization of porous scaffolds of WE43 Mg alloy by laser power-bed fusion is presented. It is shown how the scaffold lattice can be tailored to meet different mechanical properties while the biological performance wss improved and corrosion rates were controlled by means of coating deposited by plasma electrolytic oxidation [1]. Moreover, simulation tools were developed to ascertain the mechanical performance on the scaffolds during in vitro tests and validated against mechanical tests after immersion in simulated body fluid [2-3].

[1] M. Li, F. Benn, T. Derra, N. Kroeger, M. Zinser, R. Smeets, J. M. Molina-Aldareguía, A. Kopp, J. LLorca. Microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and cytocompatibility of WE43 Mg alloy scaffolds fabricated by laser powder bed fusion for biomedical applications, Materials Science and Engineering C, 119, 111623, 2021.
[2] M. Marvi-Mashhadi, W. Ali, M. Li, C. González, J. LLorca. Simulation of corrosion and mechanical degradation of additively manufactured Mg scaffolds in simulated body fluid. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 126, 104881, 2022.
[3] S. Kovacevic, W. Ali, E. Martínez-Pañeda, J. LLorca. Phase-field modeling of pitting and mechanically-assisted corrosion of Mg alloys for biomedical applications. Acta Biomaterialia, 16, 641–658, 2023.

Alexander Korsunsky

Professor
Editor-in-Chief of Materials & Design
University of Oxford, UK

Biography: Alexander Korsunsky is Professor and Fellow Emeritus at Trinity College, Oxford, where he previously served as Dean and Vice-President. He is world-leader in engineering microscopy of materials for the optimisation of design, durability and performance. He published prolifically on eigenstrain theory, covering the elaboration and application of the methods for solving the forward and inverse problems of eigenstrain. He spearheaded the development of experimental techniques for residual stress evaluation, principally in the field of synchrotron X-ray scattering, imaging, spectroscopy and rich tomography, and in the field of electron-ion microscopy for material removal and strain relief methods. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Materials & Design.

Invited Lecture: The Rational Experimental-Computational Correlation (RECC) – reliability improvement toolkit for materials technologies in aerospace design

Abstract: The principal objective of modern aerospace technologies is to develop innovative designs, deliver serial production and ensure efficient safe exploitation of civil aircraft and transport systems. This combination of objectives is somewhat contradictory, in that new designs traditionally require an extended period of testing and validation, effectively negating the advantages of rapid prototyping and manufacturing by modern techniques, such as additive production of metals (APM). The principal point here is that APM for aerospace places emphasis not merely on the obtention of the required shape, but rather of guaranteed and certified service properties: static and dynamic strength, fatigue durability, fracture toughness etc. To address this outstanding issue, the author proposed and advanced the approach known as the Rational Experimental-Computational Correlation. The core of this approach consists of the systematic combined use of empirical and modelling evidence across the scales to ensure the validity and reliability of design. The practical application of this approach to any modern production process, such as APM, allows navigating the chain of materials science interrelationships: composition – fabrication – structure – properties, whilst verifying the validity of each link through both testing and advanced numerical simulation, and expressing the results in the form of machine learning-based predictive software tools. Illustrations of this approach will be provided.

Aleksandar Sedmak

University of Belgrade, Serbia

Biography: Aleksandar Sedmak was born on May 2nd, 1955 in Belgrade, Serbia. He graduated from Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade, where he spent his whole academic career and became professor emeritus in 2021. He was assistant Minister for Science and Technology Development in Serbian government 2003-2006, Vice-rector for international cooperation, University of Belgrade, 2006-2009 and visiting professor at the Drexel University, USA, 1999-2002. He is the President of Serbian Structural Integrity and Life Society and editor emeritus of Structural Integrity and Life Journal, the president of European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS) since 2022, member of editorial boards, guest editor and reviewer of a prominent journals in Fracture Mechanics, EFA, EFM and FFEMS. He was the chairman of European Conference on Fracture (ECF22), Belgrade, 2018. His research is focused on fracture mechanics and structural integrity of weldments, biomaterials and AMM.
Prof. Aleksandar Sedmak published 406 scientific papers listed in SCOPUS with 4012 citations, h=29. He was coordinator and participant of 12 international projects in the scope of EU programs such as EUREKA, bilateral cooperation, H2020, FP7, COSME and Interreg. He delivered many invited and plenary lectures all over the world, including Xidian University, Xian and Institute of mechanics, CAS, Beijing.

