First Helicon Plasma Physics and Applications Workshop

The First Helicon Plasma Physics and Applications Workshop was held on September 23−24, 2021, through Zoom Cloud Meeting, instead of in an on-site gathering, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was convened by Rod Boswell (IOC) and Guangnan Luo (LOC), and organised by Lei Chang’s group. The workshop attracted 110 registrations and ∼100 online audiences from ∼30 affiliations. There were 33 presentations covering the various fundamental physics of helicon plasma and its applications to space electric propulsion, material processing, and magnetic confinement fusion. This paper highlights the presentations, discussions, and perspectives given in the workshop, serving as reference for the helicon community.

Additive Manufacturing (AM)

The need for less weight and high-performance materials in manufacturing industries has continuously led to the development of lightweight materials through the use of advanced additive manufacturing (AM). The race of lightweight and high-performance metals continue to evolve as this continuously provides better understanding about connection existing between material processing, microstructural development, and material properties. AM technique is an interesting manufacturing process that is employed in production of engineering components with improved properties. The choice of titanium and its alloys in structural applications are attributed to their superior strength-to-weight ratio and high corrosion resistance. This chapter looked at different additive manufacturing (AM) techniques developed for the processing of lightweight metals, their strengths, and limitations. The chapter also looked at the role and contribution of AM to the 4th industrial revolution, processing, and application of titanium aluminide for high temperature applications.

Preface

Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Material Processing and Technology (ICMProTech, 2021) 14-15 July 2021 This 1st International Conference on Material Processing and Technology 2021 (ICMProTech) was held virtually on the 14-15 July 2021. Initially, it was planned to be held physically at Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia. However, this conference was changed to a virtual format due to the current situation of covid-19 and travel restrictions in Malaysia and also other countries. The virtual format of this conference was a success where all the researchers gathered on the Google Meet platform regardless of the time zone and location and share experiences and research findings in their respective fields. The location of the organizer was in Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia. The main objective of this conference is to provide a forum for researchers, educators, students and the industries to share and exchange ideas and research findings in respective fields of research. This conference is also intended to give an opportunity to both academia and industries to communicate challenges faced in current research and the industries. As such, this conference will expand networks and foster potential collaborations between researchers in the same field of research. List of Editors and Reviewers are available in this pdf.

X-ray Emission Hazards from Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Material Processing in an Industrial Setting

Interactions between ultrashort laser pulses with intensities larger than 1013 W/cm2 and solids during material processing can lead to the emission of X-rays with photon energies above 5 keV, causing radiation hazards to operators. A framework for inspecting X-ray emission hazards during laser material processing has yet to be developed. One requirement for conducting radiation protection inspections is using a reference scenario, i.e., laser settings and process parameters that will lead to an almost constant and high level of X-ray emissions. To study the feasibility of setting up a reference scenario in practice, ambient dose rates and photon energies were measured using traceable measurement equipment in an industrial setting at SCHOTT AG. Ultrashort pulsed (USP) lasers with a maximum average power of 220 W provided the opportunity to measure X-ray emissions at laser peak intensities of up to 3.3 × 1015 W/cm2 at pulse durations of ~1 ps. The results indicate that increasing the laser peak intensity is insufficient to generate high dose rates. The investigations were affected by various constraints which prevented measuring high ambient dose rates. In this work, a list of issues which may be encountered when performing measurements at USP-laser machines in industrial settings is identified.