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Distinguished Professor Christopher Berndt

Professor, Surface Science and Eng

Biography

Distinguished Professor Chris Berndt joined Swinburne in early 2008 as the founding Professor of Surface Science and Interface Engineering. This followed his role as founding Professor of Surface and Interface Engineering at James Cook University, a tenured professor position at Stony Brook University (where he remains Adjunct Professor) and appointments at the NASA-Lewis Research Center in Cleveland as a Fellow of the Institute for Aerospace Propulsion and Power where he worked on thermal barrier coatings.

Professor Berndt's professional responsibilities gravitate around the Thermal Spray Society of the ASM of which he has been a member since 1991. He was appointed as the Vice President of this society in 2000 and President in 2002. He was the Proceedings Editor for the Thermal Spray Conferences held in the USA from 1992-2003. He was inducted into the Thermal Spray Hall of Fame in 2007 and is editor/co-editor of 10 conference proceedings on thermal spray.

Professor Berndt is the Founding Editor, and now Editor Emeritus, for the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology. He is a member of some 13 professional societies in the materials, mechanical, manufacturing and biomedical fields and has more than 550 publications in the field of materials science and engineering. He is also a Fellow of the Australian Institution of Engineers, a Fellow of ASM International, a Fellow of The Institution of Metallurgists (UK), and of ASME, ACS and ACerS. He is also a Chartered Engineer (UK), a Professional Engineer (Australia), and a Member of the College of Bioengineers (Australia).

Research interests

Engineering; Coatings technology; Biomaterials such orthopaedic devices; Failure of materials; Thermal Spray; Nanotechnology

PhD candidate and honours supervision

Higher degrees by research

Accredited to supervise Masters & Doctoral students as Principal Supervisor.

PhD topics and outlines

Bioactive ceramic coatings with antimicrobial properties to increase orthopaedic implant longevity.: This project investigates ceramic coatings for orthopaedic implants that feature osteogenic andantimicrobial properties coupled with high bonding strength to prevent premature implant failure.This will reduce the costs associated with revision surgery and greatly improve the recipients’ long-term quality oflife.

Investigation of Plasma Sprayed High Entropy Alloy Coatings as Potential Alternative for Bond Coats in Thermal Barrier Coating Systems:  High entropy alloys (HEAs) contain 4 or more elements in equiatomic proportion that results in alloys with simple phases. This project develops an HEA that could be a potential alternative to the traditional MCrAlY alloys.

Next generation metal composite coatings for extreme engineering applications: Growth of unwanted biological micro-organisms on the marine structures such as offshore pipelines, ship hulls, etc. deteriorates the quality of the materials and leads to quickening of corrosion as well as mechanical failure. This project develops new materials and application processes to tackle this critical application that is known as marine biofouling.

Simulation, modelling and measurement of splat dynamics during impact consolidation via thermal spray: Matlab(tm) and SolidWorks(tm) will be used to simulate the roughness of coatings. These numerical results will be related to physical property measurements to determine whether surface roughness canbe predicted.

Thermal spray processing to achieve specified surface morphology and roughness: Coatings will manufactured by thermal spray methods. The surface roughness will be explained in terms of "Madejski theory" as it pertains to splat deformation.

Honours

Available to supervise honours students.

Fields of Research

  • Metals And Alloy Materials - 401607
  • Composite And Hybrid Materials - 401602
  • Mechanical Engineering - 401700

Teaching areas

Nanostructured Materials;Additive and Near Net Shape Manufacturing;Biointerface Engineering;Manufacturing Porcesses;Materials Characterisation

Publications

Also published as: Berndt, Christopher; Berndt, C.; Berndt, C. C.; Berndt, Chris; Berndt, Chris C.; Berndt, Christopher C.
This publication listing is provided by Swinburne Research Bank. If you are the owner of this profile, you can update your publications using our online form.

Recent research grants awarded

  • 2023: Advanced Polymer Coatings for Enhanced Tissue Integration *; UA-DAAD (Universities Australia-Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst)
  • 2023: Bespoke Additive Manufactured Load Bearing Structures With Advanced Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) and Thermal Protection Systems (TPSs) *; Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC Limited)
  • 2023: Hybrid hydrogen direct and plasma reduction of iron ore *; HILT CRC Limited Fund Scheme
  • 2023: Investigating thermal spray capabilities for clean energy applications *; Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon Fund Scheme
  • 2023: Next Generation Safety-Integrated and Infection-Reactive Implants by Design of Advanced Surface Engineering Architectures *; UA-DAAD (Universities Australia-Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst)
  • 2023: Thermal spray techniques of High-Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) used to apply high-performance coatings for interior surfaces of pipes *; SUPERIOR SHOT PEENING FUND SCHEME
  • 2021: (Student) Advancement of Compliant Multilayer Environmental Barrier Coatings (EBCs) for Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) for Extreme Environments *; Amaero Engineering Pty Ltd - Fund Scheme
  • 2021: Commercialisation of Space Vehicle Manufacturing Capability for Australian Export using Titomic’s TKF Process *; Modern Manufacturing Initiative - Manufacturing Translation Stream - Space Priority Grant
  • 2021: Design of Non-Equilibrium Architectures: Leveraging High Entropy Materials *; ARC Discovery Projects Scheme
  • 2021: Developing and optimising of SOFC components *; Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (Cwlth)
  • 2021: DSTG Application of thermal and environmental barrier coatings *; Defence Science Technology Group
  • 2021: High Temperature Coatings for Composites *; Office of Naval Research Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science & Technology
  • 2021: Improving manufacturability of Sr-HT coated orthopaedic implants *; Innovative Manufacturing CRC
  • 2021: Process development for additive metal repair and refurbishment of mining equipment *; Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (Cwlth)
  • 2020: Smart Coatings for the Next Generation of Lightning Strike Protection Devices *; Innovative Manufacturing CRC
  • 2019: ARC Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials (SEAM) *; ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres
  • 2019: Development of metal deposition processes for refurbishment of hydraulic components *; Innovation Connections
  • 2019: Phase 2: Benchmarking of Kinetic Fusion technology 3D printed parts *; Innovation Connections
  • 2018: ARC Training Centre for Innovative BioEngineering *; ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres
  • 2018: Boride-based coatings on refractory composite substrates *; USDept of Defense
  • 2018: Thermal protective coatings for CFRP - Stage 2 *; Innovation Connections
  • 2017: Field trial of prototype hydraulic actuator incorporating HVOF coating technology *; DMTC
  • 2015: Biofouling and corrosion performance evaluation of carbide-based HVOF coatings - Project 9.09 *; DMTC
  • 2015: Carbide-based HVOF coatings for hydraulic components - Project 2.14 *; DMTC
  • 2014: High Velocity Oxygen Fuel carbide based coating for marine corrosion - Project 2.10 *; Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC Limited)
  • 2014: Investigating the short term biofouling characteristics of HVOF carbide-based coatings - Project 2.13 *; Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC Limited)
  • 2013: Cold spray project with Rosebank Engineering *; Department State Development Business & Innovation (Vic) Post Grad Scholarship
  • 2011: DMTC Project Activities 2010-11 Support funding: cross-program technical services support *; DMTC
  • 2009: Development of polymer concrete material for bases of grinding tool machines (Advanced Manufacturing CRC Polymer Concrete Systems 1) *; Advanced Manufacturing CRC Polymer Concrete Systems 1

* Chief Investigator