Curriculum Details

Interfacial Properties Between Solid Ceramics and Liquid or Solid Metallic Phases

Interfacial energies play an important role in the understanding of phenomena which are related to the production and the properties of new materials.In the consolidation of single as well as multiphase materials by powder technology,the driving force for the sinterability is the reduction of free surface area,with the simultaneous formation of interfacial or grain-boundary area and thus a decrease in the total energy of the system.The microstucture,density,grain-boundary growth or groove penetration by liquids and the mechanical behaviour are influenced by the values of the interfacial energies at the various interfaces of the system.Furtermore,techniques are required for the joining of ceramics to metalic compoments.Our investigation concerns theoretical and experimental studies of the wetting and bonding behaviour as well as the reactions kinetic and the new phase formation at the interface in ceramic-metal syst

Bioceramics

Hard tissue replacements,are very common in biomedicine.Ceramic materials lend themselves to long-term hard tissue implants because of their remarcable chemical stability and inertness,mechanical strength,wear and corrosion resistance and biocompatibility.Our investigations,in collaboration with colleagues in other materials science departments,include the preparation of bioceramics and the measurement of their properties.Furthermore,in vitro wetting experiments and theoretical calculations permit the determination of the nature of the attractive forces acting at the interface and therefore the energy of interaction between bioceramics and body-liquids.

Concrete Technology

Production of concrete.The investigations concern the determination of the mechanical behaviour of blended cement in dependence of the properties of fly-ash used. Production of aluminous concrete from bauxite,limestone and electric-furnace slags from the ferronickel production. The experimental and theoretical studies involve DTA-measurements and statistical analysis of AL-concrete bending-tests and take place in our labolatory in collaboration with industrial partners.