Dr. Sneha P. Narra, Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University will give a seminar titled "Probing Defect-Based Process Window in Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing" to the interested faculty and students at Discovery Park.

Abstract

The theme of this talk is enabling additive manufacturing process qualification via fundamental understanding of process dynamics and defect formation mechanisms. Defect-based process windows refer to the range of process parameters that result in acceptable part quality, defined by the presence or absence of specific defects. I will present my group's work on probing these process windows in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing, focusing on fatigue properties in Ti-6Al-4V and recently observed solidification defects in Inconel 718. Our findings highlight additional considerations for process variability and solidification defects, underscoring the importance of a nuanced and thorough evaluation of process parameters in additive manufacturing. While our research focuses on Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718, the insights gained have broader implications for understanding defect formation mechanisms in other materials used in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. These contributions from our work will advance process-structure-property foundations with the ultimate goal of accelerating the industrial adoption of metal AM processes.

Biography

Dr. Narra's research focuses on advancing fundamental knowledge in metal additive manufacturing to enable lightweight, high-performance printed parts. This includes studying process-structure interactions, material behavior, and physics-driven process design paradigms aimed at accelerating industrial adoption. Her group works at the intersection of mechanical engineering and materials science to advance additive manufacturing technologies.

Sneha P. Narra received her B.E. in civil engineering from Osmania University in India (2012). She pursued graduate education at Carnegie Mellon University, where she obtained her M.S. in computational mechanics (2013), M.S. in mechanical engineering (2015) and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (2017). She then completed postdoctoral training at the NextManufacturing Center before joining the mechanical engineering department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute as an assistant professor in 2018. After three years in WPI’s materials and manufacturing engineering program, she joined the CMU mechanical engineering department in 2021.

She is currently serving as the Associate Editor of the Additive Manufacturing journal and plays an active role in organizing symposia through the TMS Additive Manufacturing Bridge Committee and other educational and outreach activities.