Invited Lecture: Structural integrity and life of materials and components made by additive manufacturing

Abstract: In spite of the growing usage of Additive Manufacturing (AM) for producing components in different fields such as aeronautics, biomechanics and automotive, the criteria and methods for the safety evaluation of AM components has not been well established. Therefore, the lack of knowledge of AM material quality effects on the load bearing capacity of the components hinders the industrial exploitation of AM. Keeping in mind porosity, heterogeneity and layered structure of AM materials, it is clear that the most critical issue of heavy loaded AM components is their structural integrity and life. To address this issue, fracture mechanics and fatigue testing of materials and components made by additive manufacturing attracted a lot of research attention in last few years. Recently, EU project SIRAMM (Structural Integrity and Reliability of Additive Manufactured Materials) was completed, providing solid basis for further research of relevant fracture mechanics properties of various 3D printed materials made by different AM technologies such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). In this paper two case studies are presented. The first one presents results of fracture mechanics and fatigue testing of AM PLA three-point bending specimens made by FDM with different infills (10-100%) and layer thicknesses (0.1-0.3 mm). This material is not only sensitive to cracking both under static and dynamic loading, but also exhibits unusual behaviour in respect to different levels of infills and to some extent, different layer thicknesses. In addition, standard fracture mechanics testing procedures are not always applicable for such a complex material, including difficulties in monitoring the crack propagation, and thus requiring special procedures which are still not generally accepted. Therefore, results and procedure presented here should be treated as an initial step toward standard testing of AM materials. In the second case study, fatigue lives of two different designs of the torque links of the light aircraft are evaluated by a numerical approach based on the Separating Morphing and Adaptive Remeshing Technology (SMART) using in the scope of classical FEM. Firstly, the fatigue life of the damaged torque link was assessed for actual load conditions. Then, improved torque links, obtained through topological optimization, were analyzed and their fatigue life was calculated. Finally, the numerical simulations of the additive manufacturing (AM) process of optimized torque links were carried out, and the fatigue life of these torque links, including residual stresses from AM, were estimated too. The obtained numbers of cycles in all cases were compared and discussed for all torque links cases. Such an advanced approach to fatigue life assessment of optimized printed 3D parts provided important data for improvement of AM process with an aim to produce a component more resistant to cracking.

Tong-Yi Zhang

Professor
Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), China

Biography: Prof. Tong-Yi Zhang is the founding dean of Materials Genome Institute, Shanghai University, and the founding director of the Materials Genome Engineering division in the Chinese Materials Research Society (CMRS). Currently he is doing his best to propomote Materials Genome Engineering, Materials/Mechanics Informatics, and AI4S and AI4materials, especially, materials AI labs and materials AI computations. He joined the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) in 2022. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials Informatics and was the Editor-in-Chief of Science China Technological Sciences 2018-2022. He received the awards including the 2018 Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the HLHL Foundation, the Second Prizes of 2007 and 1987 State Natural Science Award, China, and the 1988 National Award for Young Scientists, China. He became Fellow of International Congress on Fracture in 2013, Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences in 2012, Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011, Senior Research Fellow of Croucher Foundation, Hong Kong, in 2003, Fellow of ASM International, USA, in 2001. Plenary Lecture: AI for Science (AI4S) - AI for Structural Integrity

Invited Lecture: AI for Science (AI4S) - AI for Structural Integrity

Abstract: This presentation briefly introduces the concept of Materials/Mechanics Informatics and Materials/Mechanics-GPT. Materials/Mechanics informatics is growing extremely fast by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning with materials/mechanics science and engineering to accelerate materials/mechanics science, engineering and manufacturing innovations. Particularly, the launch of ChatGPT-4 further pours oil on the flames of Materials/Mechanics Informatics and hastens the parturition of Materials/Mechanics-GPT, which will result in materials/mechanics large multimodal models. Materials/Mechanics-GPT are built up based on two foundations, which are the “hard” foundation of materials/mechanics AI laboratories and the “soft” foundation of AI materials/mechanics computations and software. Both the “hard” and “soft” foundations must be very strong and developed under the guidance of domain knowledge. The domain knowledge-guided machine learning strategy is the best way to create new knowledge, innovate and progress materials/mechanics science and engineering, and accelerate the materials/mechanics manufacturing. Case studies presented here are concentrated on the integration of AI with structural integrity. The showcases include the domain knowledge-guided statistic learning of small data of sample size- and pre-notch length- dependent strength of concrete and the forecasting Li-ion battery charging/discharge fatigue life. This strategy of integrating AI with structural integrity will definitely accelerate the development of structural integrity with much more powerful tools in the whole respects of its science and technology, especially its engineering practice.

