Dr Mark Ward

Dr Mark Ward

School of Metallurgy and Materials
Associate Professor

Contact details

Telephone
(+44) (0) 121 414 5236
Fax
(+44) (0) 121 414 7468
Email
r.m.ward@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Metallurgy and Materials
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Mark Ward is an Associate Professor in the School of Metallurgy and Materials, using and teaching students to use mathematical modelling, electrical engineering and more general sensing and control techniques. Current research topics include additive manufacturing and motion flight simulation of aircraft.

Mark has had research grants from EPSRC as well as doing purely industrially-funded projects.

Qualifications

Biography

After his A levels Mark took a gap year working for the “Controls” division of British Gas Midlands Research Station : as a teenager it was exciting to do wind-tunnel tests and to help with experiments on what happens when a valve on a high pressure gas pipeline fails. (A very big flame).

Mark studied Engineering at Cambridge from 1987-1990, specialising in electrical engineering and gained a BA (Hons) “Electrical and Information Tripos”.

Mark joined University of Birmingham in 1992. As well as researching and experimenting in the area of atomisation, powder production, and spraying of titanium and nickel alloys, Mark focussed on improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of aerospace materials produced by Vacuum Arc Remelting. This has included developing tomographic techniques to image the distribution of electric current within the process, and combining the results with those from other sensing techniques and CFD models. This received the Institute of Electrical Engineers “Measurement Prize” in 2003.

Since 2008 Mark has worked on a wider range of topics, focussing largely on additive manufacturing and motion flight simulation, and is involved in supervising PhDs in these areas. His undergraduate teaching is around training students to use and verify mathematical models, machine learning and control systems for industrial topics.

Teaching

  • Aerospace Electrical Power and Control
  • Flight Dynamics and Control
  • Aerospace Power Systems
  • 3rd year research projects
  • 4th year group research projects

Postgraduate supervision

  • Improving the passenger experience in eVTOL flight
  • Additive manufacturing

Research

RESEARCH THEMES 

  • Additive manufacturing

  • Motion flight simulation

Other activities

Consultancy in the areas of producing high performance materials by Plasma melting and VAR.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Guo, C, Yu, Z, Hu, X, Li, G, Zhou, F, Xu, Z, Han, S, Zhou, Y, Ward, RM & Zhu, Q 2022, 'Y2O3 nanoparticles decorated IN738LC superalloy manufactured by laser powder bed fusion: Cracking inhibition, microstructures and mechanical properties', Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 230, 109555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109555

Guo, C, Zhou, Y, Li, X, Hu, X, Xu, Z, Dong, E, Zhu, Q & Mark Ward, R 2021, 'A comparing study of defect generation in IN738LC superalloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion: Continuous-wave mode versus pulsed-wave mode', Journal of Materials Science and Technology, vol. 90, pp. 45-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2021.03.006

Villa, M, Brooks, JW, Turner, R, Boitout, F & Ward, RM 2021, 'Metallurgical modelling of Ti-6Al-4V for welding applications', Metals, vol. 11, no. 6, 960. https://doi.org/10.3390/met11060960

Guo, C, Xu, Z, Zhou, Y, Shi, S, Li, G, Lu, H, Zhu, Q & Ward, RM 2021, 'Single-track investigation of IN738LC superalloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion: Track morphology, bead characteristics and part quality', Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 290, 117000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2020.117000

Guo, C, Li, S, Shi, S, Li, X, Hu, X, Zhu, Q & Ward, RM 2020, 'Effect of processing parameters on surface roughness, porosity and cracking of as-built IN738LC parts fabricated by laser powder bed fusion', Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 285, 116788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2020.116788

Guo, C, Yu, Z, Liu, C, Li, X, Zhu, Q & Ward, M 2020, 'Effects of Y2O3 nanoparticles on the high-temperature oxidation behavior of IN738LC manufactured by laser powder bed fusion', Corrosion Science, vol. 171, 108715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2020.108715

Villa, M, Turner, R, Brooks, J & Ward, M 2020, 'Microstructural modelling of thermally-driven β grain growth, lamellae & martensite in Ti-6Al-4V', Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Material Science. https://doi.org/10.4236/mnsms.2020.103004

Villa, M, Brooks, J, Turner, R, Wang, H, Boitout, F & Ward, M 2019, 'Microstructural modelling of the α+β phase in Ti-6Al-4V: a diffusion-based approach ', Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 2898-2911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-019-01675-0

Turner, R, Perumal, B, Lu, Y, Ward, M, Basoalto, H & Brooks, J 2019, 'Modelling of the heat-affected and thermomechanically affected zones in a Ti-6Al-4V inertia friction weld', Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 1000-1011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-018-1489-z, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-018-1489-z

Bidare, P, Bitharas, I, Ward, RM, Attallah, MM & Moore, AJ 2018, 'Fluid and particle dynamics in laser powder bed fusion', Acta Materialia, vol. 142, pp. 107-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2017.09.051

Bidare, P, Bitharas, I, Ward, RM, Attallah, MM & Moore, AJ 2018, 'Laser powder bed fusion at sub-atmospheric pressures', International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, vol. 130-131, pp. 65-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2018.03.007

Bidare, P, Bitharas, I, Ward, M, Attallah, M & Moore, AJ 2018, 'Laser powder bed fusion in high-pressure atmospheres', The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2495-7, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2495-7

Panwisawas, C, Perumal, B, Ward, M, Turner, N, Turner, R, Brooks, J & Basoalto, H 2017, 'Keyhole formation and thermal fluid flow-induced porosity during laser fusion welding in titanium alloys: experimental and modelling', Acta Materialia, vol. 126, pp. 251-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.12.062

Conference contribution

Ahmed, L, Ward, RM, Yeo, S-H & Bromfield, MA 2026, Factors Shaping the Passenger Experience in Advanced Air Mobility: Insights from Literature. in D Golightly, R Charles & F Dixon (eds), Contemporary Ergonomics & Human Factors 2026. Contemporary ergonomics and human factors, Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors, pp. 50-55, Ergonomics & Human Factors 2026, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 27/04/26. <https://publications.ergonomics.org.uk/publications/factors-shaping-the-passenger-experience-in-advanced-air-mobility-insights-from-literature>

Balestra, E, Ward, M, Patel, A & Warnken, N 2017, Study of as-cast structure formation in Titanium alloy. in Z Fan (ed.), Solidification Processing 2017: Proceedings of the 6th Decennial International Conference on Solidification Processing. Brunel University, pp. 346-349, 6th Decennial International Conference on Solidification Processing, Old Windsor, United Kingdom, 25/07/17.

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