Dr Carol Kong PhD, MPhil, BEng (Hons)

Dr Carol Kong

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Lecturer in Laser Processing Technology

Contact details

Email
c.kong@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Mechanical Engineering
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Carol Kong is a Lecturer in Laser Processing Technology in the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the University of Birmingham. She also plays multi-supportive roles in the School: Lab Co-ordinator, Welfare Tutor, and Primary Person on Health, Wellbeing and Fitness to Study. Her main teaching contribution is on the module of Experiments and Statistics I & II.

Dr. Kong has extensive experience in experimental and modelling aspects of waterjet machining and recently pulsed laser ablation in aerospace/MEMS materials. She has won collaborative funding (FP7-EU-PEOPLE-ITN: STEEP) from European Commissions in the area of Energy Beam (EB) processes. The STEEP collaboration includes 28 partners throughout Europe including some of the top research universities: University of Birmingham (€647K), University of Nottingham, University of Nice –  France, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg – Germany, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology – Switzerland and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – Belgium as well as leading industrial partners: Fundación TEKNIKER – Spain, WATERjet AG – Switzerland, TESCAN a.s. - Czech Republic and ZEEKO Ltd – UK. The grant received at UoB covers 2 PhDs, research & training activities, management and overheads.

She has published over 25 research papers and co-authored a number of 4 patent applications filled (1 granted in EU/US/Canada) related to beam processing technology. She achieved a PE Publishing Award for the Best Paper published in 2009 volumes in the Journal of Engineering Manufacture (Part B of the Proceedings of the IMechE). Carol is currently supervising, as a chief supervisor, two PhD students and a number of UG/PG students. She is a Research Affiliate of the International Academy for Production Engineering (College International Pour La Recherche En Productique, CIRP).

She also participates outreach and consultancy activities in industry (e.g. Rolls-Royce Plc., Hangsterfers, Fuchs, Quaker Chemical) and the wider community (e.g. East Midlands Nanotechnology Roadshow, Wirral Metropolitan College).

Qualifications

Degree Level

  • Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis Title: Response of Special Purpose Aerospace Materials to Abrasive Waterjet Machining (sponsored by Rolls-Royce and ORS Award & University of Nottingham Scholarship)

  • Master of Philosophy

Thesis Title: A Study of Materials Swelling and its Characterization on Nano-surface Generation in Ultra-Precision Machining (sponsored by HKSAR Government and Tuition Scholarship for Research Postgraduate Studies)

  • BEng (Hons) Manufacturing Engineering

Degree Project Title: The application of Machine Vision on Verifying Alphanumeric Codes on Product Packagings (First-class Honours, Dean's Honours List of Outstanding Engineering Students Award)

Professional certificates

  • Certificate in Aurora Women-only Leadership Programme in Higher Education, issued by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, UK. (2014)
  • Certificate in Leadership in Science Workshop, issued by Imperial College Business School, UK. (2012)
  • Certificate in Intensive Learning and Teaching Programme in Higher Education Learning and Teaching, issued by The University of Nottingham (2010)

Biography

Dr. Carol Kong was a lecturer in Materials Manufacturing and Deputy of Examination Officer in the School of Engineering at the University of Liverpool (UoL), before joining in the University of Birmingham.

Carol was a key contributor in the modules of Research Skills and Project Planning, Advanced Manufacturing Processes and Laser Cutting and Welding for postgraduate students. She was also an active member in the Gender Balance Working group for application for an Athena Swan Departmental Bronze award.

She obtained her BEng degree in Manufacturing Engineering (with First-Class Honours) and MPhil degree in Ultra-Precision Machining. While completing her PhD studies on water jet machining at University of Nottingham (UoN), she became a Research Fellow at UoN where she managed an EU-funded project as well as working on a number of other research programmes with industry (notably Rolls-Royce).

Teaching

Teaching Programmes

  • Experiments and Statistics I
  • Experiments and Statistics II

Postgraduate supervision

Supervision style

Companionable supervision (a friendship-like relationship) and synergistic supervision (cooperative effort).

Research area

Ultra-precision machining, abrasive waterjet, laser ablation, surface integrity

You can email for more discussion: c.kong@bham.ac.uk

Research

  • Non-conventional machining (e.g. plain /abrasive waterjet machining, laser ablation, ultra-precision machining);
  • Ultra-precision machining (e.g. single-point diamond turning, free-form raster milling)
  • Modelling for beam footprints;
  • Workpiece surface integrity analysis
  • Surface characterisation

Other activities

  • Journal Reviewer: Wear, International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Journal of the Mechanical Behaviour of Biomedical Materials, Proceedings of the IMechE Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, Journal of Materials Processing Technology.
  • 2016: Scientific Committee, The 19th International Symposium on Advances in Abrasive Technology (ISAAT), 3rd – 6th, October 2016, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
  • 2015: Scientific & Technical Committee, The 3nd CIRP International Conference on Surface Integrity, 8th – 10th June, 2016, Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A. (Conference Chairs: Prof. Matthew A. Davies and Dr. Rachid M’Saoubi)
  • 2012-2014: Organising Committee and Scientific & Technical Committee, The 2nd CIRP International Conference on Surface Integrity, 28-30th May, 2014, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.  (Conference Chairs: Prof. Dragos Axinte)
  • 2012: External Advisor for EU-FP7-NMP project, ConforM-Jet, co-ordinated by Prof. D Axinte at University of Nottingham.
  • 2008-2011: Publicity Officer, Young Member Committee for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), United Kingdom
  • 2006-2007: Secretariats and Organising Committee, The 1st Asia Pacific Conference on Optics Manufacture (APCOM2007), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Conference Charis: Prof. W.B. Lee)

