Facilities

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Material Characterization


Automatic Polisher (Struers Tegramin 30)

The polisher can prepare up to six samples at a time to a consistent high-quality surface finish necessary for microscopy analysis.


Ultrasonic bath

Cleans and de-agglomerates samples and tools in a neutral solution using ultrasound.


Diamond Saw (VC-50 Precision)

Precisely sections material samples without inducing any heat or plastic deformation damage.


Fume Hood

General purpose fume hoods (3x) for safe handling of chemicals and processes.


Hardness Tester (SXHV-1000TA)

Measures the Vicker’s hardness of metals / alloys / composites. Loads from 0.098N(10g) to 9.807N(1000g).


Hot Mounting Press (Struers CitoPress)

The Hot Mounting press prepares samples for optical microscopy, SEM, hardness testing, and other evaluation techniques.


Manual Polisher

Prepares flat samples for a variety of experiments


Optical Microscopy (Ziess AXIOVERT A1m)

Fitted with 5X, 10X, 50X and 150X lenses, the Ziess microscope is coupled to image analysis software for detailed microstructure evaluation.


Vacuum Filtration Unit

Rapid filtration of slurries.


Analytical Scales and Balances (Fisher Scientific)

Measures the weight of samples in grams, up to 4 decimal places.


Wet Saw (Struers Discotom-6)

Cuts samples of various materials, including metals, alloys, composites, etc.


Optical Emission Spectrometer (OES) (Q4 TASMAN, BRUKER)

Accurate spark analysis and measurement of composition of Ferrous alloys, Aluminum alloys and Magnesium alloys.


%IACS Electrical Conductivity Tester

Used for the measurement of the electrical conductivity of a sample (at room temperature) in %IACS units.


BET Surface Area and Porosity Analyzer
(Micromeritics TriStar II Plus)

The BET analyser uses nitrogen gas
and physical absorption to characterize a material’s surface features and internal structure.


DSC/DTA-TGA (NETZSCH STA 449 F3 Jupiter) with GC-MS coupling

Measures temperature-related properties such as mass loss, melting points, and other phase transitions. The GC-MS can simultaneously detect/identify volatile gases.


Wear testing tribometer TRB³ (Anton Paar)

The tribometer allows for a fast and reliable measurement of the wear resistance of materials. Linear reciprocating, semi-circular and “wet” (tribo-corrosion) experiments are possible.


Rotary Inert Tube Furnace / Reactor (Carbolite Gero)

Enables heat treatment of materials up to 1100°C in a rotating quartz tube, with the option of inert environment.


Potentiostat-Galvanostat and Corrosion Tester (PARSTAT 4000, AMETEK) (K0235 Flat Cell Kit on top)

Enables measurement accelerated corrosion experiments. Software enables in-depth EIS analysis of corrosion behavior.


Rheometer

(Anton Paar MCR302e)

Used for the characterization of dynamic properties of slurries.


3D Profilometer Microscope

(Keyence VR-6200)

The microscope is used for 3D surface scanning, surface roughness measurement and volume analysis.


Carbon + Sulphur Analyzer

(LECO 832)

Used for absolute analysis of Carbon and Sulphur content in a material.


X-Ray Diffraction system

(Bruker D8 Advance)

XRD machine with motorized stage, high-temperature XRD capability, small-angle XRD (SAX), Rietveld analysis.


Thermal Conductivity Analyzer

(Netzsch LFA 467)

Used for the measurement of thermal diffusivity, specific heat and thermal conductivity in a material. Measurement of thermal properties up to 500C.


Electrical Conductivity Analyzer

(Netzsch SBA 458)

Instrument for the determination of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and resistivity. Measurement of these properties from room temperature to 1100C.


Raman Spectrometer

(Bruker Senterra II)

Raman spectrometer equipped with two lasers (532 nm and 785 nm).


Particle Size Analyzer

(Anton Paar PSA 1190)

Partize size analysis in wet or dry modes.


Gas Pycnometer

(Anton Paar Ultrapyc Model: 5000)

Used for the measurement of true density of a porous material.


Spectrophotometer

Used for the measurement of light transmission through liquid samples.

Metal Casting


Heat Treatment Furnace (Euclid CF510 Furnace)

The Euclid CF510 (Heat Treatment Furnace) is used for solid-state processing of metals and pre-heat of metal or tools used during metalcasting. Maximum temperature of 1200 °C.

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Melting furnace (Euclid R-85 Kiln)

The Euclid R-85 Kiln (Melting Furnace) is used to melt and superheat metals to be used in casting processes up to a maximum temperature of 1000°C.


Vertical band saw

The band saw is used to section castings or to prepare ingots for melting.


Tube Furnace (Lindberg/Blue M CC58114C-1)

Used to heat samples in an inert environment up to 1100°C.

Powder Metallurgy


Spark Plasma Sintering Machine (10-3, Thermal
Technology LLC)

The SPS machine consolidates metal/alloy/ceramic powders at temperatures of up to 2200°C and pressures up to 100 MPa (with graphite tooling).


Jet Mill (Micron-Master Jet Pulverizer MODEL 02-606-WC)

The Jet Mill is capable of pulverizing diverse types of crystalline or friable material, reducing particle size to sub-micron levels.


Rapid Temperature Furnace (CM Furnaces Inc., Model 1612)

The Rapid Temperature Furnace is used to rapidly heat samples up to 1800°C with optional gas inert atmosphere.


Probe Sonicator (Branson Digital
Sonifier (SFX 550))

The Probe Sonicator deagglomerates carbon-based nanomaterials or to mix and homogenize solid-liquid or liquid-liquid suspensions.


Ball Mill Station (PULVERISETTE 5
Classic Line)

Quickly mixes and homogenizes powder samples in wet or dry conditions.


Small Ball Mill Station (PULVERISETTE 7
Premium Line)

Quickly mixes and homogenizes smaller powder samples in wet or dry conditions.