IFM staff

Dr Aiden Beer

Research interests:

Dr Beer's research is focused on the deformation behavior of light metals and is primarily concerned with microstructure manipulation and alloy development for enhanced mechanical properties. His current research interests include the development of new wrought magnesium alloys, hot deformation and annealing behaviour (dynamic and meta-dynamic recrystallisation, grain size and texture modification), using FEM simulation for microstructural prediction and combining deformation and annealing with electron back-scattering diffraction for in-situ studies.
Dr Beer leads a team of researchers that have developed a new wrought magnesium alloy for extrusion, AM-EX1, that can be extruded up to five times faster than the common magnesium alloy AZ31 (and as fast as common aluminium alloys) whilst developing enhanced mechanical properties. The alloy will significantly reduce the cost of the final product and thus open up new opportunities for "light-weighting" in the automotive and electronics industry, particularly in the 3C's (cameras, computers and cell phones).
Dr Beer was recently awarded an ARC LIEF grant to establish Australia's only large scale research-dedicated extrusion facility. The facility is expected to lead to the development of new light metal alloys, new metal-matrix composites, new microtruss structures and new powder-base metals for structural and biomedical applications.

Current Project Examples:

1. The development of new wrought magnesium extrusion alloys (CAST CRC)


2. The joining of light metals using laser assisted self-piercing riveting (CAST CRC)


3. The fatigue behaviour of cost effective magnesium and titanium alloys (AutoCRC)


4. The high-rate deformation behaviour of magnesium alloys (CAST CRC)

Qualifications:

• PhD (2004, Engineering), Deakin University
• BEng (1999, Metallurgical Engineering), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology)

Relevant employment history:

2009-present: Senior Research Academic, Deakin University

2006-2009: Research Academic, Deakin University

2003-2006: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University

A list of the ten most significant relevant publications for the last five years:

1. Beer, A. and Barnett, M., The post-deformation recrystallization behaviour of magnesium alloy Mg-3Al-1Zn, Scripta Materialia, Volume 61, Issue 12, 2009, Pages 1097-1100.
2. Beer, A. and Barnett, M., Microstructural Evolution in Hot Worked and Annealed Magnesium Alloy AZ31, Materials Science and Engineering A: Structural Materials: Properties, Microstructures and Processing, Volume 485, Issues 1-2, 2008, Pages 318-324.
3. Beer, A. and Barnett, M., Microstructural Development during Hot Working of Mg-3Al-1Zn, Metallurgical and Materials Transaction A, Volume 38A, 2007, Pages 1856-1867.
4. Beer, A. and Barnett, M., Influence of initial microstructure on the hot working flow stress of Mg?3Al?1Zn, Materials Science and Engineering: A, Volume 423, Issues 1-2, 2006, Pages 292-299.
5. Barnett, M. Keshavarz, Z. Beer, A. and Ma, X., Non-Schmid Behaviour during Secondary Twinning in a Polycrystalline Magnesium Alloy, Acta Materialia, Volume 56, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 5-15.

University recorded publications

Researcher output profile for Dr Aiden Beer

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