The LATEST2 Investigators Team
The Academic Team comprises eight Principal Investigators, this multidisciplinary team is drawn from the Schools of Materials Corrosion and Protection, Materials Science and the Materials Performance Centres.
Collectively the Team has extensive experience of processing, modelling, microstructure and texture control, surface engineering, corrosion control, joining and forming of light alloys and related materials for transport applications. The Programme will enable the applicants to function as a flexible, interdisciplinary research team that can respond rapidly to new innovations, and address the key challenges identified for the future direction of materials in energy efficient transport, which will be dominated by light alloys and their integration with other materials in multi-material systems.
The Team is supported by colleagues within the School of Materials, enabling new expertise to be drawn in as required.
Professor George Thompson OBE, FREng
LATEST2 Principal Investigator/Programme Director
Deputy Head of School and Head of Research for the School of Materials
Professor of Corrosion Science and Engineering
Research interests are largely focused on the corrosion and protection of light alloys, with applications in the architecture, automotive, aerospace, lithography and packaging sectors, and electronic materials. In addition to various book chapters and editing of conference proceedings, more than 800 papers have been published. The research is undertaken with extensive collaboration in the UK, Europe, Japan and South America.
In the study of material/property/performance relationships, extensive use is made of electrochemical, electronoptical, surface analytical and surface structural probing to understand the influence of the material bulk, near-surface and surface properties on corrosion and its control. Control is undertaken through surface recession to remove the potentially damaging influence of altered near-surface regions and transformed regions through various joining processes, and the application of conversion coatings and anodic films. Environmentally friendly coatings, with incorporated nanoparticles, with self-healing abilities are of particular interest.
Current Research Projects
- Understanding the Influence of Alloying Elements on the Performance of Aluminium Alloys
- New Anodizing Procedures for Aluminium Aerospace Alloys
- Protection of Aluminium Alloys by Sol-Gel Coatings with Incorporated Nanoparticles
- Mechanisms of Formation of Anodic Titania Nanotubes
- Characterisation and Performance of Friction Stir Welded Aluminium Alloys
- New Routes to Light Alloy Characterisation and Degradation Mechanisms using Low Voltage Scanning Electron Microscopy and Serial Sectioning (3View)
- Surface Modification of Magnesium Alloys for Corrosion Control
Professor Philip Prangnell
LATEST2 Principal Investigator / Deputy Programme Director
Chair of Materials Engineering
Deputy Director of the Light Alloys Portfolio Partnership and Deputy Director of the Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in Metallic Materials (Sheffield-Manchester)
Phil Prangnell joined the Manchester Materials Science Centre after completing his PhD in Metal Matrix Composites at Cambridge University. He is a founder member of the Manchester Portfolio Partnership in "Light Alloys for Environmentally Sustainable Transport".
He has 16 years experience of the interaction between light alloys and industrial processes and has worked extensively on microstructure control in joining and processing of light alloys. He has long standing interests in severe deformation and nanograined metals and has worked with Alcoa, BAE Systems, TWI, and Airbus on metallurgical problems associated with creep forming and application of advanced welding techniques to airframe fabrication. He has recently initiated work on Dissimilar Joining for Hybrid Structures for Transport Applications, in collaboration with Jaguar-Land Rover.
He has written seminal papers in the field of ultrahigh strain deformation in both friction welding and severe deformation processing. He has published 140 papers in the field (H-index 24), for which he was awarded the Gründfeld Medal of the IOM3 in 2003.
Current Research Projects
- Material interactions during creep-age forming
- The formation of nanocrystalline alloys by severe deformation processing
- Mechanisms of grain subdivision during deformation to ultra-high strains
- Metallurgical optimisation of welding processes for airframe structures
- Material interactions during friction stir processing and welding
- Thermal management in friction stir welding, including hybrid welding
- Phase formation in 3rd generation Al-Li alloys
- Modelling the control of residual stresses in friction stir welding
- Microstructural control in laser surface treatment
Professor Michael Preuss
LATEST2 Co-Investigator
Professor of Metallurgy
Deputy Director, Rolls-Royce Nuclear University Technology Centre
Director of the Materials Performance Centre
High Temperature Materials Theme leader within the University of Manchester Aerospace Research Institute (UMARI) and from 2011 EPSRC Research Leadership Fellow
Appointed in 2003, Michael currently leads a fast expanding research group. He has published 75 refereed papers, focusing on fundamental and applied metallurgical issues and residual stresses in high temperature materials, components and friction welding. He has strong links to the aerospace and nuclear industries in the area of nickel-base superalloys, titanium and zirconium alloys.
He is Project Leader of an EPSRC/MoD Grant to study corrosion mechanisms in zirconium alloys (Materials for Energy), with Manchester, Oxford and the Open Universities. He is also Principal Investigator on several EPSRC funded grants where deformation studies are at the core. Michael has been using extensively synchrotron and neutron facilities for his research and has been a member of proposal selection panels at ISIS (UK) and the ILL (France).
He is the High Temperature Materials Section Editor of a new aerospace engineering encyclopaedia to be published in 2011 (Wiley). Michael has been recently awarded the prestigious EPSRC Leadership Fellowship to work on irradiation growth and creep in zirconium cladding material from 2011.
