Professor Paul Withey BSc PhD FIMMM MInstP CEng

Professor Paul Withey

School of Metallurgy and Materials
Professor of Casting Technology

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0) 121 414 5174
Email
p.a.withey@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal

Paul Withey is Professor of Casting Technology.

Paul joined academia in 2018 and in 2019 was awarded an EPSRC Manufacturing Fellowship. He is working with industry to deliver improved casting technology for a number of different applications.

Paul is also knowledgeable about the DeHavilland Comet investigation in the 1950s and has shared his enthusiasm both in talks and documentaries.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Metallurgy and Materials University of Birmingham, 1989
  • BSc in Physics, University of Birmingham, 1986

Biography

Paul Withey qualified with a BSc (Hons) in Physics from the University of Birmingham in 1986. He went on to study for a PhD in magnetic materials in the School of Metallurgy and Materials in 1989.

Following a period in academia where Paul moved into the casting field, he moved to Rolls-Royce in 1994 initially in the research foundry in Bristol and latterly based in the production facility in Derby.

Paul worked on both production methods, yield improvement and new technology and in 2005 he became the Associate Fellow in Casting Technology.

In 2018 Paul returned to Birmingham to continue his academic career, focussing on casting technology.

Teaching

Module lead for High Performance Materials and Advanced Manufacture.

Research

  • Single Crystal Casting
  • Grain defects in single crystal castings
  • Furnace technology

Other activities

Member of the IOM3 Advisory Board and Nominations Committee

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Park, K & Withey, P 2021, 'Formation and Prevention of a Surface Defect on the Aerofoil of As‐Cast Nickel‐Based Single‐Crystal Turbine Blades', Advanced Engineering Materials, vol. 23, no. 9, 2100302. https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202100302

Park, K & Withey, P 2021, 'General view of rhenium-rich particles along defect grain boundaries formed in nickel-based single-crystal superalloy turbine blades: formation, dissolution and comparison with other phases', Crystals, vol. 11, no. 10, 1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11101201

Lin, B, Liu, R, Jia, Q, Cui, Y, Withey, PA & Yang, R 2018, 'Effect of yttria inclusion on room temperature tensile properties of investment cast TiAl', Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 712, pp. 73-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.11.100

Park, K & Withey, P 2018, 'Observation of the dissolution of topologically close packed phases by an additional heat treatment in third generation nickel-based single crystal superalloy turbine blades', Advanced Engineering Materials, vol. 20, no. 7, 1700987. https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.201700987

Kim, K & Withey, P 2017, 'Formation of an intermediate layer between grains in nickel-base superalloy turbine blades', Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, vol. 48, no. 6, pp. 2932-2942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-017-4044-7

Kim, K & Withey, P 2017, 'Microstructural investigation of the formation and development of topologically close-packed phases in a 3rd generation nickel-base single crystal superalloy', Advanced Engineering Materials, vol. 19, no. 6, 1700041. https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.201700041

Kim, K & Withey, P 2016, 'Detection of rhenium-rich particles at grain boundaries in nickel-base superalloy turbine blades', MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS, vol. 57, no. 10, pp. 1698-1706. https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.M2016131

Kim, KH, Withey, P & Griffiths, WD 2015, 'Detection of an Intermediate Layer Containing a Rhenium-Rich Particle at Grain Boundaries Formed Within Single Crystal Nickel-Based Superalloys', Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 1024-1029. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-2709-z

Yuan, C, Cheng, X & Withey, P 2015, 'Investigation into the use of CaZrO3 as a facecoat material in the investment casting of TiAl alloys', Materials Chemistry and Physics, vol. 155, pp. 205-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2015.02.026

Yuan, C, Cheng, X, Holt, G, Shevchenko, D & Withey, P 2015, 'Investment casting of Ti–46Al–8Nb–1B alloy using moulds with CaO-stabilized zirconia face coat at various mould pre-heat temperatures', Ceramics International, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 4129-4139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2014.11.109

Withey, P & Turner, S 2015, 'The analysis of SATS results as a measure of pupil progress across educational transitions', Educational Review, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 23-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2013.826180

Cheng, X, Yuan, C, Blackburn, S & Withey, P 2015, 'The influence of ZrO2 concentration in an yttria based face coat for investment casting a Ti-45Al-2Mn-2Nb-0.2TiB alloy using sessile drop method', Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 1328-1336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-2724-0

Cheng, X, Yuan, C, Shevchenko, D & Withey, P 2014, ''The influence of mould pre-heat temperature and casting size on the interaction between a Ti–46Al–8Nb–1B alloy and the mould comprising an Al2O3 face coat', Materials Chemistry and Physics, vol. 146, no. 3, pp. 295-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2014.03.026

Cheng, X, Yuan, C, Blackburn, S & Withey, P 2014, ''The study of the influence of binder systems in an Y2O3–ZrO2 facecoat material on the investment casting slurries and shells properties', Journal of the European Ceramic Society, vol. 34, no. 12, pp. 3061-3068 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2014.03.005

Comment/debate

Kim, K & Withey, P 2017, 'Response to Discussion of “Formation of an Intermediate Layer Between Grains in Nickel-Based Superalloy Turbine Blades”', Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, vol. 48, no. 10, pp. 5160-5163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-017-4256-x

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