YCN representative - Austria

Maximilian Staudacher

YCN representative from the Austrian Ceramic Society

Chair of Structural- and Functional Ceramics of the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria

maximilian.staudacher@unileoben.ac.at

I am a PhD-Student at the Chair of Structural- and Functional Ceramics of the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria. After finishing my bachelor’s degree in Materials Science at this University, I decided to focus my attention on ceramics for my master’s degree. My main interest was (and still is) modeling and predicting the behavior of ceramics under different types of loading. So, I started to get more involved with Finite Element Analysis, different coding languages and the theoretical backgrounds of brittle failure. All these aspects come together neatly within the field of mechanical testing, which is the overarching theme of both my master’s thesis and my PhD.

More specifically, a big part of my current field of research revolves around various biaxial testing methods used for brittle materials, such as the Ring-on-Ring-or the Ball-on-Three-Balls-Test. One of my main goals is to ease the evaluation of the B3B -test while simultaneously increasing accuracy. Currently, non-linear effects are not considered when calculating the maximum stress in a specimen. Some of these effects are large specimen deformations, plastic deformation of the balls, friction, or a change in contact-area between the balls and the specimen. I am investigating these effects with Finite-Element-Analysis or analytic equations, and then back them up with empirical results.

On the other hand, I am investigating the influence of small-scale surface structures on the measured strength in the collaborative research project CharAM. 3D-printed specimens often exhibit surfaces with distinct structures as a consequence of the additive manufacturing process. At our chair, we have access to a state-of-the-art stereolithographic printer, so my attention lies on this process. With stereolithographic manufacturing, the structure’s geometry and periodicity depend on the printing direction, e.g. the angle between the building direction and the specimen’s surface. Again, Finite-Element-Analysis as well as printing/testing in-house manufactured specimens is the foundation of my research in this field. Here, my goal is to predict the change in strength due to different printing directions in order to aid efficient component design.