PhD Position Sustainable Additive Manufacturing from Recycled Stainless Steel

Can scrap steels become the future of high-performance 3D printing? Join us in reshaping metal manufacturing by turning industrial waste into precision-engineered components through 3D-printing!

Job description

Join the Extreme Materials & Mechanics (X2M) Group at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), TU Delft, in a cutting-edge PhD project that aims to revolutionize how stainless steel scrap is reused in high-performance applications. This research is part of the national Groeien met Groen Staal (GGS) programme, which supports the Dutch steel sector’s transition to a circular, CO₂-neutral future by 2050.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is transforming the way we design and produce metal components. However, the sustainability of AM depends on the availability of high-quality powders—and that’s where this project comes in. Instead of relying on virgin materials, we aim to recycle 316L stainless steel from decommissioned industrial components into powders suitable for additive manufacturing processes.

This PhD project will experimentally validate the use of recycled stainless steel powders in AM by:

• Producing powders via gas atomization (with program partner Space XYZ) and ultrasonic atomization (TU Delft).
• Characterizing powder morphology, flowability, oxidation, and contamination.
• Fabricating parts using LPBF printing, optimizing process parameters for recycled feedstock.
• Benchmarking mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation, hardness) against commercial powders.
• Identifying industrial applications for recycled AM parts in sectors such as aerospace, medical, automotive, and marine.

You’ll work with TU Delft’s state-of-the-art facilities, including:

• Powder analysis: SEM, laser diffraction, flowmeter, XPS, LECO, EDS.
• Additive manufacturing: LPBF and Binder Jetting printers, post-processing tools.
• Mechanical testing: tensile, hardness, nanoindentation, in-situ testing.
• Microstructural analysis: optical microscopy, SEM, EBSD, XRD.

The expected start date is December 2025 (but can be later, depending on the candidate's availability and immigration procedures); the contract duration is 4 years.

Job requirements

It is highly recommended that the candidate is familiar with (or has a strong interest in):

• Additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy, and sustainability.
• Experience with experimental microstructural and mechanical characterization is a plus.

Other job requirements:

• MSc degree in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Excellent analytical skills, initiative, inventiveness, curiosity, diligence, and critical thinking.
• Ability to work with scientific and industrial partners.
• Strong communication skills (high English proficiency), team player, and good social behaviour.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

Faculty Mechanical Engineering

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the ME faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

ME is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It’s a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in ME’s outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from Promovendus gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Additional information

Specific technical questions regarding the vacancy can be sent to Vera Popovich (v.popovich@tudelft.nl).