The Institute of Materials has built Centres of Excellence for preparation and analysis of materials. Most of the funding for the purchase of new and unique analytical instruments and equipment was obtained from the EU Structural Funds within the Science and Research Operational Program. The APRODIMET Center of Excellence was built for the purposes of Application of PROgressive DIagnostic METhods in the processing of metal and non-metallic materials. It focuses on the application of analytical methods using the latest knowledge of the electron and laser beam interaction with the state-of-the-art high sensitivity detection systems and non-electrical quantities.
The methods used comprise the evaluation of specific properties of progressive metal and non-metallic materials. The Centre contributes to the improvement of both, the research infrastructure in the Trnava region and the educational process as well as popularisation of science and technology in the general public. It comprisess the Laboratory of Thermophysical Measurements and Calculations, which is an integral part of the scientific approach to the design, analysis and optimisation of technological processes for the production and processing of progressive materials using the physical and computer modeling techniques and numerical simulation of material behaviour, supplemented with experimentally determined thermophysical properties. Unlike real experiments, computer simulation makes it possible to study the given phenomenon in more detail and to observe a significantly higher number of physical quantities in relation to each other.
Based on the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the results, we can predict the behaviour of materials under different loads and the boundary conditions simulating the production process and identify the determinants affecting the investigated process and identify the causes of undesirable phenomena. Real thermophysical data over a wide temperature range are needed to calculate the temperature fields and deformations by the finite element method (FEM). They can be measured by simultaneous thermoanalysis (combination of thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, or mass spectroscopy of reactive gaseous thermal decomposition products). Thermal expansivity is measured using a dilatometer operating at a temperature range of -160 °C to 2000 °C, while thermal diffusivity, in turn, is measured using a laser pulse analyzer. Measurement of the temperature-stimulated depolarization currents from the temperatures of - 160 °C at a charging voltage of up to 250 V, as well as the measurement of low electrical conductivities in the DC electric field is carried out by the apparatus measuring the electrical properties. The maximum measurement temperature with guaranteed sensitivity of the electric current measurement 10 ÷ 16 A achieves 400 °C for a used measuring cell. The system represents two standards for the characterization of polarizing phenomena, particularly in polymer structures and glasses, as well as transport phenomena in ceramics, glasses, semiconductors and polymer-based materials.
Spectrum analyzer with accessories, used for the modular and impedance spectroscopy of materials and interfaces, is able to measure a wide spectrum of electrical and dielectric parameters of a sample (conductivity, resistivity, impedance, complex permittivity) at different frequencies of electric current. The Laboratory is fitted with the following experimental equipment and appropriate simulation software:
- NETZSCH STA 409 CD /7/403/5/G, a simultaneous thermoanalyzer with a mass spectrometer for the temperatures from 20 to 2000 °C;
- NETZSCH DIL 402 C/7/G + C75, a high-temperature dilatometer operating in the range -160 to 2000 °C;
- NETZSCH LFA 427/7/G, a laser flash analyzer for determination of temperature diffusivity in the temperature range from 20 to 2000 °C;
- TSDC System CONCEPT 90 with Quatro Cryosystem extension, an apparatus for measuring electrical properties with a focus on linear heating and thermal resistance;
- SOLATRON spectrum analyzer with accessories;
- DEFORM Software for simulation analyses of deformation processes in materials;
- SYSWELD Software for modeling and simulating the thermal and stress-strain states of materials in the heat treatment and welding processes;
- JMatPro Software for calculation of material properties of multicomponent alloys with thermodynamic databases;
- Thermodynamic databases - minerals and carbides, solutions and pure materials, steels/Fe alloys, Al alloys and light alloys, ceramic systems.
The Laboratory of Corrosion Tests is equipped with the top laboratory technology to determine the level of corrosion processes in metals and their degradation. It focuses mainly on the scientific and research activities in the areas of the metal materials protection from corrosion and metal surface treatment. The instrumentation enables to design solutions to improve the condition of technical equipment, renovation procedures and corrosion protection of components and whole assemblies. Modern unique devices allow measurement of electrochemical characteristics enabling the detection of instantaneous corrosion rate of metals, their susceptibility to the atmospheric, pitting or intergranular corrosion and the ability to passivate in various work environments, as well as many other corrosion properties of materials allowing the correct selection of material and work environment in terms of corrosion.
