Contact
Biography
My research focuses on advanced coatings and surface engineering for aerospace, automotive, renewable energy and healthcare sectors. I am particularly interested in the understanding of novel materials processing techniques, especially thermal spray and cold gas dynamic spray. Process-microstructure-properties relationship is at the heart of my research. My latest research focus is on suspension and solution precursor thermal spraying to manufacture functional coatings from sub-micron to nanometer range feedstock particles. I was awarded an EPSRC Fellowship on Advanced Ceramics From Liquid Feedstock for Aerospace Propulsion (Press Release) where my team is developing new compositions using artificial intelligence and novel processing routes for thermal barrier coatings, environmental barrier coatings, wear-resistant coatings, corrosion-resistant coatings, insulating coatings and functional coatings for electrification.
We have recently developed comprehensive environmental test facilities to evaluate the performance of various coatings in CMAS, hot corrosion, superheated steam oxidation, erosion-corrosion test, thermal cycling and burner rig testing. We have also extensive test capabilities for high-temperature tribology and corrosion testing. I am part of the Advanced Materials Research Group.
I received a PhD in Materials Engineering from the University of Nottingham, which was followed by a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering. In my doctoral research, I investigated the high strain-rate deformation of titanium alloys using a novel cold gas dynamic spraying (a near net shape/additive manufacturing) technique. The process is now established as a high deposition rate additive manufacturing technique. My contribution to the scientific community was to propose a novel bonding mechanisms in the solid-state particle deformation.
PhD studentships and Postdoctoral Fellowships
Currently Recruiting. I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students and postdocs. Studentships and postdocs tend to be funded through specific grants in the UK, so these will be advertised at https://www.jobs.ac.uk whenever they get approved for funding.
Students with an excellent academic record (1st class undergraduate degree or a distinction in a relevant Masters level course) might be eligible for a Faculty of Engineering PhD studentship. Contact me if you would like to develop a project together.
I also welcome enquiries from overseas students and postdocs who have identified potential funding routes.
Current postdocs interested in applying for independent research fellowships (see https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/researchwithus/fellowships/fellowships.aspx) are encouraged to contact me if you are interested in conducting materials research at Nottingham. Our research group had several successful fellowship applications in recent years, and I would be happy to work with you in developing a competitive internal or external fellowship application. These fellowships typically require an outstanding publication track-record.
Example Research Grants
- EPSRC Fellowship: Advanced ceramics from liquid feedstock for aerospace propulsion, 2021-27, £2,122,347
- Repair, Enhanced Inspection, and Novel Sensing Techniques for increased Availability and reduced Through life Expense (REINSTATE), ATI, 2021-24, £10,539,902
- Nano-Reinforced Coatings with Improved Thermomechanical Properties-Steel Sector Application, https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=104768, 2019-22, Innovate UK
- DIGI-CSAM: Digitalization infrastructure and expert system for cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM), 2020-23, Innovate UK
- Development of a novel Silicon Carbide thermal spraying process, https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=105045, 2019-21, Innovate UK
- Improved Wear resistant Coatings Applied Internally on Complex Shapes, https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=132886, 2017-18, Innovate UK
- EPSRC funded Ultra-Supercritical (USC) steam power generation technology with Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB): Combustion, Materials and Modelling, £1.1 M. Materials work-package lead. http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/NGBOViewGrant.aspx?GrantRef=EP/M01536X/1
PhD Thesis Examiner
As an external examiner, I have examined PhD thesis at the University of Southampton, UCL, Manchester, Coventry, Cranfield, Swansea, Surrey, Birmingham etc. My overseas thesis examination includes 20+ universities in India and Italy (Politecnico Di Milano), University of New South Wales (Australia), Chalmers University (Sweden), McGill University (Canada), Concordia University (Canada) etc.
I was an external examiner to 5 years Manufacturing Engineering course at the Trinity College Dublin and currently an examiner for the Mechanical Engineering Programme at the Univesity of Edinburgh.
Editorial roles
I am recognised internationally in my field. My invitation to Editorial Boards and my contribution as an Editor show how well the community perceives my contribution to knowledge.
