Assistant Professor

Room 305A Nicol Hall
Phone: (613) 533-6000 ext 77790
FAX: (613) 533-6489

Email: vahid.fallah@queensu.ca 

Research Teams    Publications    Laser Material Processing Laboratory

Biography and Research Interests

• PhD – Mechanical Engineering-Materials Processing (2011, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada)
• MSc – Materials Identification and Selection (2005, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran)
• BSc – Industrial Metallurgy (2002, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran)

Dr. Vahid Fallah has over 15 years of experience in academic research and industrial R&D in the fields of Additive Manufacturing (AM), Solidification and Casting, Precipitation Hardening (of aerospace & automotive aluminum alloys) and Computational Materials Science. Dr. Fallah earned his PhD in 2011 with a focus on laser additive manufacturing of advanced metals and metal matrix composites. From 2011 to 2015, he served as a postdoctoral fellow and research associate at McMaster University and University of Waterloo, and collaborated with Novelis Inc. on development of automotive aluminum alloys. Prior to joining Queen’s University in January 2018, as a senior scientist and technical project leader at Alcereco Inc., Dr. Fallah led several Industrial R&D projects. Among these are the successful development of superior continuously-cast Al alloys and thermomechanical processing routes for automotive and aerospace industries, as well as a proprietary atomization technology for specialty/spherical powders for AM applications.

Dr. Fallah’s research group welcomes applicants with strong background/interest in Materials Characterization and Analysis (Microstructure and Mechanical Properties), Solidification and Phase Transformation in Metals and Mechanical/Electrical Design & Control. 

Areas of Research

• Laser Additive Manufacturing of Metals
• Laser Surface Modification of Metals
• Thermomechanical Processing of Aluminum Alloys
• Solidification and Phase Transformation Phenomena in Metals (Analysis, Characterization and Simulation)

Research Projects

• Thin Srtip Casting- Process & Material Development: In collaboration with Hazelett Castechnology^TM, we are rigorously working on the optimization of process and product performances of an state-of-the-art strip casting techology taylored for direct manufacturing of thin (~2mm) aluminum sheets for automotive applications.
• Advanced Aluminum Alloys for Transportation Industry: Together with our industrial partners, we are developing alloy compositions and processing routes for Al alloys in order to achieve superior mechanical performance in sheet products. Our focus is on Sc-containing 3000 (Al-Mn), 5000 (Al-Mg) and 6000 (Al-Mg-Si) series alloys with applications in aerospace and automotive sectors.
• Specialty Metal Powders for AM applications: We are actively working with our industrial partners for developing, characterization and SLM-testing of AM metal powders with superior characteristics. In particular, these powders are custom-manufactured with controlled size distribution, exceptional sphericity, oxide-free internal microstructure and uniform chemical composition. 
• Selective Laser Melting (SLM)- Process Design and Optimization: We are rigorously working on devising processing criteria for improved as-built properties in SLM-produced components. My research team performs advanced microstructural and mechanical characterization on test coupons as well as on real-size components produced by our research partners. 
• Powder-bed SLM Machine Design: A novel Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) system, AZAR, with innovative features has been designed and built. The unit is equipped with a high performance printing enclosure with tightly-controlled atmosphere (i.e., O₂ content regulation & continuous filtering) for effective processing of reactive metals such as Al, Ti and Zr alloys. The unit will be equipped with a unique laser-based in-situ monitoring camera as well.

     

 

Publications

Google Scholar Link

Teaching

Undergraduate Courses

• MECH 211 [Manufacturing Methods]
• MECH 212 [Machine Tool Laboratory]
• MECH 457 [Additive Manufacturing] _{(Co-offered with Drs. Il Yong Kim & Gene Zak)}

Graduate Courses

• MECH 866 [Advanced Phase Transformations]