Noémie Martin, a postdoctoral researcher at the Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory at ETH Zurich, wants to enhance the performance of industrial parts while reducing their environmental impact. She explores how to strategically combine different metal alloys in additive manufacturing processes.
The manufacturing industry faces significant ecological and economic challenges that require optimizing product life cycles to lower carbon emissions and reduce energy consumption. High-performance metal alloys play a key role in sectors such as energy, transportation, and construction. These alloys enhance the durability and performance of components, but their extraction is environmentally harmful, and they are expensive to manufacture. Additive manufacturing – the layer-by-layer construction of materials using advanced 3D printing techniques – could offer a sustainable solution. As part of the FASTE* project, Martin investigates how different metal alloys can be combined in additive manufacturing technologies to optimize the performance of components while minimizing environmental impact.
Additive manufacturing of multi-material components
The FASTE project is a collaboration between ETH Zurich and the Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO) in Toulouse, France. Together, the team explores new manufacturing methods that are more resource-efficient and economically attractive. The research centers on multi-material products, whereby different metal alloys are combined depending on the product’s characteristics and expected load. Highly durable alloys reinforce areas subject to high stress, while more sustainable and recyclable materials serve in less critical zones.
However, manufacturing multi-material parts using conventional methods is often expensive or even impossible. Therefore, Martin explores various additive manufacturing processes for multi-material parts and analyzes their mechanical behavior under various loads. This characterization will allow her to develop strategies for the dimensioning of multi-material structures, thereby establishing these new production technologies in the industry.
Outstanding research with international funding
Martin works in Professor Markus Bambach's research group at ETH Zurich. Her project is funded by the Lopez-Loreta foundation prize, which she received in October 2024. The one-million-euro grant will allow her to advance her research over a period of five years. The prize is awarded annually by the Fondation Jean-Jacques et Felicia Lopez-Loreta to top graduates from four Swiss and French polytechnical higher education institutions, including ISAE-SUPAERO where Martin defended her doctoral thesis.
* FASTE stands for “Fabrication Additive des Structures performantes multi maTériaux pour utilisation en Environnement sévère” (English: Additive manufacturing of high performance multi-material structures used in severe environments)