Poirier

David R. Poirier

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1966
Mailing Address:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
The University of Arizona
P.O. Box 210012
Harshbarger Building, Room 338E
Tucson, AZ 85721-0012
Campus Phone: (520) 621-6072
FAX: (520) 621-8059
E-mail: poirierd@u.arizona.edu

Biosketch

Dr. Poirier has more than thirty years of experience in research pertaining to solidification processing of alloys. He has authored more than 120 articles and is the author of two textbooks, Transport Phenomena in Metallurgy (1974) and Transport Phenomena in Materials Processing (1994), and a primer for casting engineers, Fundamentals for Metal Casting (1994). Included among his publications are more than twenty articles on macrosegregation in alloys. His research has been sponsored by various government agencies including NSF, NASA, DOE, ARPA, Sandia National Laboratories, Bureau of Mines, U.S. Army, and DOT and industrial orgainzations including the Alcoa Technical Center, Specialty Metals Processing Consortium, Investment Casting Cooperative Arrangement, Howmet Casting Company, General Electric and North Star Steel. Dr. Poirier has also consulted for many compaines on topics ranging from metal castings, computer modeling, semisolid processing, manufacturing, heat treatment, materials processing, and applications of transport phenomena.

Teaching Interests

Transport Phenomena (MSE409/509)
Physical Metallurgy and Procesing of Alloys (MSE 455/555)
Solidification of Castings (MSE 414/514)

Current Research

Macrosegregation and Transport Phenomena in Solidifying Alloys
Computer Modeling and Simulation of Dendritic Solidification
Formation of Microporosity in Dendritic Alloys
Fatigue and Microstructure in Aluminum Casting Alloy

The goals of my current research are to develop predictors for simulations that are used by the casting industry; enhance microstructure and fatigue properties of lightweight casting alloys; and determine effects of thermal and convective conditions on dendritic solidification of alloys in ingots and castings.

Most of my research has pertained to solidification and castings, including Ni -alloys. Current projects are predicting macrosegregation in ingots of Ni-base superalloys used in superalloy and steel castings; simulations of dendritic growth at the microstructural level; the methodology to treat permeability as a stochastic property (permeability is used to quantify the flow of liquid in mushy zones); and the fatigue properties and microstructure-relationship in an aluminum casting alloy.

In addition to the graduate students, there are two full-time research assistant professors in the group. I collaborate with a professor in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering who is the expert in finite elements. We also continue to get some help from a former post-doctorate (now in industry) on numerical modeling, and a colleague in Argentina who is first class in developing finite element meshes.

Principal Publications, 2000-2004

Macrosegregation and Transport Phenomena in Solidifying Alloys

C.Frueh, D.R. Poirier and S.D. Felicelli: "Effect of Computational Domain Size on the Mathematical Modeling of Transport Phenomena and Segregation during Directional Solidification," Metall. Mater.Trans. A, vol. 31A, 2000, pp. 3129-3135.
P.K. Sung, D.R. Poirier and S.D. Felicelli: "Sensitivity of Mesh Spacing on Simulating Macrosegregation during Directional Solidification of a Superalloy," Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids, vol. 35, 2001, pp. 357-370.
D.R. Poirier, J.C. Heinrich, R.G. Erdmann and M.S. Bhat: "Permeability for Flow through Equiaxed-Dendritic Alloys," in Proceedings of The Merton C. Flemings Symposium on Solidification and Materials Processing, R. Abbaschian, H. Brody and A. Mortensen (eds.) TMS, Warrendale, PA, 2001, pp. 287-296.
P.K. Sung, D.R. Poirier and S.D. Felicelli: "Simulating the Initiation of a Channel during Directional Solidification of a Superalloy," Metall. Mater.Trans. A, vol. 32A, 2001, pp. 202-207.
C. Frueh, D.R. Poirier and S.D. Felicelli: "Predicting Freckle-Defects in Directionally Solidified Pb-Sn Alloys," Mater. Sci.Eng. A, vol. 328, 2002, pp. 245-255.
C. Frueh, D.R. Poirier, R.G. Erdmann and S.D. Felicelli: "On the Length-Scale and Location of Channel Nucleation in Directional Solidification," Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2002, vol. 345, 2003, pp. 72-80.
J. Chen, P.K. Sung, S.N. Tewari, D.R. Poirier and H.C. de Groh III: "Directional Solidification and Convection in Small Diameter Crucibles," Mater. Sci. Eng. A, vol. A357, 2003, pp. 397-405.
D.G. Westra, J.C. Heinrich and D.R. Poirier: "Simulating the Effect of Space Vehicle Environments on Directional Solidification of a Binary Alloy," paper AIAA 2004-630, 42nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nevada, Jan. 5-8, 2004.
J.C. Heinrich and D.R. Poirier: "Convection Modeling in Directional Solidification, " Comptes Rendus Mecanique, vol. 332, 2004, pp. 429-445.
J.C. Heinrich and D.R. Poirier: "Effect of Volume Change during Solidification of Binary Alloys," Model. Simul. Mat. Sci. Eng., 2004, in press.
P. Zhao, M. Venere, J.C. Heinrich and D.R. Poirier: "Modeling Dendritic Growth of a Binary Alloy," J. Computational Physics, vol. 188, no. 2, 2003, pp. 434-461.
P. Zhao, J.C. Heinrich and D.R. Poirier: "Stability of Numerical Simulation of Dendritic Solidification," JSME International Journal, Series B, vol. 46, no. 4, 2003, pp. 586-592.
P. Zhao, J.C. Heinrich and D.R. Poirier: "Fixed Mesh Front-Tracking Methodology for Finite Element Simulations," Int. J. Num. Meth. Eng., 2004, in print.
P. Zhao, J.C. Heinrich and D.R. Poirier: "Effect of Variable Density in Dendritic Solidification," paper AIAA 2004-628, 42nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nevada, Jan. 5-8, 2004.

