Professor Helen Davies

Professor, Materials Science and Engineering

+44 (0) 1792 602511

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Research Links

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4838-9572

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Scopus

About

The “High Integrity Joining Team” was formed in 2015 within the Institute of Structural Materials at Swansea University and is led by Dr Helen Davies with support from a Senior Post-Doctoral Research Officer and four PhD students.

Most recently, the team, have progressed the technique and application of powder interlayer bonding (PIB), a joining technique developed at the ISM. Alloys studied include Ti-64, Ti 6246, titanium aluminides and various nickel super alloys.

PIB is a novel joining technique providing high integrity joints at relatively low cost, providing opportunities to salvage and repair otherwise redundant components. The PIB technique utilises a metallic powder interlayer between the two faying surfaces, eliminating surface asperities and reducing the dependency of the bonding process on smooth surface finish. The process utilises inert gas shielding to protect the fusion zone from oxidation during bonding. Heating in the example offered in this work is provided by induction, which is an efficient method of heating metals such as titanium.

Areas Of Expertise

Titanium alloys
Nickel superalloys
Nickel Manufacture
Grain Boundary Engineering
Semi-solid forming
Additive Layer Manufacturing
Metals Casting
Failure Analysis (Metals)

Career Highlights

Teaching Interests

Metal Manufacturing, Casting, Semi-solid metal forming

Research Collaborations

Publications

Research Highlights

Bache, M., Davies, H., Davey, W., Thomas, M., & Berment-Parr, I. (n.d.) Microstructural Control of Fatigue Behaviour in a Novel a+b Titanium Alloy. Metals
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52224
Davies, P., Johal, A., Davies, H., & Marchisio, S. (2019). Powder interlayer bonding of titanium alloys: Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo and Ti-6Al-4V. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 103(1-4), 441-452.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-03445-3, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa49812
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-03445-3
Prikhodko, S., Savvakin, D., Markovsky, P., Stasuk, O., Penney, J., Shirzadi, A., Davies, P., & Davies, H. (2020). Diffusion bonding of TiC or TiB reinforced Ti–6Al–4V matrix composites to conventional Ti–6Al–4V alloy. Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, 1-7.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13621718.2020.1751403, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53891
Watkins, I., Davies, H., Stanners, O., & Marchisio, S. (2020). Powder interlayer bonding of geometrically complex Ti-6Al-4V parts. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 106(9-10), 3629-3639.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-04685-z, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52700
Stanners, O., John, S., Davies, H., Watkins, I., & Marchisio, S. (2020). The Effect of Processing Variables on Powder Interlayer Bonding in Nickel-Based Superalloys. Materials, 13(3), 601
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030601, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53410
Jothi, S., Sebald, T., Reese, E., Brown, S., & Davies, H. (2016). Localized microstructural characterization of a dissimilar metal electron beam weld joint from an aerospace component. Materials & Design, 90, 101-114.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2015.10.119, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23890
Davey, W., Bache, M., Davies, H., & Thomas, M. (2018). Fatigue Performance of the Novel Titanium Alloy Timetal 407. MATEC Web of Conferences, 165, 04001
https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201816504001, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa40730
Bache, M., Davies, H., Davey, W., Thomas, M., & Berment-Parr, . (2019). Microstructural Control of Fatigue Behaviour in a Novel α + β Titanium Alloy. Metals, 9(11)
https://doi.org/10.3390/met9111200, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52766
Lavery, N., Cherry, J., Mehmood, S., Davies, H., Girling, B., Sackett, E., Brown, S., & Sienz, J. (2017). Effects of hot isostatic pressing on the elastic modulus and tensile properties of 316L parts made by powder bed laser fusion. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 693, 186-213.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.03.100, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa30238
Cherry, J., Davies, H., Mehmood, S., Lavery, N., Brown, S., Sienz, J., Brown, S., Sienz, J., Lavery, N., & Davies, H. (2015). Investigation into the effect of process parameters on microstructural and physical properties of 316L stainless steel parts by selective laser melting. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 76(5-8), 869-879.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-014-6297-2, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa18363

