Materials Development and Analytics Department

Bild Uebersicht Abteilung Werkstoffentwicklung

Welcome to the Materials Development and Analytics Department.

Our department researches and works on the targeted adaptation of material and surface conditions based on the specifications resulting from the use of the material or its processing. The current research projects focus on steels, high-strength aluminium materials and aluminium matrix composites. In order to achieve a comprehensive adaptation – an adaptation that takes into account material parameters on different size scales and under different application and processing conditions –, tools for material and process simulation are used in addition to analytical, characterising and testing methods.

Under the tabs displayed at the top edge of this screen area, you will find more detailed information on our research achievements, the services we offer and the extensive equipment and methodological facilities of our department.

Do you have any further questions or can we support you in your tasks? Then simply contact us at the telephone number or e-mail address below.

We look forward to working with you!

Currently, the team in the Materials Development and Analysis department is mainly researching high-strength aluminium materials and aluminium matrix composites as well as steels.

The work with aluminium and AMC materials focuses on the investigation of fatigue and failure mechanisms, the design of internal interfaces in particle-reinforced AMC and the tribological design of AMC surfaces in particular.

Our work with steels is primarily focused on heat treatment effects in the solid material and in the edge volume as well as with the simulative design of thermal, thermomechanical and thermochemical treatment processes and their influence on the steel microstructure and properties.

Below you will find a selection of our most important research topics in the above-mentioned areas.

We will be happy to advise or support you with our expertise in solving your tasks.
Just get in touch with us!

Treatment of steels

Calculation of local material properties during thermal and thermomechanical treatment of steels
Modelling of heat treatment processes and simulation of locally generated microstructures and heat treatment states
Optimisation of heat treatment processes to specified material target properties with the aid of neural networks

High-strength aluminium materials and aluminium matrix composites (AMC)

Analysis and description of fatigue and crack propagation behaviour of AMC and high-strength aluminium materials
Design of melt and powder metallurgical process routes for the production of particle-reinforced AMC with high reinforcement phase content with special consideration of internal phase interfaces.
Development of analysis and testing methods for the reproducible recording of microstructural properties and material characteristics of particle-reinforced AMC with high reinforcement phase content

Tribology

Improving the tribological properties of particle-reinforced AMC with a high reinforcement phase content with the aim of achieving practical wear freedom
Design of material pairings in tribological systems, especially in systems with (partial) solid contact

The range of services offered by the Materials Development and Analysis department includes analytical and investigative tasks as well as simulation-supported, targeted materials development.

The technical equipment available to us for this purpose can be found sorted by laboratory area under the corresponding tab on this page.

We offer the following services as standard.

Contact us if you would like us to support you in special tasks!

Microstructure and solid state analysis

X-ray fine structure analysis using XRD:
- Qualitative and quantitative phase analysis and determination of the lattice parameters
- Determination of particle sizes and micro distortions
- Residual stress measurement
- Texture analysis
- Coating thickness, roughness and density determination by means of reflectometry
Simultaneous performance of thermogravimetry (TG) and optionally differential thermal analysis (DTA) or dynamic differential calorimetry (DSC)
Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) to determine the behaviour of materials under mechanical and thermal loading

Materials testing

Mechanical testing of materials, especially metal matrix composites (tensile test, bending test and ILS test)
Fatigue testing of materials in the LCF range with servo-hydraulic testing machine (cyclic tensile test in the tensile threshold range and cyclic bending test with all load conditions)
HCF test by means of resonance pulsator
Various standardised wear tests in solid contact

Manufacturing