{"693620":{"#nid":"693620","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Alex Butler","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlex Butler\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdvisors: Josh Kacher and Aaron Stebner\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ewill defend a doctoral thesis entitled,\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInfluence of Heterogeneous Particulate Reinforcements on Deformation and Damage in Aluminum Composites Formed by Reactive Additive Manufacturing\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOn\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThursday, November 12, 2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E12 pm \u2013 2 pm\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E-------------\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Eor virtually via Teams:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJoin:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/meet\/248266455555984?p=93WUJ1utqZm4Pd8eD9\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Meeting join\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ehttps:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/meet\/248266455555984?p=93WUJ1utqZm4Pd8eD9\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMeeting ID: 248 266 455 555 984\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u2002Passcode: zZ9Kw7aL\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Josh Kacher - School of Materials Science and Engineering (advisor)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Aaron Stebner - School of Materials Science and Engineering (co-advisor)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Naresh Thadhani - School of Materials Science and Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Richard Neu - Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Ashley Spear - Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u2002\u003C\/em\u003E\u2002\u2002Laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) enables the fabrication of complex parts, but aluminum alloys manufactured through this process remain susceptible to solidification cracking and anisotropic mechanical properties associated with columnar grain growth. Reactive additive manufacturing (RAM) is a method of promoting grain refinement and introducing reinforcement particles through \u003Cem\u003Ein situ\u003C\/em\u003E chemical reactions between reactive powder constituents during processing. However, incomplete reactions contribute to heterogeneous microstructures containing variations in particle size, shape, composition, and spatial distribution, which can influence deformation and fracture behavior. Understanding these effects is important for identifying potential damage initiation mechanisms and their effect on tensile properties. In this work, I investigated the relationships between heterogeneous reinforcement particles, deformation and fracture, and mechanical properties in Al-Ti-B\u2084C composites formed through RAM.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFirst, \u003Cem\u003Ein situ\u003C\/em\u003E scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tensile testing was coupled with digital image correlation (DIC) to analyze local strain distributions as they relate to the reinforcement particles over different volume fractions. Machine learning approaches were then employed to quantify the relative importance of particle geometry and composition in predicting particle crack initiation and propagation under uniaxial tension. Finally, the laser-material interaction time during PBF-LB was progressively increased to study the influence of increasing thermal exposure on the progression of the in situ chemical reactions, porosity, and subsequent tensile properties. These studies provide a foundation for the microstructural considerations necessary in developing PBF-LB processing strategies that balance the benefits of \u003Cem\u003Ein situ\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Ereinforcement particle formation against the introduction of features which may compromise tensile performance.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInfluence of Heterogeneous Particulate Reinforcements on Deformation and Damage in Aluminum Composites Formed by Reactive Additive Manufacturing\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Influence of Heterogeneous Particulate Reinforcements on Deformation and Damage in Aluminum Composites Formed by Reactive Additive Manufacturing"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-10-29 17:08:57","changed_gmt":"2026-10-29 17:09:45","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-11-12T12:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2026-11-12T14:00:56-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-11-12T14:00:56-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-11-12 17:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-11-12 19:00:56","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-11-12 19:00:56","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"virtually via Teams","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}