Research Themes

Dr. Al-Ketan’s research interests cover three thematic areas: (1) Engineering Applications of Additively-Manufactured Cellular Materials and Composites, (2) Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), and (3) Additive Manufacturing Processes and Materials. The selected projects below are a selected few which have gathered international interest.

Cellular Materials and Composites: Engineering Applications

Under the first thematic research, Dr. Al-Ketan develops 3D-printed lightweight cellular materials and interpenetrating phase composites with tailorable topologies for use in different engineering fields and investigates the effect of AM process on their performance. Examples include lightweight cellular materials optimized for structural stability, load-bearing capacity, and improved crashworthiness under impact and blast loading. He also develops innovative catalytic converter substrates, thermal management devices, static mixers, and feed spacers for water desalination.

Topology-Property of Metallic Lattices

This project aimed at investigating the effect of topology on the mechanical properties of metallic lattices. the project involved fabricating samples using powder bed fusion additive manufacturing techniques, mechanical testing, and performing finite element analysis. The results of this project were published in the journal of Additive Manufacturing. The published article has been one of the most cited articles in this leading Journal. Outcomes of this work were also published in the Journal of Materials Research, and the Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology.

Functionally Graded Lattices

The ability to mathematically control the relative density and pore distribution of lattices allows us to customize materials for a specific application. In this project, metallic lattices with functionally graded structures were designed, fabricated, and tested for their mechanical properties to investigate the role of grading on the exhibited mechanical properties.

the results of this work were published in the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials.

Design optimization of additively manufactured metallic dental implants

This project in collaboration with Sinterex Additive Manufacturing involved the design, fabrication, and testing of customized dental parts such as gums and jaws. In particular, investigating the feasibility to optimize the design of 3D scanned dental components for the purpose of reducing the total weight, material usage, and fabrication time.

 

 

Interpenetrating Phase Composites

Interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs) are co-continuous composites in which each phase is a single and continuous phase that forms a standalone cellular material. in these composites, both the Matrix and reinforcement and continuous phase as opposed to other discrete type composites such as fiber-reinforced composites or particle-reinforced composite. In this project, IPCs with different matrix and reinforcement topologies were additively-manufactured and tested for their mechanical properties. The outcomes of this research project resulted in a number of journal publications in Composites Structures, Advanced Materials Technologies, and Advanced Engineering Materials.

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM)

Under the second thematic research, Dr. Al-Ketan developed standalone DfAM tools such as the famous MSLattice. He proposed design methods for locally controlled topologies in architected AM materials.

The MSLattice Project

MSLattice is a standalone software that allows the user to generate STL files for cellular lattices based on triply periodic minimal surfaces. The user-friendly software allows the user to generate uniform lattices, functionally graded lattices, and cell size graded lattices for a wide range of topologies. Moreover, the user can generate orthogonal, cylindrical, and spherical samples for sheet-networks and solid-networks minimal surfaces.
The software is developed by Oraib Al-Ketan from New York University Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with Rashid Abu Al-Rub from Khalifa University of Science and Technology.

Download the latest windows copy of the software here.

LatticeIT

LatticeIT is a simple and intuitive design tool that converts CT scan-reconstructed STL files into porous scaffolds for body implants and tissue engineering. This design tool allows the user to manipulate the parameters of the lattice used to populate the design domain. For example, the user can choose the type of unit cell from a wide range of cells, cell category (sheet-networks or solid-networks), porosity, and unit cell size. Upon converting the solid CT scan to a porous structure, the software allows the user to calculate the surface area, reduce the mesh size to reduce the overall file size, and finally export the porous STL file for 3D printing purposes.

This design tool is undergoing continuous development. Please request a copy.

Additive Manufacturing Processes and Materials

The third thematic area focuses on overcoming the limitations of AM industrial implementation with an emphasis on validating suitability and cost-effectiveness.

AM-Assisted Casting

This project proposes an innovative, low-cost approach to producing architected lattices and heat sinks by combining the design flexibility of AM with the cost-effectiveness and scalability of traditional casting methods. This proposed approach addresses materials limitations faced by the conventional powder bed fusion techniques and allows the fabrication of otherwise hard-to-produce metals and alloys such as copper.

Metal-Metal and Ceramic Metal IPCs

Metal-metal interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs) are fabricated using a combined Powder Bed Fusion and melt infiltration process. Similarly, and ceramic-metal IPCs were fabricated, first by fabricating a ceramic phase using FDM AM technique with Zerconia-rich polymer filaments followed by a sintering process.