- Editor, Journal of European Ceramic Society,
- Editorial Board Member of Materials Genome Engineering Advances (MGE Advances), Wiley, (2022-now)
- Co-Editor of a Special Issue on Emergent Coatings and Thin Films for High Temperature Energy Applications for Emergent Materials, Springer-Nature, 2021
- Associate Editor of Journal of Thermal Spray Technology (JTST), Springer-Nature. JTST is the main journal in my research field published by the American Society of Metals (ASM) Thermal Spray Society (TSS). (2016- 2022)
- Editorial Board member of the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology (JTST). (2018-2022)
- Associate Editor of Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology (JET), Sage Publications. This is the flagship journal of tribology from IMechE. (2017-2019)
Honours and Distinctions
Fellow
- FASM, Fellow of ASM International, the world's largest association of materials-centric engineers and scientists, "for sustained and significant contribution to the advancement of the fundamental science in cold spray and suspension spraying, and unwavering commitment to the education of students in the materials field." ASM Fellows are technical and professional leaders who have been recognised by their colleagues and now serve as advisors to the society. University Press Release, University engineer elected fellow of ASM International, 2024
- FIMMM, Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), 2018
- FHEA, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), 2013
Chartered Engineering
- CEng through Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3), 2019
Awards
- Best Paper Award, High-throughput materials discovery process for Thermal Barrier Coatings, A. Chowdhury, A. Rincon-Romero, G. Figueredo, T. Hussain, AI in Engineering Conference, Feb 8, 2023 (Nottingham, UK)
- Best Paper Award, Numerical and Experimental Analysis of the Deformation Behavior of CoCrFeNiMn High Entropy Alloy Particles onto Various Substrates During Cold Spraying, C. J. Akisin, C. J. Bennett, F. Venturi, H. Assadi & T. Hussain, First UK Workshop on High Entropy Alloys, Sep 9, 2022 (Manchester, UK)
- Best Paper Award for Hydrophobicity of Suspension HVOF Sprayed Rare Earth Oxide Ceramic Coatings, M. Bai, Bo. Song and T. Hussain, International Thermal Spray Conference and Exposition, 2018, (Orlando, Florida). This is a prestigious award and only two papers were awarded out of 300 peer-reviewed papers.*
- Best Paper Award for Effect of particle and carbide grain sizes on a HVOAF WC-Co-Cr coating for the future application on internal surfaces: microstructure and wear, J. Pulsford, S. Kamnis, J. Murray, M. Bai and T. Hussain, International Thermal Spray Conference and Exposition, 2017, (Dusseldorf, Germany). This is a prestigious award and only two papers were awarded out of 300 peer-reviewed papers.*
- Best Poster Award for Tribology of internally sprayed WC-Co-Cr coatings at the Advanced Materials Research Group conference, 2017, (Nottingham, UK)
- Runner up Best Poster Award for Internally sprayed thermal sprayed coatings at the EFET summer conference of Engineering Doctorate Centre, 2016, (Sheffield, UK)
Keynote and invited talks at prestigious international conferences
- Clearance coatings in lower emission aviation gas turbines :Ytterbium disilicate abradable coatings spraying and steam-CMAS performance, Navigating a Greener Sky: Symposium on Advances in Thermal Spray and PVD Coatings for the Aerospace Industries by ASM TSS , November 12-14, 2024 (Limoges, France)
- Suspension Plasma Spray parameter development of EBC (Y1.5Yb0.5Si2O7) & SPS TBC (YSZ), 11th RIPT (Les Recontres Internationales de la Projection Thermique), June 5-7, 2024 (Fz-Julich, Germany)
- Next generation of Compositions & Microstructure for Netzero & Sustainable aviation, 50th International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films (ICMCTF 2024), May 19-24, 2024, (San Diego, USA)
- Next generation of thermal sprayed composites: GNPs, CNT, SiC & more, Asian Thermal Spray Conference and Expo (ATSC), November 2-4, 2023, (Chennai, India)
- Processing-microstructure-properties relationships of Columns in SPS TBC: A study of Thermo-Chemico-Mechanical Durability, Thermal Spray of Suspensions & Solutions Symposium + EBCs (TS4E), September 12-13, 2023 (University West, Sweden)
- Next Generation of Composition & Microstructure for TBC/EBC from Axial SPS, 1st National Thermal Spray Conference (NTSC), Guest of Honour, February 18-19, 2023 (Jodhpur, India)
- Ceramic coatings from liquid feedstock: innovations in Suspension thermal spray with machine learning, IoM3 conference on Surface Technology Innovations for Net-zero by 2050, October 12-13, 2022, (Manchester, UK)
- How to set a research vision: A journey from Cold Spray to SPS via SHVOF; November 16, 2022, TSS Open Mic Lecture Series
- New Frontier in Suspension & Solution Precursor Thermal Spray, CIMTEC 2022, 15th Ceramic Congress, June 20-24, 2022, (Perugia, Italy)
- Innovations in Suspension Thermal Spray: TBC & EBC, 10th RIPT (Les Recontres Internationales de la Projection Thermique), June 2-3, 2022 (Fz-Julich, Germany)
