Materials Laboratory
Laboratory of Materials
The Laboratory of Materials (LoM) is part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Thessaly and is located in the area of Volos in Central Greece. The laboratory was established in 1995 and operates with research and educational activities specializing in metallic alloy research.
LoM has emerged in its area of expertise as a strong research point by collaborating with several Greek and European industries ranging from materials developers to materials users.
LoM expertise is in the field of materials process simulation by applying the techniques of computational alloy thermodynamics and kinetics. LoM is also active in alloy development, materials characterization, laser materials processing, corrosion and failure analysis issues.
LoM performs research projects for industry and the EU. Extensive experience has been accumulated in LoM’s stuff through their involvement in more than thirty EU and national research projects and more than a hundred problem-solving industrial contracts.
LoM has a strong application oriented approach. Input and questions from industry are essential to guide the research which is directed to the solution of practical problems.
Numbers (during the first 15 years of operation)
• 100 projects with industry
• 30 EU and national research projects
• 50 diploma thesesCooperations
• 6 doctoral theses
• 100+ publications in refereed journals and international conferences
Cooperations
LoM has cooperated with academic research and industrial institutions in the EU and Greece.
EU: RWTH-Aachen
Max Planck Institute
MSI
Univ. Wien
UMIST
CNRS
K.U. Lueven
Thyssen Krupp Stahl
Voest Alpine Stahl
British Steel
Arcelor
Airbus
Greece: Hellenic Petroleum Company (Petrola, EKO)
Motor Oil Hellas
Hellenic Aerospace Industry
Hellenic Shipyards
Violex-BIC
Intracom
BMTE
GMC
Shielman
Mirtec
Exalco
Greek Castings SA.
Hellenic Navy
Jet Oil Company
University of Patras
Professor, PhD'88 Massachussetts Institute of Technology, USA
Physical Mettalurgy✉ hgreg (at) uth.gr
Mechanical Engineer Ph.D.
Technical support of Materials Laboratory✉ ekamoutsi (at) mie.uth.gr
The major service provided by LoM is Failure Analysis
Failure Analysis at LoM
Why Failure Analysis?
Despite all the advancements in the development and testing of materials, failures do occur – because of unanticipated failure mechanisms, faulty design, improper materials selection and heat treatment, abuse of machinery during service (e.g. not following proper operating procedures or maintenance schedules) or a critical manufacturing defect escaping detection during the quality assurance procedures.
Failure analysis is performed to determine the cause of damage so that:
- Measures can be taken to prevent failure in the future, and
- To assign legal responsibility for the damage
How do we analyze failures?
At LoM, we apply a series of procedures to identify the cause of damage. These include visual inspection, optical and scanning electron microscopy and fractography, chemical analysis as well as mechanical testing to verify the microstructure and strength of the material. The above procedures reveal the quality of the material, the quality of the fabrication process and possible abuse during service.
What Types of Failures?
- Ductile and brittle fractures
- Fatigue failures
- Distortion failures
- Wear and erosion failures
- Corrosion and stress corrosion cracking
- Elevated-temperature failures ( creep )
- Hydrogen attack and embrittlement
Range of equipment
- Shafts
- Sliding and rolling bearings
- Lifting equipment ( e.g. cables)
- Mechanical fasteners
- Springs
- Tools and dies
- Gears
- Boilers
- Heat exchangers
- Pressure vessels
- Pipelines
- Marine components
- Reactors
Who can benefit from Failure Analysis ?
- Chemical and petrochemical companies
- Manufacturing and metalworking companies
- Maritime and transportation companies
- Energy production and distribution companies
- Food processing companies
Ask the experts
The Laboratory of Materials (LoM) possesses the expertise (equipment + knowledge + experience) to conduct the most demanding failure analysis projects. LoM has been active in failure analysis since 1992. The long list of references is a guarantee for the quality and reliability of our service.
How to contact LoM?
LoM (Laboratory of Materials)
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering
University of Thessaly
Pedion Areos, 38334 Volos, Greece
Phone/Fax: +30421074061
E-Mail: hgreg@mie.uth.gr, Website: www.mie.uth.gr/materials
Contact person: Prof. G.N. Haidemenopoulos, Director of LoM
Materials Process Simulation with Computational Alloy Thermodynamics and Kinetics
- Simulation of Intercritical Annealing of TRIP steels
- Calculation of Precipitation Driving Forces in Steels and Al-alloys
- Laser Hardening and Laser Carburization of Steels
- Laser Welding of Aluminium Alloys
- Dissolution, Homogenization and Ageing Processes during the Extrusion of High Strength Aluminium Alloys
- Development of Heat Resistant Steel Castings
- Alloy Design of Al-Mg-Zr-Sc alloys
Development of TRIP Steels
- Modelling of Austenite Stability
- Experimental Characterization of Austenite Stability
- Modelling of Austenite Transformation KineticsCyclic
- Plasticity and fatigue of TRIP Steels
Corrosion-Induced Hydrogen Embrittlement of High Strength Aluminium Alloys and Wrought Magnesium Alloys
- Accelerated Corrosion Testing
- Corrosion Characterization
- Characterization of Hydrogen Trapping states
- Correlation of Hydrogen Traps with Microstructure and Properties
Magnesium Alloys
- Microstructure of AZ31 and AZ61 magnesium alloys
- Deformation mechanisms in Mg-alloys
- Twinning deformation, fracture and fatigue of Mg-alloys
- Corrosion of Mg-alloys
Corrosion and Fractography of Fiber Metal Laminates (FML)
- Accelerated Corrosion testing
- Corrosion characterization
- Fractography and Failyre Mechanisms
Laser Materials Processing
- Laser welding of Steels and Aluminium Alloys
- Laser Surface Treatments
- Laser Bending of Steel Plates
- Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition
- Pulsed Laser Deposition of Thin Films
• Metallurgical microscopes and stereomicroscopes.
• Hardness and microhardness testers.
• Heat treating furnaces.
• Metallographic specimen preparation facilities.
• Corrosion testing equipment.
• Thermal analysis equipment including Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC)
and Dilatometer.
• Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).
• Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).
• Laboratory CO2 laser facility with 2-axis CNC table, cutting head and vacuum
chamber for Laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD).
• Computaional Alloy Thermodynamics software Thermo-Calc).
• Computational Alloy Kinetics software (DICTRA).
• Materials Selection software (CES)
Ph.D. Thesis
- I.Zergioti, Development of TiC και TiB2 Coatings with Pulsed Laser Deposition, 1997.
- A.Basilakos, Retained Austenite Transformation Induced Plasticity in Low Alloy Steels, 2000.
- A.Katsamas, Laser Surface Transformation Hardening due to Martensitic Transformation and Carburization in Steels, 2000.
- A.Zervaki, Microstructure Evolution Simulation during Laser Welding of Aluminum Alloys, 2004.
- E.Kamoutsi, Corrosion & Hydrogen Embrittlement of Aluminum Alloys for Aerospace Applications, 2004.
- S.Samaras, Analysis & Design of Aluminum Alloys Extrusion Processing, (in progress, started 2001).
M.Sc. Thesis
- Ch.Kolonis, Optimization of LCVD Experimental Installation for TiC deposition, Theoretical Study & Determination of Operational Variables, May 2000.
Professor Gregory Haidemenopoulos
Laboratory of Materials
Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
University of Thessaly
Pedion Areos – Volos 38334
Greece
Tel.: +30 24210 74061
Fax: +30 24210 74062
Email: hgreg@mie.uth.gr