Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering

Granting Departments:	Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering
Study Programme/Specialization:	Chemistry and Technology of Materials ( in English language )
Supervisor:	Ing. Filip Průša, Ph.D.

Annotation

High entropy alloys belong to a relatively new group of materials which are characterized by the preferential formation of solid solutions instead of intermetallic compounds. These materials exhibit several excellent properties, foremostly high strengths while maintaining sufficient ductility, good corrosion resistance and others. By suitable processing of these alloys, it is possible to achieve further substantial improvement of these already very good properties. The work will be focused on the preparation of new advanced high-entropy alloys combining significantly higher strengths while maintaining sufficient plasticity.

Granting Departments:	Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering
Study Programme/Specialization:	Chemistry and Technology of Materials ( in English language )
Supervisor:	doc. Ing. Tomáš Prošek, Ph.D.

Annotation

To assure safe operation of the infrastructure for transport and storage of hydrogen advancing the goals of decarbonisation of Europe, this project will focus on understanding into the effect of environmental parameters on processes controlling entry of atomic hydrogen into materials in contact with pressurized hydrogen. The risk of hydrogen embrittlement is affected by the quantity of diffusible hydrogen present in metallic material, with thresholds depending on material composition and microstructure. The role of environment (temperature, pH, redox potential, corrosivity, presence of recombination poisons), surface reactions (including adsorption) and surface state (contamination, oxide film, corrosion products) in hydrogen entry in dry pressurized hydrogen, humid hydrogen and water electrolyte in contact with pressurized hydrogen will be investigated. Critical factors controlling the entry and critical application conditions will be identified through understanding the underlying processes. Experiments combining exposures in deuterated water and gaseous hydrogen with the potential to gain deeper insight into the entry mechanism will be carried out at together with an Austrian partner. Industrial support with samples and advanced analytics will be provided by a major operator of underground storages in the Czech Republic. Machine learning techniques will be applied to treat the obtained data and find interdependencies.

Granting Departments:	Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering
Study Programme/Specialization:	Chemistry and Technology of Materials ( in English language )
Supervisor:	doc. Ing. Tomáš Prošek, Ph.D.

Annotation

Additive manufacturing (AM) provides the possibility of a step change in material efficiency by increasing the ‘buy-to-fly’ ratio by reducing material waste, design optimisation by placing material only where it is needed in a component, and the possibility of repair of components to dramatically extend service life. For these benefits to be fully realised, optimised circular approaches to AM are required including the use of recycled materials, improved feedstock (powder) manufacturing with increased yields, manufacturing with low or no defects and resultant parts with excellent performance including the ability to repair and remanufacture to dramatically improve life span. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of car production, this project will aim at optimization of additive manufacturing technologies in order to reach longer lifetime of produced tooling for car part production at reduced manufacturing environmental costs. It will be allowed by deeper understanding into the relationship between the properties of metal powder, manufacturing parameters and application properties. Tooling with improved corrosion, wear or heat resistance will thus be produced. In particular, the project will look at (1) understanding into the effect of powder composition on final performance of produced parts, (2) increase powder re-use or application of powders made of recycled metals, (3) optimization of post-treatment techniques such as fine machining, heat treatment and nitridation, (4) development of methodologies for assessment of product durability, including advanced defectoscopy techniques, mechanical tests and corrosion resistance, and (5) identification of areas where material or energy savings can be reached without compromising the application properties. The project will be carried out with the support of a major Czech car manufacturer and in cooperation with an Australian university.

Granting Departments:	Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering
Study Programme/Specialization:	Chemistry and Technology of Materials ( in English language )
Supervisor:	doc. Ing. Tomáš Prošek, Ph.D.

Annotation

To advance the goals of decarbonisation of Europe, ways for increasing safety of metallic materials used for hydrogen storage and transport need to be sought, increasing the availability of hydrogen as an energy source. Within this study, possibilities for limiting the risk of hydrogen entry to new steel parts and existing steel installations by surface modification and coatings will be investigated. Namely, formation of protective oxide films, surface active inhibitors, and metallic or organic coatings will be studied. The aim will be to identify coatings and surface modification technologies capable of efficient and long-term reduction of atomic hydrogen formation and entry, or forming a barrier between gaseous hydrogen and steel, or otherwise reducing the sensitivity to hydrogen embrittlement. Series of experiments will be carried out to understand the role of different surface treatments in surface hydrogen activity and transport properties of hydrogen in coating materials using advanced techniques available in the hydrogen laboratory of Technopark Kralupy. Selected solutions will be tested in pressurized hydrogen. For the retrofitting applications, surface treatment of materials from natural gas storage facilities will be used. Access to natural gas storage facilities and their typical materials will be provided by a major operator of underground storages in the Czech Republic.

Granting Departments:	Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering
Study Programme/Specialization:	Chemistry and Technology of Materials ( in English language )
Supervisor:	doc. Ing. Milan Kouřil, Ph.D.

Annotation

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is a major cause of damage to reinforced concrete structures, causing huge economic damage and posing a safety risk. The protection of reinforcement against corrosion has not yet been satisfactorily addressed. The approaches being developed are based on the selection of more resistant materials, the use of appropriate surface treatments and the application of corrosion inhibitors, sealing agents and electrochemical methods of corrosion protection. In particular, the use of electrochemical techniques to accelerate the transport of corrosion inhibitors to the reinforcement and to increase the effect of sealing agents will be studied. Methods for electrochemical testing of the effectiveness of these protective techniques will be developed.

Granting Departments:	Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering
Study Programme/Specialization:	Chemistry and Technology of Materials ( in English language )
Supervisor:	Ing. Filip Průša, Ph.D.

Annotation

Metallic materials are nowadays reaching many application limits regarding their mechanical properties, which can not be further overcome by common techniques, including microstructural refinement or intensive plastic deformation. Therefore, incorporating new phase particles such as oxide or carbides seems to be highly perspective due to their ability significantly strengthen the alloys. In the frame of the dissertation, the possible utilization of waste materials to improve the properties of modern alloy systems will be studied.