Department of Physical Metallurgy

Exciting exchange on the effects of electron irradiation on mechanical properties

Prof. In-Suk Choi from Seoul National University in South Korea visited our group this monday. We were pleased about the great scientific exchange on electron beam effects in oxidic materials and thankful for the his presentation on “Electron-beam induced athermal deformation: a novel understanding for viscoplastic deformation and mechanical amorphization of amorphous and crystalline silica” within the Materials Science Colloquium.

The 20th International Conference on Strength of Materials

This year's ICSMA took place in Kyoto, the cultural heart of Japan. Prof. Karsten Durst represented the Department of Physical Metallurgy with an invited talk on “Grain boundary induced hardening vs. softening in nanostructured Cu-X solid solutions”, Leonie Frohnapfel with a talk on “Multi-Scale Insights into Surface Patterning of CuZn30 via Nanoimprinting”. In addition to a lively scientific exchange and successful networking, the conference offered the opportunity to enjoy Japanese delicacies and explore the variety of temples and cultural features of the city.

Advanced Nanoindentation Testing: Beyond the Oliver–Pharr Method

PhM group congratulates Franziska Staab on passing her PhD.

Franziska Staab defended her thesis entitled “Severe plastic deformation towards magnetic hardening in SmCo based alloys” with a confident performance in her disputation on 27.05.2025. Her former colleagues at PhM congratulate Dr. Staab and wish her all the best for the future!

International Conference on Ceramic and Glass in Vancouver

The 16th Pacific Rim Conference on Ceramic and Glass Technology (PACRIM 16) took place in Vancouver, Canada in early May, including the Glass and Optical Division Meeting (GOMD 2025). Dr. Sebastian Bruns contributed to the conference with a talk about his most recent findings on the Local brittle-ductile-transition and activation of viscous flow via electron irradiation in oxide glasses. Furthermore, he demonstrated the potential of the High Temperature Scanning Indentation approach to study transitions in silica glass within the poster session.

New publication in Materials & Design

Our newest study demonstrates the potential of electron irradiation for local modification of the mechanical behavior of oxide glasses via In-SEM nanoindentation. The results show that electron irradiation is a powerful tool to locally activate plastic flow processes in order to target crack suppression and trigger the material to undergo a transformation from brittle to ductile.

New Publication within the Journal of Alloys and Compounds

In this study, the process of high-pressure torsion was applied to powder blends consisting of SmCo5-Sn to produce nanocomposites. Different process parameters were investigated. A coercivity of up to µ0Hc=1.77 T could be achieved, highlighting the great potential of the process to produce hardmagnetic nanocomposites. Detailed analyses of the interphases were carried out to understand their effects on the magnetic properties and to develop optimisation strategies for the production process.

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development IX

This year's ECI Conference in Sicily took place at the foot of Mount Etna, where Marcel Sos and Sebastian Bruns represented the PhM with a poster and a presentation. In addition to a lively scientific exchange with numerous acquaintances, the excursion to the historic old town of Taormina, including a visit to the ancient Greek theater, was one of the highlights of the trip.

Home game for PhM: PhM was represented at this year's MSE Congress with numerous contributions. Among others, Rebekka Hlawaty presented the results of her Master's thesis on “Hard magnetic SmCo5-X (X = Cu, Sn) nanocomposites produced by high-pressure torsion – microstructural evolution and magnetic properties”.

Farewell to Franziska Staab

After four years of very productive collaboration in the SFB – TRR 270 HoMMage, the PhM had to say goodbye to Franziska Staab yesterday, Monday. We would like to thank her for the great time and the delicious Weißwurst breakfast as a farewell gift.