My research is focused on understanding the relationship between microstructure, properties (hardness, toughness) and wear resistance of materials for mining applications, as well as the development of new alloys and/or modification of currently available grades for mining applications.
Employing various characterisation technics, alloy design principles, and experimentation along with thermodynamic databases allows us to make a significant contribution to the research field and to explore new alloys (High-Cr cast irons, Mn steels and low-density wear-resistant materials).
My research experience includes microstructure characterisation techniques (scanning electron microscopy [SEM], electron backscattered diffraction [EBSD] and X-ray diffraction [XRD]) and thermic analyses techniques (dilatometry, differential scanning calorimetry/differential thermal analysis [DSC/DTA]) and computational Thermodynamic Calculations (using ThermoCalc software).
Observation of heat-treated high-Cr cast iron using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This reveals distribution and morphology of secondary carbides.