- Life of an academic- What maketh an academic, Coventry & Warwickshire Materials Society (CWMS), November 16, 2021 (UK)
- How to inject liquid into a plasma & combustion flame for next generation of aerospace ceramics? Scottish Association of Metals, October 19, 2021 (UK)
- Modification of powder before cold spray deposition, Cold Spray Club Meeting, March 23, 2021, (MINES ParisTech, France)
- Modification of powder before cold spray deposition and associated bonding mechanisms THERMEC 2020, International Conference on Processing and Manufacturing of Advanced Materials, May 31- June 5, 2020, Austria (Vienna, Austria)
- How to inject a liquid into in a thermal spray torch for functional coatings, 8th International Conference on Advancements and Futuristic Trends in Mechanical and Materials Engineering, AFTMME 2020, December 19-20, 2020 (IIT Ropar, India)
- New nanomaterials for biomedical applications, Sino-German Symposium, March 27- 31, 2020, (Shanghai, China)
- Tailored microstructures from suspension and solution precursor high velocity oxy-fuel (SSP-HVOF) thermal spray at 9th RIPT (Les Recontres Internationales de la Projection Thermique) December 11-13, 2019 (Fz-Julich, Germany)
- Bespoke compositions and microstructures from suspension and solution precursor thermal spray, Thermal Spray of Suspensions and Solutions Symposium + EBCs, September 17-18, 2019, (National Research Council, Montreal, Canada)
- Bonding mechanisms in cold spray deposition of gas atomized and solution heat-treated Al 6061 powder, 24th Cold Spray Club Meeting, November 9, 2018, (MINES ParisTech, France)
- Properties of Suspension Thermal Sprayed Coatings in Advances in Surface Engineering, November 1, 2017, (Tampere University of Technology, Finland)
- Wear of nanocomposite coatings at the International TWC Wear Seminar, Tribological and Wear Resistant Coatings, November 2, 2017, (Tampere University of Technology, Finland)
- Mechanical Properties of Low Pressure Cold-Sprayed Aluminium Alloys, 3rd European Cold Spray Symposium (EUCOSS), December 12, 2016, (Paris, France)
- Past, present and future of thermal and cold spray, 2nd MTA surface engineering event, Cranfield University, June 30, 2016, (Cranfield, UK)
- Corrosion in PF biomass boilers and mitigation strategies, NACE-ICorr, Energy Security- Corrosion Matters Conference, June 17, 2014, (London, UK)
- Bonding mechanisms in cold spraying and recent development in Ti coatings, 2nd European Cold Spray Symposium (EUCOSS), May 26, 2014, (Paris, France)
- Novel surface engineering solutions for a low carbon power generation, The Welding Institute Sheffield Branch, October 29, 2013, (Sheffield, UK)
- Bonding mechanisms of cold spraying of titanium for additive manufacturing, IPACTS workshop, June 12, 2015, UTBM, Universite de Technologie de Belfort Montbeliard, (Sevenans, France)
International advisory board and conference organizer
- Chair of the Organising Committee, Striving for Sustainability in Surface Engineering (SSSE24), TSSEA (Thermal Spray and Surface Engineering Association), April 25, 2024, (Nottingham, UK)
- Conference Organising Committee, 1st International Conference on Surface Science, Engineering & Technology, IoM3, September 16-19, 2024, (Manchester, UK)
- Member of the Advisory board, UKRI EDI Caucus, 2023-present
- International Advisory Board, CIMTEC 15th International Ceramics Congress, June 15-19, 2020 and the 9th Forum on New Materials, June 20-23, 2020 (Montecatini Terme, Italy)
- Organising Committee member, 11th International Conference on Microscopy of Oxidation, September 7-9, 2020 (Cranfield, UK)
- International Advisory Board, 2nd International Conference on Processing and Characterisation of Materials ICPCM-2019, December 12-14, 2019 (Rourkela, India)
- Steering committee member of European Conference of Nanofilms (ECNF), March 20-22, 2018 (Cranfield, UK)
Invited talk at International trade shows
- Functional Coatings and Surface Engineering for NetZero, UK Metals Expo, September 14-15, 2022 (Birmingham, UK)
- Machine learning and AI for new composition and materials processing, Advanced Engineering Show, November 2-3, 2022, (NEC Birmingham, UK)
Social media
I also tweet in a personal capacity on my research and teaching in higher education. You can follow my personal Twitter handle @ProfessorTanvir
Blog
Artificial intelligence-driven ceramic coatings for greener aviation
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vision/artificial-intelligence-driven-ceramic-coatings-for-greener-aviation
Expertise Summary
New Materials Discovery and Processing: New compositions development using artificial intelligence for thermal barrier coatings, environmental barrier coatings, wear-resistant coatings, corrosion-resistant coatings, insulating coatings and functional coatings for electrification. Materials processing using Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS), Suspension High Velocity Oxy-fuel Spraying (SHVOF) thermal spray and Cold Gas Dynamic Spray (CGDS). I am also interested in various other coatings technologies including, laser cladding, physical and chemical vapour deposition and atomic layer deposition.