Publications

Selected Publications

Invited contribution on book(s)   

Kong, M.C. (2014). “Water Jet Cutting”, on the CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering (edited by L. Laperrière and G. Reinhart), Springer Reference

Journal papers

Axinte, D.A., Karpuschewski, B., Kong, M.C., Beaucamp, A.T., Anwar, S., Miller, D. and Petzel, M. (2014). “High energy fluid jet machining (HEFJet-Mach): from scientific and technological advances to niche industrial applications”, CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 63, Issue 2 (Keynote), pp. 751–771. http://doi:10.1016/j.cirp.2014.05.001

Kong, M.C., Srinivasu, S., Axinte, D., Voice, W., McGourlay, J. and Hon, B. (2013) “On geometrical accuracy and integrity of surfaces in multi-mode abrasive waterjet machining of NiTi shape memory alloys.” CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology. Vol. 62, Issue 1, pp.555-558.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2013.03.021

Billingham, J., Miron, C, Axinte, D and Kong, M.C. (2013) “Mathematical modelling of abrasive waterjet footprints for arbitrarily moving jets: Part II - overlapped single and multiple straight paths.” International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, Vol.68, pp.30-39.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2013.01.003

Kong, M.C., Miron, C.B., Axinte, D.A., Davies, S., Kell, J. (2012) “On the relationship between the dynamics of the power density and workpiece surface texture in pulsed laser ablation”. CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology, Vol.61, Issue 1, pp. 203–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2012.03.038

Kong, M.C., Anwar, S., Billingham, J. and Axinte, D.A. (2012). “Mathematical modelling of abrasive waterjet footprints for arbitrarily moving jets: Part I - single straight paths”, International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, Vol.53, Issue 1, pp. 58-68.  http://doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071

Herbert, C., Kwong, J., Kong, M.C., Axinte, D.A., Hardy, M.C., Withers, P.J. (2012) “An evaluation of the evolution of workpiece surface integrity in hole making operations for a nickel-based superalloy”. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 212, Issue 8, pp. 1723–1730.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2012.03.014

Kong, M.C., Axinte, D.A., Wilson B., Marinescu, I., Allen, J., Raffles, M., Weston, S. (2012). “An innovative design of a multi-task dynamometer for turning operations”, Proceedings of the IMechE Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, Vol.226, Issue 6, pp.1118-1124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0954405412438640

Kong, M.C., Axinte, D.A. and Voice, W. (2011). “An innovative method to perform maskless plain waterjet milling for pocket generation: a case study in Ti-based superalloys”, International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, Vol.51, Issue 7-8, pp.642-648.   http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2011.04.006

Kong, M.C., Axinte, D.A. and Voice, W. (2011). ”Challenges in using waterjet machining of NiTi shape memory alloys: an analysis of controlled-depth milling“, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol.211, Issue 6, pp.959-971.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2010.12.015

Kong, M.C., Axinte, D.A. and Voice, W. (2010). “Aspects of Material Removal Mechanism in Plain Waterjet Milling on Gamma Titanium Aluminide”. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol.210, Issue 3, pp.573-584. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2009.11.009

Kong, M.C., Axinte, D.A. (2009). “Response of titanium aluminide alloy to abrasive waterjet cutting: geometrical accuracy and surface integrity issues versus process parameters”. Proceedings of the IMechE Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, Vol.223, No.1, pp.19-42. [Best Paper Award in 2009 volumes] http://dx.doi.org/10.1243/09544054JEM1226

Axinte, D.A. and Kong, M.C. (2009). “An integrated monitoring method to supervise waterjet machining“. CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology, Vol.58, Issue 1, pp.303-306. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2009.03.022

Axinte, D.A., Srinivasu, D.S., Kong, M.C. and Butler-Smith, P.W. (2009). "Abrasive waterjet cutting of polycrystalline diamond: A preliminary investigation". International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, Vol.49, Issue 10, pp.797-803.   http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2009.04.003

Axinte, D.A., Stepanian, J.P., Kong, M.C. and McGourlay, J. (2009). “Abrasive waterjet turning – An efficient method to profile and dress grinding wheels“. Short Communication, International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, Vol.49, Issues 3-4, pp.351-356. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2008.11.006

Axinte, D.A., Kwong, J. and Kong, M.C. (2009). “Workpiece surface integrity of Ti-6-4 heat-resistant alloy when employing different polishing methods”. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol.209, No.4, pp.1843-1852. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2008.04.046

Kong, M.C., Lee, W.B., Cheung, C.F. and To, S. (2008). “An Experimental Study of the Formation of Tool Marks Made by Facet Diamond Cutting Tools in Single-Point Diamond Turning”. Key Engineering Materials, Vols. 364-366, pp. 544-549. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.364-366.544

Kong, M.C., Lee, W.B., Cheung, C.F. and, To, S. (2006). “A Study of Materials Swelling and Recovery in Single-point Diamond Turning of Ductile Materials”. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 180, Issues 1-3, pp. 210-215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2006.06.006

Kong, M.C., Lee, W.B., Cheung, C.F. and, To, S. (2006). “The Effect of Up-cutting and Down-cutting Directions Materials Swelling in Ultra-precision Raster Milling”. Materials Science Forum, Vols. 532-533, pp. 697-700. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.532-533.697

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