Department of Materials Engineering

The group is engaged in research on metallic materials for specialized applications, with particular emphasis on iron, nickel, titanium, and aluminum alloys. The team has extensive experience in both fundamental research and expert analyses in materials selection, manufacturing process parameters, and failure analysis.

The foundation of the group's research is a deep understanding of materials and advanced microstructure analysis techniques, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Additionally, the group conducts expert evaluations of the mechanical and physicochemical properties of materials.

These investigations are supported by extensive sample preparation capabilities, ranging from mechanical polishing techniques to advanced selective ion etching using FIB (Focused Ion Beam). Based on transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD), the group is also developing an automated technique for determining crystallographic orientation and phase composition in thin foils and specimens at the nanometer scale.

• Macro-, micro-, and nano-scale structural analysis using optical and electron microscopy.
• Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD, t-EBSD) studies for phase mapping and crystallographic orientation analysis in thin foils or nanoparticle specimens, with a resolution of 5–10 nm.

A fully equipped sample preparation laboratory supports these analyses, allowing for metallographic polishing, chemical and electrochemical etching. A key advantage is extensive experience in revealing microstructures through selective or standard chemical etching in iron, nickel, titanium, and aluminum alloys, enabling rapid material characterization and quantitative metallographic analysis.

Microstructure analysis is complemented by comprehensive mechanical and physical property testing, including:

• Calorimetric studies to determine melting temperature and phase transformations up to 1500°C.
• Mechanical property testing using static testing machines across a wide range of loads and temperatures (liquid nitrogen, -150°C to 1200°C).
• Hardness testing at macro and micro scales, with the capability to assess coating hardness and microstructural components using nanoindentation.
• Heat treatment (annealing/aging) in a vacuum furnace with a maximum temperature of 2200°C, including long-term treatments.
• Thermal expansion coefficient analysis for metallic materials.