Research Summary
New Advanced Ceramic Discovery with Machine Learning: Using a high-throughput Materials Discovery Apparatus (MDA) coupled with artificial intelligence we are discovering new compositions for thermal… read more
Selected Publications
PALA, Z., SHAW, E., MURRAY, J. W., SENIN, N. and HUSSAIN, T., 2017. Suspension high velocity oxy-fuel spraying of TiO2: A quantitative approach to phase composition: Journal of the European Ceramic Society Journal of the European Ceramic Society. 37(2), 801-810 MURRAY, J. W., ANG, A. S. M., PALA, Z., SHAW, E. C. and HUSSAIN, T., 2016. Suspension High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (SHVOF)-Sprayed Alumina Coatings: Microstructure, Nanoindentation and Wear: Journal of Thermal Spray Technology Journal of Thermal Spray Technology. 1-11
Current Research
New Advanced Ceramic Discovery with Machine Learning: Using a high-throughput Materials Discovery Apparatus (MDA) coupled with artificial intelligence we are discovering new compositions for thermal barrier coatings, environmental barrier coatings, wear and corrosion resistant coatings and functional coatings for renewable energy and aerospace propulsion.
Suspension and Solution precursor thermal spraying: We have commissioned the UK's first high efficiency, high power Axial Injection Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS) in 2021 and UK's first direct injection suspension and solution precursor HVOF thermal spray in 2015. We are studying the process- microstructure- properties relationship of various ceramic materials, which are prepared from sub-micrometre to nanometre sized powder feedstock dispersed in water and alcohol. The research is focused on functional materials for energy and aerospace applications to provide step-changing technological solutions.
High Velocity Oxy-Fuel spraying: We are working on the development of nanocomposite coatings (WC-Co with Carbon Nanotubes or hexagonal Boron Nitrides) using High Velocity Oxy Fuel (HVOF) thermal spray for the power generation industry. We are also developing novel multi-layered coatings for gas turbines thus increasing efficiency and reducing CO2 footprint. Process-property-performance of HVOF sprayed coatings are of great interest to us.
Cold Gas Dynamic Spraying: The work concerns the process development of cold gas dynamic spraying (CGDS) as a surface engineering, as well as a 3D printing technique. The work is supported by high-speed laser particle image velocimetry (PIV), and a state-of-the art material characterisation laboratory. Current research focuses on cold spraying of high entropy alloys, precipitation hardenable aluminium, titanium and nickel based alloys and feedstock modification before spraying. We are also working on laser-assisted cold spray (LACS) for additive manufacturing. We are interested in understanding the bonding mechanisms in the high strain rate deformation process in cold-spraying. We are currently developing a micro cold spraying system for in-situ on-wing repair applications.
Laser cladding: My interests lie in the microstructure-performance relationship of the laser cladding (wire and powder) for iron, nickel and titanium alloys in aerospace applications. We are also using laser for modification of the surface of thermal sprayed coatings.
Future Research
I welcome enquiries from potential PhD candidates from Home, EU and international countries who are interested in the following research areas: new ceramic composition development using machine learning, residual stress measurement techniques, Suspension and Solution precursor thermal spraying, environmental barrier coating, thermal barrier coatings, fuel cell electrolytes, nanocomposite coatings, anti-microbial coatings and coatings for space applications.