Fatigue and Microstructures in Aluminum Casting Alloy

B. Zhang, W. Chen and D.R. Poirier: "Effect of Solidification Cooling Rate during Solidification on the Fatigue Life of A356.2-T6 Aluminum Alloy," Fatigue Fract. Engng. Mater. Struct., vol. 23, 2000, pp.417-423.
B. Zhang, P.K. Sung, D.R. Poirier and W. Chen: "Effects of Strontium Modification and Hydrogen Content on the Fatigue Behavior of A356.2 Aluminum Alloy," Trans. AFS, vol. 108, 2000, pp. 383-389.
B. Zhang, D.R. Poirier and W. Chen: "Effects of Hipping and Strontium Modification on the Fatigue Behavior of A356.2 Aluminum Alloy," Trans. AFS, vol. 110, 2002, pp. 393-405.

Microporosity in Casting Alloys

S.D. Felicelli, D.R. Poirier and P.K. Sung:"A Model for Prediction of Pressure and Redistribution of Gas Forming Elements in Multicomponent Casting Alloys," Metall. Mater. Trans. B, vol. 31B, 2000, pp. 1283-1292.
M. Serratos, D.R. Poirier and W. Lyman: "Effect of Stirring on Oxide Skins and Porosity in A356 Aluminum Alloy," Trans. AFS, vol. 108, 2000, pp. 719-724.
P.K. Sung, D.R. Poirier, S.D. Felicelli, E.J. Poirier and A. Ahmed: "Simulations of Microporosity in IN718 Equiaxed Investment Castings," J. Crys. Growth, vol. 226, 2001, pp. 363-377.
D.R. Poirier, P.K. Sung and S.D. Felicelli: “A Continuum Model of Microporosity in an Aluminum Casting Alloy,” Trans. AFS , vol. 109, 2001, pp. 379-395.
P.K. Sung, D.R. Poirier and S.D. Felicelli: "Predicting Microporosity in Steel Castings," Model.Simul. Mater. Sci. Eng., vol. 10, 2002, pp. 551-568.
C. Frueh, P.K. Sung, D.R. Poirier, R.G. Erdmann and M.E. Miszkiel: "Microporosity in A356.2 Aluminum Alloy Cast under Pressure," Advances in Aluminum Casting Technology II , M. Tiryakioglu and J. Campbell (eds.), Proceedings from Materials Solutions Conference 2002, 2nd International Aluminum Casting Technology Symposium, ASM International, October 7-9, 2002, pp. 99-105.

Others Related to Castings

S.D. Felicelli and D.R. Poirier: "Numerical Filling of Thin Section Castings," Trans. AFS, vol. 110, 2002, pp. 211-222.
B. Zhang and D.R. Poirier: "Agglomeration and Sedimentation of TiB2 during Re-melting and Dilution of Al-3Ti-1B Grain Refiner," to be presented at the AFS 108th Casting Congress, June, 2004 and published in Trans. AFS, vol. 112, 2004.