Sulayman Khan
Position
PhD Student
Research Area
Alloy Development
Solid-State Processing
Background
I graduated from the University of Huddersfield where I obtained my BEng in Mechanical Engineering. My interest in material science developed throughout my time as an undergraduate where I undertook modules such as "Analysis of Materials" and "Eco Design’" As well as my manufacturing workshop experience at Kirklees college, the modules have allowed me to understand the basic metallurgical theory and has helped in developing my interest for materials. I am currently a part of the 2020 cohort in an organisation name Advanced Metallic Systems, with a PhD titled "The Development of Advanced High Modulus Steels for Automotive Applications". This PhD is in collaboration with Volkswagen and is fully funded by EPSRC and SFI.
Current Research
My project looks at establishing the feasibility of in-situ TiB2, NbB2 and VB2 particles within a ductile steel matrix. Using vacuum induction melting (VIM) and field-assisted sintering technology (FAST) coupled with a single-stage thermomechanical process, microstructural characterisation can be carried out to investigate and compare the different processing routes. It is therefore possible to create high-modulus steel allowing for lightweight automotive component design. TiB2 in particular is a common precipitation strengthening mechanism; however, there is sparse research on the investigation of using FAST to develop in-situ steel metallic matrix composites (SMC) for automotive components. Microalloying elements (Ti, Nb and V) will also be analysed through experimental work; as the pinning effect of carbide precipitates, without boride reinforcement, needs to be determined. The target is to achieve suitable precipitation-hardened ferritic-pearlitic (PHFP) steel with high stiffness and low density to allow for improvements in the performance and fuel efficiency of Volkswagen vehicles through weight reduction.