- PGU 10V potentiostatic test equipment,
- CorrosionBox 400E mist chamber
- CORTEST stress corrosion testing equipment.
The Laboratory of Structural Analyses is equipped with the state-of-the-art microscopes (the electron, light and laser ones). Scanning high-resolution electron microscope with the EDX, WDX and EBSD detectors can identify chemical composition and crystallographic characteristics in micro-volumes of the analysed materials. The “gentle beam” technique allows even non-conductive samples to be observed. The microscope is preferably intended for analysis of surface layers of the metal and non-metallic materials in the real state (degradation, fractography), as well as in materiallographic sections. The laser confocal microscope allows 3D visualization of the surface layer and quantification of thevheight irregularities up to 20 nm.
Two laser sources allow analysing the surface of the samples in fluorescent light, thus enabling to detect organic substances. The aparatus is used to analyse degraded surfaces which are due to the abrasive, adhesive, cavitation, fatigue and corrosion wear, as well as to determine the roughness after application of technological operations. The X-ray diffractometer is primarily used to investigate the impact of external parameters and technological processes on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of structural components, while emphasising the evaluation of internal and external deformations of crystal lattice, which are both due to the atom redistribution and the thermal, tribological and physico-chemical effects of the external environment, such as determination of residual stress levels in the depth profile of heat treated parts, structural refinement of new and modified phases with regard to the currently solved UMAT projects, determination of coherent scattering area size, and texture analyses of the deformed and cast systems. A high-temperature chamber for in situ analysis of material complexes will be also included. The diffractometer is equipped with the state-of-the-art detection systems that increase the measurement sensitivity, resolution and rate. Databases of the diffraction and crystallographic data are included. A list of all analytical devices and auxiliary equipment is given below:
- JEOL 7600F high resolution scanning electron microscope with EDX, WDX and EBSD analyzers;
- Philips CM 300 transmission electron microscope with LaB6 and GATAN SC 200 Orius digital camera;
- ZEISS LSM 700 laser confocal microscope;
- PanAnalytical EMPYREAN, a multifunctional X-ray diffractometer for phase analyses in the temperature range from 20 to 1100 °C;
- FRITSCH spherical micrometer, PULVERISETTE 7 model;
- Gatan ultrasonic disc cutter;
- JEOL SM-09010_CP sample preparation equipment for EBSD (Cross Section Polisher - CP).
The Laboratory of Coating, Heat Treatment and Mechanical Testing is designed to provide suitable experimental materials with a specific structure of surface layers and a defined structure in the core. These are mainly the coatings fabricated by both, PVD processes as well as by classical methods of cementation, nitrocementation, carbonitriding and nitriding. The Laboratory comprises also a device for testing mechanical properties of the metal and non-metallic materials according to the valid STN EN ISO 7500-1, DIN 51220, DIN 51221, STN EN 6892, DIN 51223, DIN 51227, ASTM E-4, VDE 0113, ISO 5893 Standards and other international standards. The maximum loading force is 250 kN. The device also includes a temperature chamber up to 1000 °C. An instrumented impact pendulum hammer is used to measure the impact energy versus the force and deflection of the specimen according to STN EN ISO 14556 and in accordance with STN EN ISO 148-1. The maximum impact energy of this device is 300 J. Both, the instrumented and non-instrumented brits can be used for the measurement. The high-speed imaging camera records the deformation pattern on the outside of the test sample. Samples can be tested at -70 to + 270 (+500) °C. The type designation of individual devices is listed below:
- Platit PI 80 + DLC coating equipment for coating TiN, AlTiN, CrN, AlCrN, etc.
- LAC, a multifunctional laboratory furnace for nitriding, cementation and nitrocementing
- LABORTECH LabTest 5.250 Sp1 testing machine
- CHK-300, an instrumented impact pendulum hammer
- Arc melting furnace for small quantities of materials
- Induction melting furnace