Wei-Hong Zhang

Professor
Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Northwestern Polytechnical University

Biography: Prof. Weihong ZHANG is currently the member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, full professor in Aeronautical & Astronautical Manufacturing Engineering and Vice-President of Northwestern Polytechnical University, China. He received PhD degree from University of Liege, Belgium in 1991. He worked as researcher fellow and Senior Researcher in University of Liege in 1992-1996. He joined Northwestern Polytechnical University and was honored as Cheung Kong Chair Professor (1999) and Distinguished Young Scholar of National Natural Science Foundation of China (2009).

His research interests focus on advanced structure design and manufacturing. He chaired more than 60 projects including National Key Research and Development Program, Key Projects of NSFC, 973 Projects and 863 Projects. He is the director of State Joint Research Center of Aerospace Materials and Structure Design and Additive Manufacturing of Ministry of Science and Technology, recognized as the distinguished expert of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, assessment expert for “Recruitment Program of High-end Foreign Experts” of Chinese government, committee member of the evaluation groups for National Natural Science Foundation of China, and member of Seventh Appraisal committee for Aeronautical and Astronautical Science and Technology Discipline of State Council.

He is also the EC member of ASSMO, editor-in-chief of International Journal for Simulation and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization, the associate editor of Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinca, Science China-Technological Sciences, editorial board member of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, etc. He has more than 90 national invention patents and published more than 400 peer-reviewed journal papers including papers on CMAME, IJNME, IJMTM and 6 monographs with more than 20000 citations. He obtained Second Prize of National Award for Natural Science and Technological Invention, five First-Prizes of Provincial Awards for Science and Technology, as well as ASSMO Award and Fellow award.

Invited Lecture: Topology optimization and additive manufacturing for advanced structures

Abstract: Structural lightweightness & high-performance are eternal goals in aeronautic and aerospace industries to meet the serious loading conditions. To this aim, topology optimization and additive manufacturing became a promising approach in the past decades and received more and more attention in practice. Nowadays, more and more prosperous applications are made evident. This lecture is to summarize recent achievements of our research team for the above topic. The state of the art is clarified by outlining the progress and achievements in different periods. Especially, the faced challenges concerning the integration of topology optimization and additive manufacturing are addressed. Some representative applications are discussed for the prospects.

En-Hou Han

Professor
Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering
Institute of Corrosion Science and Technology, China

Biography: Dr. En-Hou Han is a full professor of South China University of Technology (SCUT), President of Institute of Corrosion Science and Technology (ICoST). From 1995-1998 he was a research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was a professor at the Institute of Materials Research in Shenyang from 1998-2023. Prof. Han has published 600+ peer reviewed scientific papers, 180+ plenary, keynote and invited lecture, and hold 142 patents. His papers were cited more than 28,000 times with H index 84 & G index 122. As co-editor, he has 9 books (including chapters). He received many awards and honors including the Whitney Award from NACE International (2016), Ho-Leung-Ho-Lee Technology Science Award (2012), Ryukiti Hasiguti Foundation Prize (2010), Fellow of NACE International (2008), Fellow of Asia Pacific Academy of Materials (APAM), Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering (2023) etc. Prof. Han has leadership roles in the corrosion and materials communities. He was President of (UN) World Corrosion Organization (WCO), VP of Chinese Society for Corrosion and Protection, VP of Chinese Association of Anti-Corrosion, etc. Currently he is serving for several journals such as Co-Editors of Materials and Corrosion, editorial member of Corrosion Science, Acta Metallurgica Sinica, Chinese Journal of Materials Research etc., serving for several materials’ societies, such as President of Chinese Society for Fatigue, Executive Board Member of Chinese Materials Research Society, Executive Board Member of Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society, Research Committee of NACE International, President of APAM.
Prof. Han’s research interests include (1) Localized corrosion mechanism understanding and characterization, especially the interaction of mechanical and chemical effects, such as corrosion fatigue, stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement for various materials in harsh environments; (2) Corrosion prevention techniques such as nanocomposite coatings, plating, inhibitors & cathodic protection; (3) Service lifetime prediction, failure analysis and integrity for engineering structure and components by big data modelling, digital twins & artificial intelligence (AI); (4) R & D of corrosion resistant alloys (including HEAs) in severe industry environment including new energy industries, energy storage and sea water.

