Research

Armour ceramics - 4Kgf Vickers indentation on CVDSiC

Advanced Materials

Advanced materials research includes understanding, designing and engineering the structure of a material from atomistic to micron scale by correlating with material mechanical and functional properties, as well as chemical composition and processing conditions.

The research activities under the theme focus on following areas: advanced metals and ceramics at extreme conditions, energy materials, surface engineering, microstructure and property characterisation, and atomistic scale modelling.

Activities we address include but are not limited to:

High temperature oxidation of metals
Microstructural evolution of superalloys and steels during high temperature service
Precipitation effects in steels, stainless steels and aluminium alloys
Ultra high strength nano-quasicrystalline and nano-fibril alloys and composites
Use of large central synchrotron and neutron facilities applied to metallurgical problems
Microstructure and evolution of additive manufactured materials for high temperature applications
Microstructure characterisation and microanalysis of advanced structural and functional materials
Titanium alloy recycling using low temperature solid state consolidation method
Functional ceramic nanomaterials for energy conversion and storage
Ceramics, advanced and biocompatible polymers for biomedical applications
Solar hydrogen generation and solar cells
Nuclear materials, including ceramic composites, graphite and high entropy alloys
Smart materials for sensing, security and sports
Hydrophobic/icephobic surface and coatings
Carbon fibre reinforced carbon/ceramic composites for friction application
Armour ceramics
Understanding of materials damage
Understanding of degradation mechanisms for advanced alloys
Simulation of the growth of thin films photovoltaic devices
Polymer processing and the synthesis of advanced polymers and organic coatings