PhD Researcher in Mechanical Design Engineering
Opole University of Technology · Opole, Poland
Portfolio · LinkedIn · ORCID · a.el-sabea@po.edu.pl
I am a PhD researcher at the Institute of Mechanics and Machine Design, Opole University of Technology (supervised by Prof. Andrzej Kurek), specialising in fatigue of additively manufactured lattice structures. My work combines experimental mechanics, finite element analysis (FEA), and machine learning to predict the fatigue performance of 3D-printed metallic components — specifically EOS MS1 maraging tool steel.
I hold an MBA in Artificial Intelligence and bring a background in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and CFD alongside my structural work. I have active international collaborations with NTNU (Norway) on multiaxial fatigue of Gyroid lattices and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid on ML-driven medical lattice design.
As a research tool I am building GLADE — a Physics-Informed Gaussian Process topology optimiser for TPMS lattices — bridging the gap between research-grade optimisation and practical AM design workflows.
| 🏆 1st Place — Poster Session | XXXIX PRMR Conference, Zakopane, Poland (Jan 2026) — fatigue of AM lattice structures |
| 🎖 STER Best PhD Student Award 2024–2025 | National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), Poland |
| 🌍 STER Internship Grant | NAWA — international research internship (Nov 2025) |
| 💰 OPUS Research Project Scholarship | National Science Centre (NCN) — 24-month doctoral scholarship |
| 💰 Minigrant for Doctoral Research | RID / Ministry of Science — PLN 15,000 — "Surface Area Effects on Fatigue Performance of Lattice Structures in 3D Printed EOS MS1 Tool Steel" |
| 📚 Ignacy Łukasiewicz Scholarship | NAWA — full funding for MSc studies in Poland (2020) |
PhD focus (Oct 2024 – present) — Opole University of Technology Fatigue life prediction of L-PBF EOS MS1 tool steel lattice structures — integrating experimental testing, FEA numerical modelling, and machine learning for process parameter optimisation and life estimation under complex loading.
International collaborations
- 🇳🇴 NTNU — multiaxial fatigue testing of Gyroid lattice structures
- 🇪🇸 Universidad Politécnica de Madrid — experimental testing of medical lattice structures + ML-driven lattice design optimisation
Previous research
- Heat transfer analysis in gas-fired water boiler heat exchangers via 3D ANSYS Fluent modelling (Gdańsk University of Technology, 2021–2022)
- Dynamic emulator for building energy flexibility — funded NCN OPUS project (Opole, 2024–2025)
Peer-reviewed
Dai, Y., Qiu, Y., El Sabea, A., Zielonka, J., Li, Z. (2025). A comprehensive 6E analysis and optimization of a SOFC-based trigeneration system model for marine applications. Energy Conversion and Management: X, 28, 101327. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecmx.2025.101327 · Elsevier
Preprint
El Sabea, A., Baranski, J., Dąbrowski, P. (2024). The Numerical Analysis of the Heat Transfer Process in Selected Surfaces of the Water Boiler. TechRxiv. DOI: 10.36227/techrxiv.171319767.72580674/v1
Generative Lattice Architecture Design Engine · Mesh-free · Data-free · Uncertainty-aware · Apache-2.0
GLADE is a Physics-Informed Gaussian Process (PIGP) topology optimiser for functionally graded Gyroid (TPMS) lattice structures designed for L-PBF workflows.
| Capability | Detail |
|---|---|
| Core algorithm | Sparse variational GP · physics residuals as training signal (no FEM, no dataset) |
| Material model | SIMP (p = 3) · Gibson–Ashby scaling for Gyroid (n = 2.25) |
| Fatigue | Goodman · Soderberg · Gerber · ASME-Elliptic evaluated simultaneously |
| Post-hoc validation | Green–Lagrange + 2nd Piola–Kirchhoff · agree / caution / diverged classification |
| Uncertainty | Per-point posterior variance on the density field |
| Stack | FastAPI · PyTorch (MPS/Apple Silicon) · React + Three.js · Docker arm64 |
→ Repository · → Science & physics doc · → Technical reference
Structural & computational mechanics FEA (ANSYS, CalculiX) · Fatigue & damage analysis · Nonlinear solid mechanics · TPMS lattice design · CFD (ANSYS Fluent) · SMA constitutive modelling
Machine learning & scientific computing
PyTorch NumPy/SciPy GPyTorch scikit-image · Physics-informed ML · Gaussian process regression · Data-driven fatigue modelling
Engineering software
SOLIDWORKS · MATLAB/Simulink · ANSYS Fluent · Python · LaTeX · FastAPI · React · Docker
| Degree | Institution | Period |
|---|---|---|
| PhD — Mechanical Design Engineering | Opole University of Technology, Poland | Oct 2024 – present |
| MBA — Artificial Intelligence | Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University, Jordan | Oct 2024 – Sep 2025 |
| MSc — Mechanical Design Engineering (4.48/5.0) | Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland | Feb 2021 – Oct 2022 |
| Pre-Master's Certificate (5.0/5.0) | University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland | Oct 2020 – Jan 2021 |
| BEng — Mechanical Engineering (3.56/4.0) | Beirut Arab University, Lebanon | Sep 2013 – Jun 2018 |
| Role | Organisation | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Application Engineer | Diabatix, Belgium — AI-driven topology optimisation (ColdStream) | Jun–Aug 2023 |
| Mechanical Design Engineer | Freelance, Poland — CAE, CFD, FEA consulting | Feb 2020 – May 2023 |
| Production Engineer Intern | MTM&O Gold Refinery, UAE — structural FEA simulations | Jun–Sep 2019 |
| MEP Site Engineer Intern | Climacond Middle East, Lebanon | Aug–Dec 2018 |
| Mechanical Engineer Intern | Arabtec–CCC JV, Kazakhstan | Jun–Jul 2016 |
English (C1 · Professional) · Arabic (C2 · Native) · Polish (A2 · Learning)