Invited Lecture: Corrosion and integrity of buried oil and gas pipelines

Abstract: The pipeline is one of the important transportation methods for oil and gas. Corrosion is the main issue to affect pipeline’s safety and integrity. The buried pipeline not only has both internal corrosion and external corrosion, but also has the various loads including internal pressure, external soil pressure, and possible soil movement etc. The corrosion pit always exist on both internal and external surface, and the stress corrosion cracking may initiate from the pits and affect the integrity of pipelines. Traditional evaluation methods helps but could not predict properly. The lecture proposed the “corrosion/crack equivalent methods”, that is to simplify the pits as a crack and to use fracture mechanics to evaluate the integrity of pipeline. The methods become the China Standard and has been applied in industry. In order to solve the safety and reliability for the hydrogen doped natural gas pipeline, the effect of various parameters was studied. The results show that the hydrogen does increase the SCC sensitivity of pipeline steel.

Hongbiao Dong

Professor
Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering
University of Leicester, UK

Biography: Prof Dong is a Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, Research Chair of Royal Academy of Engineering, and Director of EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Transformation of Metals Industry, Deputy Head of School of Engineering at University of Leicester. He obtained his BEng and Meng in Metallurgy from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, PhD in Materials Science from the University of Oxford. He has made pioneering and significant contributions in development of solidification modelling and its application in casting and welding. His work on modelling the Columnar-to-Equiaxed transition in metal solidification has far-reaching influence in both theory and industrial application. This underpinning work laid down the concepts of subsequent work on multi-scale, multi-physics modelling of casting and welding to allows industry to design and optimise casting and welding processes. He explored the application of neutron and synchrotron technologies in characterising the evolution of residual stress and grain structures in during manufacturing processes. His work has been exploited in various sectors, including in aerospace by Rolls-Royce, energy by the Welding Institute and steel by Materials Processing Institute. He has played a key role in establishing international research partnerships between UK and China, India and South Africa. 

Invited Lecture: The Application of Diffraction-Based Neutron Techniques on the Study of Ni-Based Superalloys

Abstract: This talk presents the utilization of diffraction-based neutron techniques to investigate the microstructural properties and behaviors of Ni-based superalloys. Neutron techniques provide unique insights into the atomic-scale structure, phase transformations, and internal stresses within these complex alloys. Neutron diffraction, with its phase and grain-specific characteristics, enables the determination of lattice spacing in differently oriented grains of each constituent phase. This capability allows for the detailed study of the micro-mechanical response of different grains in both the strengthening phase and the matrix phase of Ni-based superalloys under tension. The evolution of lattice spacing reveals that the shearing mechanism is predominant and that the magnitude of strengthening is dependent on precipitate orientation.Furthermore, diffraction-based neutron imaging, specifically Bragg Edge Imaging, is employed to investigate mosaicity in directionally solidified Ni-based superalloys. Mosaicity, arising from the formation of low-angle grain boundaries, has garnered significant attention in the study of single crystal Ni-based superalloys. Using crystallographic data obtained from Bragg Edge Imaging, it has been established that lateral macro-segregation induces small angle grain boundaries, leading to mosaicity within single crystal Ni-based superalloys.

Hong-Xia Li

Professor
Director of State Key Lab of Advanced Refractories
China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited, China

Biography: Prof. Li Hongxia is the Chief Scientist of Baowu Group and the director of the National Key Laboratory of Advanced Refractory Materials, as well as the board member of the Executive Committee of UNITECR. She once served as the Chairman of ISO TC33 Technical Committee of Refractory materials. Over the past years, she has focused on the research of new materials, new mechanisms, new methods and international standards of refractories, and was awarded one second class prize for Technical Invention of China, one second class prize for Scientific and Technology Progress of China. Up-to-now, she has published 6 books and more than 300 papers, as well as 82 patents. She was also the recipient of the National Outstanding Engineer, the National Award for Excellence in Innovation.

