A relatively recent phenomenon in the field of additive manufacturing (AM) has been the discovery of “keyholes” (i.e., flaws) that form during the metal AM process. AM’s promise to revolutionize industry is currently constrained by a widespread problem: tiny gas pockets in the final product, which can lead to cracks and other failures.

Much of the current research and development in additive manufacturing is devoted to making parts from just a few specific alloy compositions.

Despite its history and ubiquitous presence as an infrastructure material, steels remain a complex material system with many persisting research questions.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is changing how we think about making parts from metal.

The human brain is rather good at recognizing a large variety of objects: a chair, a ball, a hang-glider, etc. Recognition is usually almost instantaneous, assuming one learned at some point in the past what each of these objects is called.

Every day we use dozens of electromagnetic devices, from a simple water heater to brew a cup of coffee to cell phones, office computers, light bulbs, elevators, air conditioners and so on. What all of these devices have in common is that they use either electricity or magnetism or, in many cases, both.

Refractories have been used for as long as humanity has built furnaces and ovens – large and small. However, the science of refractories is much younger.

My research group at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) recently found that heat treatment can be leveraged to control inclusions in stainless steel.