Metallic High-Temperature Materials

Metallic materials are one of the most ubiquitous structural materials and a central pillar of our society. They are the backbone of power generation, transportation, structural engineering, or chemical industry. Many of these service domains include harsh environments, where specifically high temperatures in combination with complex loading profiles set high demands on metallic alloys. Examples include turbine components in aircrafts and classical power-generation systems, but also the generation and use of hydrogen, synthetic natural gas, or other renewable energy sources. These domains continuously strive towards higher energy efficiency and sustainability, pushing the boundaries of material performance to the extremes.

With this in mind, we are conducting research in the area of process-structure-property relationships of novel high-temperature metallic alloys together with partners from academia and the private sector. We experimentally determine mechanical properties and identify safety-critical damage and failure mechanisms under complex thermo-mechanical loads. These activities have a strong emphasis on mechanical testing under operational conditions (e.g., multi-axial loads, creep fatigue, complex load paths, crack propagation under thermo-mechanical fatigue), as to provide relevant scientific insights of microstructural deformation and failure mechanisms in realistic service conditions.

Our work defines application limits in high-temperature environments with a focus on novel alloy systems, including additively manufactured alloys, superalloys and high-entropy alloys, thereby contributing to materials safety in tomorrow’s energy and transportation systems.