Invited Lecture: Evaluation of high temperature performance of refractory materials

Abstract: Refractory materials are indispensable for the implementation of green and low-carbon high-temperature technologies developed in key basic raw material industries such as steel, non-ferrous and building materials, energy transmission and other fields, which are usually used as linings or functional components at high temperature for furnace, containers and smelting equipment etc. There are several important properties affecting service behavior and life span of refractory materials. Generally, in order to satisfy the application requirement, refractory materials should have good high temperature mechanical properties, excellent thermal shock resistance, and good corrosion resistance to surrounding medias. The test method and evaluation techniques are quite important for fully understand the comprehensive properties and service performance of the refractory materials. Therefore, this presentation describes how to characterize the key properties, including the modulus of rupture, thermal shock resistance, corrosion resistance and other properties. Furthermore, the effects of those property evaluations on the design and preparation of refractory materials are described based on some experiment results.

Shuyan Zhang

Dean of CEAM
Centre of Excellence for Advanced Materials, China

Biography: Shuyan Zhang is the Dean of Centre of Excellence for Advanced Materials (CEAM). Dr. Zhang received her Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science from Oxford and returned to China in March 2016 and founded CEAM with her team, aiming to shape CEAM into China’s leading service platform for advanced manufacturing. She assumes other important roles like GDPPC Representative, GDYF Vice President, member of MECASENS International Science & Technology Advisory Board, and member of National Residual Stress Academic Committee of China, etc. She was recognized as leader of “The Introduced Innovative and Entrepreneurial Team” by Pearl River Talent Recruitment Program of Guangdong Province, and winner of “The Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists” by Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province. She was also granted The 22nd Guangdong Youth May Fourth Medal, the 2021 Award for Promoting Industry-Academia-Research Institutes Collaborations, the CAPD Central Committee “Distinguished Contributor in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects”.
Dr. Zhang’s research is focused on analysis of engineering materials’ residual stresses and micro mechanical properties using neutron and X-ray diffraction. Drawing on her rich experience, an engineering materials diffractometer has been developed and improved at both ISIS in the UK and CSNS in China. She has also led and participated in many national and international research projects, for example, projects supported by NSFC, SASTIND, and CAS in China, and EPSRC and STFC in the UK, etc. Her research findings have benefited the industry as well, partners covering Rolls-Royce, China General Nuclear Power, Central Iron & Steel, Guangdong Shaoguan Iron and Steel, Tata Steel, and AREVA, etc. Other accomplishments at work include author of more than 200 journal papers, editor of “Materials Today: Proceedings”, supervisor of 6 doctoral and 5 graduate students, and owner of over 20 invention patents.

Invited Lecture: Research on the processes, material properties and residual stresses in additive manufacturing

Abstract: This paper presents our recent advancements in metal additive manufacturing (AM) research, focusing on titanium, nickel-based super alloys and mold steel. Metal AM techniques, such as laser or arc-based methods, enable the fabrication of complex three-dimensional components through a layer-by-layer deposition process. This approach integrates material preparation, part formation, and property control into a unified procedure, offering significant advantages in producing near-net-shape parts with tailored properties. However, the process involves intricate non-equilibrium physical metallurgy and thrermophysical phenomena, including the interaction between the heat source and metal (powder or wire, solid substrate, molten pool), rapid solidification under extreme thermal gradients and strong constraints, and thermal stress evolution during long-term cyclic heating and cooling. Three key technical challenges continue to hinder the development of metal AM: (1) severe deformation and cracking due to large, complex thermal, microstructural, and mechanical constraint stresses generated during cyclical heating and cooling; (2) difficulty in controlling grain morphology, size, orientation, and chemical uniformity due to the rapid, highly sensitive non-equilibrium solidification; and (3) the formation of unique internal metallurgical defects, such as lack of fusion, porosity, and inclusions, affecting the internal quality, mechanical performance, and safety of the final component. Addressing these issues is crucial for advancing the application of metal AM in producing high-performance components. In this study, methods for simultaneous improvement of strength and ductility in AM titanium were investigated and validated. For nickel-based super alloys, the molten pool behavior were investigated before developing a new heat source model. The microstructure and mechanical properties of AM nickel-based super alloys were studied. Besides, rapid and novel residual stress and deformation prediction methods were developed for SLM and LPD of nickel-based super alloys, enabling precise control the deformation of printed components. Various residual stresses relaxation methods, including heat treatment and shot peening, were also explored. For AM of mold steel, the influence of layer thickness were examined through track morphology, melt pool characteristics and defect analysis, with residual stress measurement and control techniques to prevent cracking in high-stress regions. These findings contribute to the understanding and control of key factors in metal AM, enhancing its potential for high-performance component fabrication.