All Research

Journal Articles

Stanners, O., Russell, J., John, S., Davies, H., & Marchisio, S. (2021). Powder Interlayer Bonding of Nickel-Based Superalloys with Dissimilar Chemistries. Materials, 14(8), 2029
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14082029, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa56834
Davies, P., Davies, H., Watkins, I., & Britton, D. (2020). The joining of gamma titanium aluminides via the powder interlayer bonding method. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 109(7-8), 2049-2054.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-05725-9, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa54683
Davies, P., Johal, A., Davies, H., & Marchisio, S. (2020). The fatigue performance of titanium alloys joined via the powder interlayer bonding method. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 109(5-6), 1553-1561.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-05737-5, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa54682
Reeks, W., Davies, H., & Marchisio, S. (2020). A review: Interlayer joining of nickel base alloys. Journal of Advanced Joining Processes, 2, 100030
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jajp.2020.100030, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55021
Prikhodko, S., Savvakin, D., Markovsky, P., Stasuk, O., Penney, J., Shirzadi, A., Davies, P., & Davies, H. (2020). Diffusion bonding of TiC or TiB reinforced Ti–6Al–4V matrix composites to conventional Ti–6Al–4V alloy. Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, 1-7.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13621718.2020.1751403, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53891
Watkins, I., Davies, H., Stanners, O., & Marchisio, S. (2020). Powder interlayer bonding of geometrically complex Ti-6Al-4V parts. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 106(9-10), 3629-3639.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-04685-z, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52700
Stanners, O., John, S., Davies, H., Watkins, I., & Marchisio, S. (2020). The Effect of Processing Variables on Powder Interlayer Bonding in Nickel-Based Superalloys. Materials, 13(3), 601
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030601, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53410
Bache, M., Davies, H., Davey, W., Thomas, M., & Berment-Parr, . (2019). Microstructural Control of Fatigue Behaviour in a Novel α + β Titanium Alloy. Metals, 9(11)
https://doi.org/10.3390/met9111200, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52766
Davies, P., Johal, A., Davies, H., & Marchisio, S. (2019). Powder interlayer bonding of titanium alloys: Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo and Ti-6Al-4V. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 103(1-4), 441-452.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-03445-3, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa49812
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-03445-3
Davey, W., Bache, M., Davies, H., & Thomas, M. (2018). Fatigue Performance of the Novel Titanium Alloy Timetal 407. MATEC Web of Conferences, 165, 04001
https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201816504001, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa40730
Lavery, N., Cherry, J., Mehmood, S., Davies, H., Girling, B., Sackett, E., Brown, S., & Sienz, J. (2017). Effects of hot isostatic pressing on the elastic modulus and tensile properties of 316L parts made by powder bed laser fusion. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 693, 186-213.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.03.100, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa30238
Zhang, L., Belblidia, F., Davies, H., Lavery, N., Brown, S., & Davies, D. (2017). Optimizing gate location to reduce metal wastage: Co–Cr–W alloy filling simulation. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 240, 249-254.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2016.09.027, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa30309
Jothi, S., Sebald, T., Reese, E., Brown, S., & Davies, H. (2016). Localized microstructural characterization of a dissimilar metal electron beam weld joint from an aerospace component. Materials & Design, 90, 101-114.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2015.10.119, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23890
Yousef, H., Cobley, R., Davies, H., James, D., Mehmood, S., Sackett, E., Sienz, J., Davies, H., Yousef, H., Cobley, R., & Sackett, E. (2015). Establishing a quantifiable tarnish timeline for comparison of anti-tarnish processes in metals. Materials and Corrosion, 66(10), 1120-1124.
https://doi.org/10.1002/maco.201407969, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa20511
Innocente, M., Afonso, S., Sienz, J., & Davies, H. (2015). Particle swarm algorithm with adaptive constraint handling and integrated surrogate model for the management of petroleum fields. Applied Soft Computing, 34, 463-484.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2015.05.032, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa22073
Huszar, M., Belblidia, F., Davies, H., Arnold, C., Bould, D., & Sienz, J. (2015). Sustainable injection moulding: The impact of materials selection and gate location on part warpage and injection pressure. Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 5, 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2015.07.001, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa22736
Cherry, J., Davies, H., Mehmood, S., Lavery, N., Brown, S., Sienz, J., Brown, S., Sienz, J., Lavery, N., & Davies, H. (2015). Investigation into the effect of process parameters on microstructural and physical properties of 316L stainless steel parts by selective laser melting. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 76(5-8), 869-879.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-014-6297-2, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa18363
Eckermann, J., Mehmood, S., Davies, H., Lavery, N., Brown, S., Sienz, J., Jones, A., Sommerfeld, P., Brown, S., Sienz, J., Lavery, N., & Davies, H. (2014). Computational modeling of creep-based fatigue as a means of selecting lead-free solder alloys. Microelectronics Reliability, 54(6-7), 1235-1242.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microrel.2014.02.017, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa22172
Randle, V. & Davies, H. (2002). A comparison between three-dimensional and two-dimensional grain boundary plane analysis. Ultramicroscopy, 90(2-3), 153-162.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3991(01)00137-1, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23354
Davies, H., Randle, V., & Davies, H. (2002). Single-section plane assessment in grain boundary engineered brass. Journal of Microscopy, 205(3), 253-258.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2818.2002.00989.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23357
Randle, V. & Davies, H. (2002). Evolution of microstructure and properties in alpha-brass after iterative processing. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 33(6), 1853-1857.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-002-0193-3, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23358
Davies, H. (2002). Triple junction distribution profiles as assessed by electron backscatter diffraction. Journal of Materials Science, 37(19), 4203-4209.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020052306493, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23356
Randle, V. & Davies, H. (2002). Evolution of microstructure and properties in alpha-brass after iterative processing. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 33(6), 1853-1857.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-002-0193-3, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23361
Randle, V., Davies, H., & Cross, I. (2001). Grain boundary misorientation distributions. Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, 5(1), 3-8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-0286(00)00018-8, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23352
Davies, H. & Randle, V. (2001). The effect of low strain and annealing iterations on the ductility of alpha-brass. Philosophical Magazine A, 81(11), 2553-2564.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01418610108216654, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23360
Bache, M. & Davies, H. (1997). Dwell sensitive fatigue in a near alpha titanium alloy at ambient temperature. International Journal of Fatigue, 19(93), 83-88.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0142-1123(97)00020-0, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23359
Davies, H. (1997). Electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis of quasi-cleavage and hydrogen fractures under cyclic and dwell loading in titanium alloys. J. of Materials Science, 32, 3435-3442.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018624801310, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23355
Bache, M., Davies, H., Davey, W., Thomas, M., & Berment-Parr, I. (n.d.) Microstructural Control of Fatigue Behaviour in a Novel a+b Titanium Alloy. Metals
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52224

