This most likely means that the demands for the materials that are used also increases. As a consequence, the materials must be stronger, tougher and more resistant to temperature or corrosive environments while at the same time they should be cheaper and more durable. To achieve this, the knowledge of the material behaviour must increase. The response of the material must also be known and predictable under service like conditions. The research carried out in our research group focus on these issues.
Our speciality are advanced mechanical testing methods such as fatigue testing, crack propagation testing, thermo-mechanical fatigue testing (TMF), creep and dwell-fatigue testing. The deformation and damage mechanisms that are active during the tests are characterised using high-resolution microscopy techniques. The results from the tests and the understanding of the physical mechanisms are then often used as input to material modelling work where either the materials constitutive behaviour or the life of the material under certain load conditions are described.
