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Institute for Multiscale Simulation (MSS)
Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany
description In laser wire welding, a metal wire is melted using a laser as an energy source, and welded to a substrate. The line-by-line or layer-by-layer application and subsequent solidification of the molten metal creates a three-dimensional component, similar to the way a 3D printer extrudes plastics. While the additive manufacturing of plastic components is already being tested on the International Space Station, the - technically more important - production of metal components has not yet been investigated. Our project aims to help open up the process of laser wire welding for space missions (in zero gravity) and applications under reduced gravity (Moon, Mars). The process could make it possible to manufacture necessary components directly on site, for example on space stations or future moon and Mars missions, thereby increasing flexibility and reducing the number of spare parts to be carried.
In addition to material-specific variables such as melting point and absorption behavior, process parameters like laser power, beam profile, feed rate, wire feed or shielding gas flow are key factors influencing the process result and need to be controlled. The optimization of the process parameters is the subject of extensive research work. While such processes have already been well studied on earth and are technically mastered in many cases, the behavior under zero gravity is largely unknown. For example, gravity-driven convection effects no longer apply and the merging of the molten metal is no longer supported by gravity. Work on arc welding under microgravity shows a clear influence of weightlessness on the shape of the molten pool and solidification as well as the behavior of bubbles in the melt. Clear gravitational influences on the process behavior can also be demonstrated in laser beam welding. Studies on laser wire welding are not yet available. We are investigating how essential phenomena - such as the wetting behavior of the molten material and the convective flows that occur in it - are influenced by gravity by closely interlinking experiments in weightlessness and simulations.
Further PhD positions can be found directly on our website: https://www.mss.tf.fau.de/open-positions/post-doc-phd-positions/
application Send questions and your application (single pdf including cover letter, CV and, if applicable, a list of your publications) to: Dr. Achim Sack, mss-recruitment@fau.de
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) is one of the largest universities in Germany.
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