Jack Beuth

Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Bio

Dr. Beuth's research interests are in the area of solid mechanics. Much of his work relates to his expertise in the areas of thermomechanical modeling of manufacturing processes, fracture mechanics, and the mechanics of coatings and layered materials. His current research includes modeling and experimental work in four application areas. 

One area currently being investigated relates to Mechanics of Electron and Laser Beam-Based Freeform Fabrication Processes, which are automated processes for building three-dimensional parts or features, layer-by-layer, via electron beam- or laser-based deposition of metals. Dr. Beuth and his students perform analyses to predict melt pool size and residual stress for these processes, presenting results in the form of "process maps" that process development researchers can use directly. This research is being performed with manufacturing and materials researchers at other universities, aerospace companies and NASA.

Another area being studied by Prof. Beuth is the Adhesion of Thermal Barrier Coatings and Oxide Scales. In this research, Dr Beuth and his students have developed an indentation test for measuring the interfacial toughness of thin oxide scales and ceramic TBC systems used in gas turbines. A critical problem in both of these types of systems is that losses in adhesion can lead to scale or coating spallation. Indentation tests are being used to directly quantify the degradation of interfacial toughness resulting from high temperature exposures. This work is being carried out with materials science faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and with researchers in the aerospace industry.

Dr. Beuth is also performing research modeling the Fracture Tolerance of Anti-Corrosion Coatings for Steels. These coatings can crack under applied far-field strains (due to forming of the steel sheet), degrading their performance as an environmental barrier. Prof. Beuth and his student working on this project are modeling the influence of the size, shape and clustering of hard, brittle particles in these coatings on their resistance to cracking. This work is being performed with researchers at the US Steel Research and Technology Laboratory.

A recent area of Dr. Beuth's research involves Developing a High Precision On-Chip Tensile Testing Platform for Polysilicon. An advantage of this platform is its ability to test large numbers of specimens quickly and with high resolution. Statistical characterization of polysilicon strength requires the testing of many samples, and results from this testing platform are being used to better understand the role of processing on strength. This work is being carried out with Prof. Maarten de Boer and other researchers at Sandia National Laboratories.

Prof. Beuth is also working with Prof. Carolyn Rose' of the CMU Human-Computer Interaction Institute on an NSF-sponsored education project to more effectively teach students in computer-aided engineering projects. Projects involve students interacting with local or remote team members via a text and drawing interface. Student interactions are monitored by an intelligent agent, which interjects comments and questions with the goal of increasing student engagement and learning. Multiple CMU ME faculty and students are involved in this project, as well as ME faculty at Drexel University and an industrial software developer.

Education

B.S., Engineering Science and Mechanics, Virginia Institute of Technology, 1984
M.S., Engineering Science and Mechanics, Virginia Institute of Technology, 1987
M.S., Engineering Sciences, Harvard University, 1989
Ph.D., Engineering Sciences, Harvard University, 1992

Selected Publications

• Vasinonta, A., Beuth, J.L., and Griffith, M.L. "Process Maps for Predicting Residual Stress and Melt Pool Size in the Laser-Based Fabrication of Thin-Walled Structures," ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, Vol. 129, No. 1, 2007, pp. 101-109.
• Hazra, S.S., Baker, M.S., Beuth, J.L., and de Boer, M.P., "Demonstration of an In-situ On-chip Tensile Tester," J. Micromech. Microeng., Vol. 19, 2009, 082001.