Zhe-Feng Zhang

Professor
Former Vice Director
Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Biography: Prof. Zhe Feng Zhang is now working at Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. He received his Ph. D in 1998 and became full professor in 2004. He had visited Industrial Technique Institute, Japan as JSPS fellow (2000-2001), IFW Dresden as AvH fellow (2001-2002) and Max-Planck Institute of Metal, Stuttgart as visiting scientist (2003). He research areas include mechanical behaviors of metallic materials, especially focusing on fatigue and fracture mechanisms. He has proposed Unified tensile fracture criterion, which unified the classical fracture criteria in the textbook of materials mechanics. Recently he had fabricated the AM Ti alloy with the highest specific fatigue strength in the world. He has published more than 600 papers in international SCI journals, including Nature, Science, Nature Mater, Prog. Mater. Sci., Phys. Rev. Lett., Acta Mater. etc. These papers have been cited more than 25000 times by SCI papers. He had been awarded by National Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Major National Natural Science Project, National Special Talent Support Program, Special government allowance of the State Council and Liaoning May Day Labor Medal.

Invited Lecture: Unified tensile fracture criterion

Abstract: Owing to the unique amorphous structure, metallic glasses (MGs) exhibit quite distinctive deformation and fracture behaviors from the conventional crystalline materials. This study is based on the research works of the authors on the fracture and strength of MGs in the past two decades, and concentrates on discussing the current knowledge and recent advances on the fracture behavior and strength theory of ductile and brittle MGs. We find that the classical failure criteria, i.e. maximum normal stress criterion, Tresca criterion, Mohr-Coulomb criterion and von Mises criterion, cannot satisfactorily explain the tensile fracture behavior of the bulk metallic glass (BMG) materials. For a better description, we propose an ellipse criterion as a new failure criterion to unify the four classical criteria above and apply it to exemplarily describe the tensile fracture behavior of BMGs as well as a variety of other materials. It is suggested that each of the classical failure criteria can be unified by the present ellipse criterion depending on the difference of the ratio . Then considering the fundamental principles of material fracture, we theoretically derived the unique equation forms for the first three-order fracture criteria. Employing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on the two typical metallic glasses, Cu₆₅Zr₃₅ and Ni₆₂Nb₃₈, under three-axis loading, the critical normal and shear stresses on the shear band plane were obtained at the point of shear instability. A comparative analysis between the derived fracture criteria and MD simulation results revealed that the two-order (2-O) fracture criterion exhibits the best agreement with the shear instability of metallic glasses. Therefore, this work concludes that the 2-O fracture criterion is the optimal choice within the polynomial range for the unified fracture criterion.

Yiu-Wing Mai

Professor
Fellowships of Australian Academy of Science, UK Royal Society, and Chinese Academy of Engineering
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Biography: Professor Yiu-Wing Mai received his PhD, DSc and DSc (honoris causa) degrees from the University of Hong Kong in 1972, 1999 and 2013, respectively. In 1976, he joined the University of Sydney, where he obtained his DEng degree in 1999. His major research interests are on fracture mechanics and advanced composites. Prof. Mai is the recipient of the Scala Award of the International Committee on Composite Materials in 2015, the AA Griffith Medal of the UK Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and the AGM Michell Medal of Engineers Australia in 2016. He was also awarded the 2023 Warner T. Koiter Medal of ASME. He was elected to the Fellowships of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 1992, the Australian Academy of Science in 2001, the UK Royal Society in 2008, the UK Royal Academy of Engineering in 2011, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2017.

Invited Lecture: Weibull strength distributions of brittle ceramics and fracture toughness evaluation without long cracks: controversy or reality?

Abstract: The classic Weibull strength distribution has been re-interpretated by a new concept of micro-grain distributions which we conceptualized over the past two years. We proposed that the new micro-grain Weibull strength distribution is intrinsic and pertinent to micro-grain structures after the micro -defects are sufficiently suppressed. We also proposed that the commonly-known Weibull strength distribution linked to micro-defects is extrinsic, depending on the micro-cracks produced owing to material processing and sample preparation. The micro-grain Weibull strength distributions display negligible size effect; and the median strength in combination with the average micro-grain size can be used to determine the fracture toughness KIC. This means that KIC can be evaluated from polished samples without the need for artificial long cracks. We finally confirm this new micro-grain Weibull strength distribution concept using results of brittle polycrystalline ceramics with microstructures varying from nano-, micro- and to macro-scales.