Scientific lecture by BTU alumnus Samir Amirli as part of a doctoral project

On Friday, 7 March 2025, the scientific lecture of Mr M.Eng. M.Sc. Samir Amirli on the topic: "Increasing the quality indicators of details for difficult-to-process material by hydroabrasive machining" as part of his Azerbaijani doctoral project for a doctorate in engineering (PhD) in the chair of mechanical engineering technology.

Mr Amirli was an Erasmus student at the BTU Cottbus Senftenberg as part of his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He then studied for a Master of Engineering at BTU Cottbus Senftenberg in Mechanical Engineering and at the same time completed a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Azerbaijan in Baku. As part of his studies at BTU, he was already working on various research questions relating to waterjet cutting on difficult-to-machine materials such as Hardox. He was particularly interested in the quality of the cut, the roughness of the cutting surface and the efficiency of the process. Mr Amirli also investigated the chips produced during waterjet cutting and found that, in contrast to "softer materials", these showed signs of severe mechanical deformation. Together with other material-related investigations such as hardness measurements on the cut surfaces, he was able to prove that hydroabrasive cutting results in surface hardening on the cut surface. In doing so, he challenged the previously valid hypothesis that waterjet cutting has no influence on the mechanical properties of the surfaces. Instead, he demonstrated that waterjet cutting of high-strength materials is equivalent to shot peening to improve surface properties, as is known from increasing the mechanical strength of highly stressed components.

With his lecture in Senftenberg, the BTU took into account the Azerbaijani doctoral procedure, which, after the successful theoretical PhD examinations, provides for the scientific lecture in the chair in which the scientific investigations were carried out to be open to the university. BTU is also delighted with the successful German-Azerbaijani cooperation with alumnus Samir Amirli, which shows how cross-border ties and research with international alumni can work successfully.