November/December AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 4 4 iTSSe TSS iTSSe TSS equipment, and coating manufacturing) was estimated at USD $7.58 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at a com- pound annual growth rate of 7.79%to reachUSD $11.89 billion by 2021. Market drivers include the rising demand for electric- ity production, air transport, automotive manufacturing, and economic development.” Additional surface engineering pro- cesses (shown in Fig. 1) within SEAM exceed these financial markets and encompass a broader range of applications. SEAM hits targets of technological and scientific needs that are underrepresented in Australia. The industrial signifi- cance can be gauged by analyzing available public data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics [2] shows the total employment projection for 2017 in Australia is 12.1 million, with 231,100 in the mining sector, 907,200 in manufacturing, 428,000 in research services, 234,800 in tertiary education, 9100 in edu- cation and training, and 217,100 in repair and maintenance. Thus, roughly 13% of the Australian workforce could be af- fected by SEAM. The total gross value added by industry to the Australian economy during FY 2016 was Australian $1548 billion with the above sectors contributing about 25.6%. SEAM is therefore focused on making an impact on significant finan- cial and employment sectors that drive growth for Australia. SEAM intends to build on current national and international expertise to fill this gap in Australia’s R&D portfolio. In addition, it is recognized that the global need for surface engineering of advanced materials is strong. For ex- ample, it is estimated that economic losses due to corrosion account for approximately 4% of GDP for industrialized na- tions [3] , which could be mitigated by technologies such as thermal spray surface engineering. Another example of a field that could benefit from advances in surface engineering is the medical device industry. Globally, the medical technology market is expected to grow at 4.5% per year and achieve sales of USD $455 billion by 2018. In Australia, recent figures (2013- 2014) show that the turnover is approximately $11.8 billion in 2012-13 and the medical industry employs more than 19,000 people. Given that the level of imported goods is $5.59 billion compared to exported goods of $2.23 billion, opportunities for new Australian inventions to make an impact are huge, partic- ularly in the development of new thin film technology [4] . BUILDING SKILLS AND CAPACITY Three surface engineering themes formthe technological foundation of SEAM, which promotes interaction between and among these technologies (Fig. 3). Theme 1: Nanoscale surfacemodifications and thin films such as PVD and CVD are used in applications ranging from films for bacterial and infection control, tomicroelectronics, to hard coatings for the machining industries. Theme 2: Thick coatings are manufactured by laser and thermal spray technologies. These overlays are used in heavy industries, mining, and in commercial transportation for re- pair and remanufacturing of components. Theme 3: Additivemanufacturing (AM) is a layer-by-layer deposition process that creates a new surface. The two prime AM technologies explored include laser technology and cold spray. These are considered the most challenging because they involve fabricating near-net artifacts from difficult to pro- cess metals such as titanium alloys. Surface engineering technologies are most often con- sidered to be independent silos that do not interact. SEAM challenges this narrow viewpoint because of the high po- tential for advanced materials systems that may arise by integration and interactions across the three surface engi- neering themes. Thus, a component can be surface engi- neered by taking advantage of microstructural features over several grain size scales, i.e., from nano to macro. This com- binatorial materials modification approach enables fabri- cation of advanced surface coatings as composites or lami- nates. Therefore, SEAM’s multi-themed approach will create new surface coatings that will demonstrate unique materials properties to service the demanding requirements of industry, including development of the next generation of manufac- tured products. In summary, the initial cohort of 23 Ph.D. students, six postdoc research engineers, and 20 undergraduate interns— all beginning in 2019—will have a tremendous opportunity to engage with and learn from the best organizations and in- dustries in the field of surface engineering. These early career researchers will drive development of the next generation of innovations in surface engineering of advancedmaterials. The SEAM team will generate significant benefits to industry, ed- ucation, and to the fundamental understanding of advanced materials and surface engineering, which is critical to develop- ing advancedmanufacturing products. ~iTSSe FEATURE 10 Fig. 3 — Three surface engineering themes form the technological foundation of SEAM.