Book Chapters

Davies, H. (2012). Characterisation of hydrogen induced fracture in the titanium alloy IMI685. Advances in Fracture Research (pp. 351-358).
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa23362

Supervision

The effect of corrosive environment on the crack growth behaviour of nickel-base superalloys (current)

PhD

Other supervisor: Prof Mark Whittaker
Not decided (current)

PhD

Other supervisor: Prof Mark Whittaker
Remnant Life Assessment based on the Small Punch Test and the Wilshire Equations (current)

PhD

Other supervisor: Dr Mark Evans
Characterising the Effects of Surface Finish on the Low Cycle Fatigue Performance of Laser Powder Bed Fused Stainless Steel 316L (current)

EngD

Other supervisor: Prof Robert Lancaster
The effect of small surface defects on the HCF life of Ti6-4 (current)

EngD

Other supervisor: Prof Mark Whittaker
High Integrity Joining and Repair of Gamma Titanium Aluminides (current)

EngD

Other supervisor: Prof Steve Brown

Taught Modules

EG-182 Manufacturing Technology I

Manufacturing makes a major contribution to the world economy and, engineering processes help solve some of the most serious challenges facing society today. The role of engineers in the manufacturing sector is crucial to generate sustainable high economic value products and jobs. To meet this ever-changing role, new graduates require an understanding of established and advanced processes. The module provides students with a holistic view of current, emerging and integrated manufacturing processes, providing a wide range of techniques required for producing product specifications based on process/technology selection. The taught material builds together with knowledge gained from materials and design modules. The topics are delivered by means of traditional lectures in each of the areas shown in the syllabus below.
EG-185 Materials Practicals 1: structure / property links in metals

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the skills necessary to prepare materials for microscopic examination and to conduct standard mechanical tests. The course supports the Level 1 lecture courses, in particular the courses on Introduction to Materials (EG-180) and on Mechanical Properties (EG-184). The emphasis for this module is the development of practical, experimental, and scientific report writing skills.

Key Grants and Projects

CAJoRR (Co-I) 2019 - 2022

, with PI = Professor M Whittaker, Total = £4,061,976 , Swansea University = £719,826

Career History

Associate Professor with the Institute of Structural Materials, Institute of Structural Materials

2018 - Present
Senior Lecturer, Institute of Structural Materials

2015 - 2018
Senior Technical Manager, ASTUTE (Advanced sustainable manufacturing technologies)

2011 - 2015
Various technical roles, VALE – Nickel Refinery

2000 - 2010

Affiliated Positions

Chartered Engineer and Member, The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

2014 - Present
Fellow, Higher Education Academy

2017 - Present
External Examiner, Oxford University- Pembroke College

2018 - Present
External Examiner, Birmingham University

2019 - Present

Professor Helen Davies

Telephone number

Email address

Research Links

About

Areas Of Expertise

Career Highlights

Research Highlights

All Research

The effect of corrosive environment on the crack growth behaviour of nickel-base superalloys (current)

Not decided (current)

Remnant Life Assessment based on the Small Punch Test and the Wilshire Equations (current)

Characterising the Effects of Surface Finish on the Low Cycle Fatigue Performance of Laser Powder Bed Fused Stainless Steel 316L (current)

The effect of small surface defects on the HCF life of Ti6-4 (current)

High Integrity Joining and Repair of Gamma Titanium Aluminides (current)

EG-182 Manufacturing Technology I

EG-185 Materials Practicals 1: structure / property links in metals

CAJoRR (Co-I) 2019 - 2022

Associate Professor with the Institute of Structural Materials, Institute of Structural Materials

Senior Lecturer, Institute of Structural Materials

Senior Technical Manager, ASTUTE (Advanced sustainable manufacturing technologies)

Various technical roles, VALE – Nickel Refinery

Chartered Engineer and Member, The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Fellow, Higher Education Academy

External Examiner, Oxford University- Pembroke College

External Examiner, Birmingham University