Nader Asnafi
Luleå University of Technology, Sweden

Speech Title: Metal Additive Manufacturing with Special Focus on Production Tools / Dies / Molds
Abstract: Tools are of great significance for the industrialization of new products and the operation of manufacturing plants. They play a key role in the manufacturing chain and highly affect the Time-To-Market, costs, lead time, operational efficiency, and quality. Tooling is highly competency driven and determines the global competitiveness of the industry. In this plenary speech,
• metal additive manufacturing of production tools/dies/molds by Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) and Directed Energy Deposition (DED) is addressed,
• the impacts of these methods on the industrialization of new products and the operation of manufacturing plants are discussed,
• industrial examples of such tools are displayed, and
• the impacts on the Time-To-Market, costs, lead time, operational efficiency, and quality are illustrated industrially.

Alam Md. Mahbub
Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), China

Speech Title: Understanding of fish swimming
Abstract: “How does a fish swim?’ is essentially a fascinating question. For hundreds of millions of years, adaptation and evolution have enabled fish to achieve excellent propulsion performance with their fast speed and high efficiency. During this long history of evolution, swimming animals have mastered an exquisite capacity to control their bodies and the flow around themselves to efficiently cruise in water. The distinctive swimming abilities of fish have inspired scientists and engineers to analyze locomotive mechanisms and to design fish-like robots. There is no doubt that researchers admire the swimming skills of aquatic animals and hope to have a similar capacity, conscientiously considered swimming performance to be scientific and explained in light of fluid dynamics. Generally, natural swimmers share two major propulsive strategies, including caudal-fin pitching propulsion (e.g. salmon, tuna, dolphins, and sharks) and travelling wave propulsion (e.g. eels and lampreys). Question arises, is the motion of the caudal fin symmetric about the propulsion axis when a fish swim. We therefore first conducted experiments on fish to understand the motion of the caudal fin. The motion is then numerically examined for a hydrofoil. We home in on the insight into the relationship between the kinematics and thrust or efficiency. This lecture encompasses (i) experiments on fish, (ii) enhancement of both thrust and efficiency using the experimentally obtained motion, and (iii) the hydrodynamic performance of a traveling wavy foil with varying foil kinematics (Strouhal number), fluid properties (Reynolds number), and foil deforming characteristics (wavelength). The results show that the caudal fin motion is asymmetric with the retract stroke being faster than the forward stroke. The pitching motion with the faster retract strokes enhances both thrust and efficiency, and the propulsive force increases with increasing Strouhal number, Reynolds number and wavelength.

Kheng-Lim Goh
Newcastle University in Singapore, Singapore

Speech Title: Repair of Composite Structures: Prospects & Challenges
Abstract: In this keynote lecture, I will be discussing a research project conducted by my lab that revolves around the repair of structures made from composite laminates. Specifically, I shall be exploring the detection and repair of subtle damage caused by impacts on such structures. This research has the potential to decrease the time required for repairs on composite laminates used in various fields of structural engineering, including automobiles and aircraft. Throughout the lecture, I will provide an overview of the project (namely motivations and basic concepts), present the findings, and examine the potential opportunities and obstacles involved. Additionally, I will place the discussion within the context of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 12, which pertains to sustainable manufacturing and responsible consumption.