About

Wenda Tan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, located at 2424 GGB, 2350 Hayward, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Her research focuses on physics-based modeling for advanced manufacturing processes, including computational fluid dynamics and computational materials modeling. Her work specifically addresses additive manufacturing, welding, casting, powder metallurgy, and electrohydrodynamic printing processes. She is involved in research areas such as manufacturing, mechanics & materials, and multi-scale computation, contributing to the understanding and development of innovative manufacturing techniques and materials.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Optics
• Mechanics
• Composite material

Selected publications

• Multi-physics modeling of pore-induced dynamic recrystallization during hot isostatic pressing of additively manufactured Ti alloy

  CIRP journal of manufacturing science and technology · 2026-04-16

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Domain decomposition strategies for high-performance smoothed particle Galerkin (SPG) modeling of SiCf/SiC scribing: balancing scaling efficiency and numerical stability

  The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology · 2026-05-08

  articleOpen access

  Abstract This study investigates domain decomposition strategies for high-performance smoothed particle Galerkin (SPG) modeling of single-grit diamond scribing of silicon carbide fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (SiC f /SiC) composites. Domain decomposition enables massively parallel processing (MPP) by partitioning the SPG model into subdomains, each assigned to a processor for parallel execution. The SPG model without domain decomposition is first validated against experimentally measured scribing forces and is used as the baseline. The computational time and force prediction error associated with three domain decomposition strategies are evaluated to identify the trade-off between scaling efficiency and numerical stability. Three principles for optimal domain decomposition are identified. First, subdomains should contain similar numbers of particles to ensure balanced workload across processors and maximize computational efficiency. Second, the number of subdomains should be selected to balance computational speedup and numerical stability. Too few subdomains underutilize available computational resources, while too many increase inter-subdomain communication and may amplify numerical discrepancies and force fluctuations. Third, subdomain boundaries should avoid high-deformation and high-contact regions. Aligning subdomains parallel to the cutting direction confines active deformation within fewer subdomains, reduces data exchange, and improves both accuracy and computational efficiency. Based on these findings, we envision that GPU-accelerated high-performance computing (HPC) architectures with thousands of processing cores can enable large-scale multi-grit grinding simulations using SPG modeling.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Elucidating the mechanism for suppression of spatter in dual-laser powder bed fusion systems: A numerical and experimental study

  Additive manufacturing · 2026-01-31

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• X-ray observation of individual Ti-6Al-4V spherical powder particle impact in an in-situ operando laser directed energy deposition system

  Journal of Materials Processing Technology · 2026-05-15

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Illuminating the physics of melting during laser-based manufacturing of IN718 by measuring laser light reflections

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Suppression of powder spattering in powder bed fusion with core-ring laser beam

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Brief Paper: Dynamic Keyhole Behavior and Fluid Flow in Multi-Laser Welding Process

  2025-06-23

  articleSenior author

  Abstract Laser keyhole welding with multiple lasers in proximity has been an emerging technology in industrial applications. Compared with the commonly used single-laser system, the application of multi-laser welding provides different heat distributions to enable additional processing parameter manipulations, which can be particularly useful for certain applications. While experimental studies have revealed the keyhole geometries and molten pool dimensions in the multi-laser welding process, the dynamic behavior of multiple coexisting keyholes and the resultant fluid flow within the molten pool have not been well understood. In this work, a multi-physics numerical model is used to predict the transient and nonuniform distributions of laser absorption, temperature, and flow velocity in the tri-laser welding process. Two power settings that lead to different keyhole geometries are investigated. A detailed discussion is given to elucidate the effects of laser drilling within the high-temperature molten pool and its impact on enhanced overall laser absorption of the molten pool. A comparative analysis between single-laser and tri-laser keyhole welding is given to evaluate the significance of different driving forces acting on the molten pool to the keyhole dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• Laser keyhole welding of dissimilar metals with spiral contours: Metal mixing, microstructure, and mechanical strength

  Journal of Manufacturing Processes · 2025-03-14 · 9 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• In-situ observation of plastic material flow and interfacial condition in friction stir-based processes via particle image velocimetry

  Manufacturing Letters · 2025-02-19 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Elucidating the mechanism for suppression of spatter in dual-laser powder bed fusion systems: A numerical and experimental study

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Vibration-Assisted Laser Keyhole Welding to Improve Joint Properties

  NSF · $516k · 2018–2022

• Collaborative Research: Physical Mechanism of Melt Pool Oscillation and Spatter Formation in Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

  NSF · $260k · 2019–2022

• CAREER: Vibration-Assisted Laser Keyhole Welding to Improve Joint Properties

  NSF · $215k · 2021–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Xuxiao Li

  17 shared

• Yung C. Shin

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  12 shared

• Wenkang Huang

  Hangzhou Medical College

  9 shared

• Neil S. Bailey

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  9 shared

• Wayne Cai

  6 shared

• Teresa J. Rinker

  General Motors (United States)

  6 shared

• Jennifer Bracey

  6 shared

• Cang Zhao

  Argonne National Laboratory

  5 shared

Education

• PhD, Mechanical Engineering

  Purdue University

  2014