Additive Analytics

Research Output

Publications

A curated selection of our latest publications in additive manufacturing and advanced thermal management.

July 2026

Optimisation of energy input in laser powder bed fusion of porous wick structures for functional vapour chambers

J. Robinson, M. Taylor-Smith, A. Arjunan, A. Baroutaji, M. Singh, C.T. Wanniarachchi, O. Lawal

Applied Thermal Engineering

This open-access study explores how laser energy input controls the formation of porous wick structures produced by laser powder bed fusion for integrated vapour chambers. Using an EOS M290 platform, the work identifies an optimised edge-function parameter set for manufacturing functional capillary lattice architectures, supporting advanced thermal management applications in electronics, aerospace, defence, and high-performance computing.

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May 2026

Process driven self-organisation in laser powder bed fusion of copper coated diamond

J. Robinson, A. Arjunan, N. Zakeri, C. Walker, A. Baroutaji, A. Arafat, A. Vance, M. Singh, C.T. Wanniarachchi, M. Appiah, O. Lawal

Diamond and Related Materials

This open-access study demonstrates laser powder bed fusion of copper-coated diamond and maps how energy density governs melt-pool behaviour, porosity, particle assimilation, and bonding. The work identifies a narrow conduction-mode process window and reports a previously unobserved self-organised sub-micron porous lattice formed by capillary-driven breakup of molten copper films, positioning LPBF as a route to engineered metal-diamond microstructures for advanced thermal management.

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Feb 2026

Additively manufactured copper surfaces with porous microfeatures for enhanced pool boiling performance

T. Bregar, A. Hadžić, J. Robinson, M. Zupančič, I. Golobič

International Journal of Thermal Sciences

This study evaluates pool boiling on additively manufactured copper surfaces with various microstructures, using distilled water under saturated atmospheric conditions. Initially, heat-treated and untreated samples were compared to assess thermal conductivity effects. Heat-treated samples, despite higher thermal conductivity, generally showed lower heat transfer coefficients (HTC) due to smoother surfaces and fewer active nucleation sites. Further testing involved heat-treated surfaces with channels, tunnels, chimneys, and pillars of varying heights, benchmarked against a flat surface.

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Oct 2025

Industrial Readiness of Copper AM for High-Performance Thermal Applications

J. Robinson, A. Arjunan, A. Baroutaji, M. Stanford

Proceedings of the institution of mechanical engineers, part l: journal of materials: design and applications

On-demand additive manufacturing (three-dimensional printing) offers great potential for the development of functional materials for the next generation of energy-efficient devices. In particular, novel materials suitable for efficient dissipation of localised heat fluxes and non-uniform thermal loads with superior mechanical performance are critical for the accelerated development of future automotive, aerospace and renewable energy technologies. In this regard, this study reports the laser powder bed fusion processing of high purity (>99%) copper (Cu), silver (Ag) and novel copper–silver (CuAg) alloys ready for on-demand additive manufacturing.

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Jul 2025

Optimizing a photon absorber using conformal cooling channels and additive manufacturing in copper

Y. Chahid, C. Atkins, S. Hodbod, J. Robinson, X. Liu, S. Watson, M. Jones, M. Cliffe, D. Ogunkanmi, R. Kotlewski, L. Chapman, S. Beamish, J.L Cerezo, T. Wearing, A. Baroutaji, A. Arjunan, C. Fowler, P. Vivian

Synchrotron Radiation

Many of the 70 synchrotron facilities worldwide are undergoing upgrades to their infrastructure to meet a growing demand for increased beam brightness with nanometre-level stability. These upgrades increase the mechanical and thermal challenges faced by beamline components, creating opportunities to apply novel methodologies and manufacturing processes to optimize hardware performance and beam accuracy. Absorbers are important beamline components that rely on water-cooled channels to absorb thermal energy from excess light caused by synchrotron radiation or photon beams created by insertion devices, all within a limited volume, to protect downstream equipment and ensure safe, reliable operation.

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Sep 2024

Developments and prospects of additive manufacturing for thermoelectric materials and technologies

A. Baroutaji, A. Arjunan, J. Robinson, M. Ramadan, M.A. Abdelkareem, A. Vance, A. Arafat, A. Olabi

Sustainable Materials and Technologies

On-demand additive manufacturing (three-dimensional printing) offers great potential for the development of functional materials for the next generation of energy-efficient devices. In particular, novel materials suitable for efficient dissipation of localised heat fluxes and non-uniform thermal loads with superior mechanical performance are critical for the accelerated development of future automotive, aerospace and renewable energy technologies. In this regard, this study reports the laser powder bed fusion processing of high purity (>99%) copper (Cu), silver (Ag) and novel copper–silver (CuAg) alloys ready for on-demand additive manufacturing.

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Oct 2023

Melt Pool Monitoring and X-ray Computed Tomography-Informed Characterisation of Laser Powder Bed Additively Manufactured Silver–Diamond Composites

J. Robinson, A. Arafat, A. Vance, A. Arjunan, A. Baroutaji

Machines

In this study, silver (Ag) and silver–diamond (Ag-D) composites with varying diamond (D) content are fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing (AM). The L-PBF process parameters and inert gas flow rate are optimised to control the build environment and the laser energy density at the powder bed to enable the manufacture of Ag-D composites with 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% D content. The Ag and D powder morphology are characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ag, Ag-D0.1%, Ag-D0.2% and Ag-D0.3% tensile samples are manufactured to assess the resultant density and tensile strength.

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Oct 2025

Tunable stiffness and crashworthiness of selective laser melted AlSi10Mg sinusoidal auxetic structures

M. Singh, A. Arjunan, A. Baroutaji, C. Wanniarachchi, J. Robinson, A. Arafat, A. Vance, O. Lawal, M. Appiah

Additive Manufacturing Frontiers

This study presents the design, fabrication, and multi-objective optimisation of a novel additively manufactured aluminium sinusoidal ligament auxetic structure (SAS) using AlSi10Mg and Selective Laser Melting (SLM) achieving 99.85% density. Unlike conventional re-entrant designs, the smooth sinusoidal geometry minimises stress concentrations, enhances manufacturability, and provides tunable stiffness and crashworthiness..

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Oct 2022

Electrical Conductivity of Additively Manufactured Copper and Silver for Electrical Winding Applications

J. Robinson, S.P. Munagala, A. Arjunan, N. Simpson, R. Jones, A. Baroutaji, L.T. Govindaraman, I. Lyall

Materials

Efficient and power-dense electrical machines are critical in driving the next generation of green energy technologies for many industries including automotive, aerospace and energy. However, one of the primary requirements to enable this is the fabrication of compact custom windings with optimised materials and geometries. Electrical machine windings rely on highly electrically conductive materials, and therefore, the Additive Manufacturing (AM) of custom copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) windings offers opportunities to simultaneously improve efficiency through optimised materials, custom geometries and topology and thermal management through integrated cooling strategies.

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Sep 2022

Direct Thermal Management of Windings Enabled by Additive Manufacturing

N. Simpson, G. Yiannakou, H. Felton, J. Robinson, A. Arjunan, PH Mellor

IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications

The electrification and hybridization of ground- and air-transport, in pursuit of Carbon Net Zero targets, is driving demand for high power-density electrical machines. The power-density and reliability of electrical machines is ultimately limited by their ability to dissipate internally generated losses within the temperature constraints of the electrical insulation system. As the electrical windings are typically the dominant source of loss, their enhanced design is in the critical path to improvements in power-density. Application of metal additive manufacturing has the potential to disrupt conventional winding design by removing restrictions on conductor profiles, topologies and embedded thermal management.

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