Heavy industrial machines are typically constructed from structural steels of various grades or cast steel alloys. Manufacturing processes typically involve welding and heat treatment. The material has complex material properties that need to be optimised for a particular application. For example the fatigue fracture crack growth rates in various environments, as well as the fracture toughness of the material help, understand how likely a mining machine would fail with a fracture failure mode.

Various factors complicate the fracture mechanics analysis, such as the presence of residual stresses and the environmental effects such as operating temperature and corrosion. Novel fatigue and fracture mechanics testing methodologies for material property evaluation will be explored. Numerical simulation techniques for fatigue and crack propagation will be investigated.

High-performance computing platforms will be used in a multidisciplinary approach to optimise components in a robust framework for enhanced product life and reduced material use. This is an ideal opportunity for applicants with a great research interest in combining materials knowledge, experimental testing and numerical simulation for a high-impact industrial application.