Current Research Projects
- Deformation mechanism in advanced polycrystalline nickel base superalloys
- Deformation mechanisms in Zr alloys, CP Ti and two phase Ti alloys
- Variant selection in Ti and Zr alloys
- Flow forming of high strength steel and nickel-base superalloys
- Second phase particles in Zr alloys
- Corrosion mechanisms in Zr alloys for nuclear application
- Irradiation induced growth and creep in zirconium alloys
- Residual stress characterisation in nickel disk forgings
- Linear and rotational friction welding of high performance alloys
- Diffraction Contrast Tomography for studying deformation mechanisms in polycrystalline materials
Dr João Quinta da Fonseca
LATEST2 Outreach Academic Champion
Lecturer in Mechanical Metallurgy
Appointed as a lecturer in 2005, he supervises a group of 11 PhD students and 3 RAs. His research focuses on fundamental aspects of metal deformation, including understanding and modelling the heterogeneous deformation of metals at different scales and the fundamentals of deformation in hexagonal metals. This work combines polycrystalline plasticity modelling with experimental characterisation by synchrotron X-rays, neutron diffraction, digital image correlation for surface strain mapping and EBSD. His main interest is on how microstructure and its evolution during deformation affects the formability of metals at different temperatures, in particular those with hexagonal crystal structures.
Alongside his activity in light alloys, his research portfolio includes significant activity in the area of nuclear materials. Industrially funded projects include the effect of intergranular stresses on cleavage fracture (Serco and MoD), the development of strain mapping techniques (Serco and Nexia), texture evolution in zirconium alloys (Westinghouse and Rolls Royce) and effects of cold work on stress corrosion cracking susceptibility (EdF and Serco). He is a Member of the Engineering Instrument Selection Panel at ISIS and was awarded the Young Scientist Award at ICOTOM 14 (2005).
Current Research Projects
- Plasticity and orientation clustering in titanium alloys
- Flow forming of advanced aerospace alloys
- Deformation mechanisms in titanium and other hcp metals
- Development of strain heterogeneity during forming
- Microstructure evolution during thermomechanical processing of zirconium alloys
- Strain localisation and SCC susceptibility in nickel alloys and stainless steel
- Micromechanics of deformation of titanium alloys with lamellar microstructures
- Mapping the development of strain heterogeneity during forming
- Deformation mechanisms in model nickel super alloys
Dr Joe Robson
LATEST2 Co-Investigator
Senior Lecturer in Physical Metallurgy
Joe is a member of the Light Alloy Processing group. He has rapidly established an international reputation on modelling microstructural evolution in complex industrial alloys, and he is regularly invited to present his research at key conferences. He has particular expertise in thermodynamic and kinetic modelling of phase transformations during rapid transient processes, such as welding, and he has led major projects in this area in collaboration with industrial partners. Other models he has developed have been transferred to industrial R&D applications in the UK and Germany.
He also has a large activity in understanding and optimising microstructural development during thermomechanical processing of wrought magnesium alloys, in collaboration with an industrial partner. Since his appointment, he has published 65 papers. He is a member of the IOM3 Light Metals Committee and Associate Editor of the Journal of Materials Characterization.
Current Research Projects
- Modelling Heterogeneous Precipitate Evolution in Complex Alloys
- Friction Stir Welding – Integrated Modelling
- Designed Microstructures for Wrought Magnesium Alloys
- Fundamentals of Superplasticity in Magnesium Alloys
Professor Peter Skeldon
Professor of Corrosion Science and Engineering
Professor Skeldon’s research extends over the field of surface treatments of light metals, particularly for corrosion resistance and surface functionality. Application areas relate to architectural, engineering, automotive, aerospace, electronics, nanotechnology and biomedical sectors. Fundamental studies concern interrelationships of alloy microstructure, formation mechanisms of coatings and coating performance - special interest lies in growth of anodic oxides - barrier-types, porous types and more complex types produced under dielectric breakdown.
Current Research Projects
- Growth mechanisms of porous anodic films.
- PEO coating technologies for light metal alloys.
- Corrosion and protection of magnesium alloys.
- Ionic transport in amorphous and crystalline films.
- Conversion treatments for light metal alloys.
- Laser surface treatment of aluminium and magnesium alloys
Dr Xiaorong Zhou
Senior lecturer in Corrosion Science and Engineering
He relocated to the UK from the Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials. His research interests lie in corrosion control of light alloys, with emphasis on surface and interface characterization from the nanoscale upward, allowing detailed understanding of relationships between forming, joining and prediction of corrosion susceptibility, and protection mechanism. His work is validated by innovative electron microscopy approaches enabling the progress of corrosion to be followed, and susceptible regions in the microstructure, i.e. near-surface altered layers, defined three-dimensionally. He has published over 100 papers, and received the Kape Medal of the IMF (2001).
Current Research Projects
- Understanding the microstructure evolution in near-surface layers on fabricated aluminium and selected alloys
- Corrosion control of welded light alloys
- Control of cosmetic corrosion of automotive alloys
- Development of environmentally-friendly coatings
- Critical aspects in the adhesive bonding and painting of aluminium alloys
- Cold gas spray coatings
- Influence of shot/laser peening on surface integrity
- Nanotomography for understanding materials degradation
The Academic Team is supported by an Administrative Team comprising the Programme Manager, Outreach Administrator and Programme Administrative Assistant.