Conveners
Keynote: Dr. Ester D’Accardi, Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy
- Tommaso Astarita
Description
Ester D’Accardi, PhD is currently an RTD-A Researcher in Mechanical Design and Machine Construction at the Polytechnic University of Bari, where she also obtained her PhD in Mechanical and Management Engineering in 2020. Since the beginning of her PhD, her research has consistently focused on quantitative infrared thermography applied to non-destructive testing (NDT), process monitoring and material characterization. Her activity focuses on the development of experimental procedures and data analysis methods aimed at moving from qualitative defect detection to quantitative characterization, including defect sizing, depth estimation and probability of detection (POD) assessment. She has investigated fatigue crack characterization under realistic inspection conditions and the use of induction, conduction and laser thermography for industrial NDT scenarios. A significant part of her research concerns additive manufacturing, covering both online thermographic monitoring during fabrication and offline inspection for the process and material characterization, as well as detection and quantitative assessment of typical defects such as lack of fusion, keyhole defects and porosity. She collaborates with international institutions such as BAM, TU Leoben and A*STAR IMRE, recognized centers of excellence in thermography and materials research, as well as with industrial partners including Baker Hughes. Her scientific activity, consistently developed in the field of infrared thermography, is directed toward the definition of quantitative, experimentally validated procedures to support industrial non-destructive testing and process monitoring.
Laser-based additive manufacturing processes such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) and Directed Energy Deposition (DED) are intrinsically governed by highly dynamic thermal conditions. Local heat accumulation, cooling rates and spatial temperature distributions directly influence defect formation, such as keyhole porosity and lack of fusion, as well as the resulting microstructure and...
