Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering is the combination of five focus areas and has, as such, certain responsibilities in research and education, voiced in the following mission statement:
"The department focuses on multidisciplinary activities - centred on materials science and engineering - involving research of relevance to industry and society in the medium and long term. Research ranges from fundamental understanding to implementation of technology. The department provides high quality academic education in a research led environment and strives for an internationally leading role in materials related education."
Research
The research in the Department is based on the importance of materials science and engineering and consists of five focus areas, encompassing the field of structural metals. Since the combination of metals with non-metals (composites, coatings, protection) is important in many cases, some attention is also paid to non-metals in this respect.
Embedded in the focus areas are also topics or activities of a wider importance for the Delft University of Technology, such as analysis techniques - scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, surface analysis (Auger, XPS), optical microscopy - and mechanical testing.
Five focus areas (and names of the chairs)
| Joining and Mechanical Behaviour (JMB) | Prof. dr. I.M. Richardson |
| Light Metals Processing (LMP) | Prof. ir. L. Katgerman |
| Microstructural Control in Metals (MCM) | Prof. dr. J. Sietsma |
| Structure & Change (S&C) | Prof. dr. B.J. Thijsse |
| Surfaces & Interfaces (S&I) | Prof. dr. G.C.A.M. Janssen |
News
Appointment dr Sietsma Professor MCM
29 September 2009 by M&C read more here
Science-day @ Materials Science & Engineering
June 18th 2009 the department of MSE honored our recently retired department chairman, Prof. Ad Verkooijen, by organizing a science-day. Most of our PhD students and Postdocs prepared posters on their research topics for this event. These posters, which give a good overview of the research activities in the department, can be viewed following this link.
X-rays reveal Van Gogh’s hidden portrait
A new X-ray technique -never before applied to a painting- has revealed a previously unknown portrait of a woman by Vincent van Gogh, which was painted over by the artist. The peasant woman’s face was hidden behind the work Patch of Grass, completed by van Gogh in Paris in 1887. The portrait fills a square area measuring 17.5 cm by 17.5 cm. The work is owned by the Kroller-Muller museum.
Materials scientists Joris Dik from our department and Koen Janssens (University of Antwerp) used high-intensity X-rays from a particle accelerator to scan the painting and reveal the face beneath. They published their scientific paper online in the journal Analytical Chemistry. ‘We present the first-time use of synchrotron radiation based X-rays luorescence mapping, applied to visualise a woman’s head hidden under the work patch of Grass, by van Gogh.’
Van Gogh is known to have often reused canvasses to save money. The identity of the peasant woman in the picture is not known, but may have been one of a series of heads painted by van Gogh, between 1884-1885, while he stayed in the village Nuenen. The powerful X-ray bombardment caused atoms in the picture’s layers of paint to emit ‘fluorescent’ X-rays of their own, which indicated the chemicals they originated from. Elements from specific paint pigments -deriving, for instance, from mercury and antimony- allowed a ‘colour photo’ of the concealed work to be produced. That enabled a colour map of the hidden picture to be produced.
9/11: Towers, Steel & Fire
The collapse of New York City’s World Trade Center (WTC) towers of 11 September 2001 was the worst building disaster in recorded history, killing some 2,800 people. The World Trade Center towers collapsed as a result of damage inflicted by aircraft and the ensuing fires, according to the NCSTRAR-report of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the USA. The properties of the steel played an important role in how the building performed, from the initial impact to the final collapse. Materials scientist Erik Offerman from our department explained in a seminar what happens to construction steel during a fire and examined how a fire results in the loss of strength of steel at high temperatures. He gave insight in the mechanical properties of steel at elevated temperatures compared to the properties at room temperature. A novel European supermicroscope makes it possible to have a look inside steel and see live how the structure of steel deteriorates during a fire. The seminar also made clear that future research is important to improve the fire-resistance of steel.
Materials Science & Engineering begins campaign student recruitment
The department Materials Science & Engineering is starting a campaign to recruit new students for the Master programme to raise the total number of students in the coming years. A student with the winning bike of Koga Miyata will be the recruiting image, together with the new slogan What are YOU made of ?
It can be seen on the website, on posters and at the new mobile presentation stand. The Masters programme will be presented at major national and international career-events for students and will advertise at universities and schools. Visits will be made to schools for higher technical education in the Netherlands.
Materials scientists authenticate Alfa Romeo 12C
Of the four Alfa 12Cs that rolled off the assembly lines back in 1937, one has gone down in the annals of history. The 12C/316 began its glory days with the Italian Grand Prix driver Achille Varzi. Then by some unknown means, many suspect through Evita Peron, it fell into the hands of racing driver Clemar Bucci.
In the 1990s, however, it turned out that Bucci had two of these cars. The department of Materials Science and Engineering at TU Delft examined the bodywork and the chassis of one of Bucci’s cars. The conclusion? Our researchers could find no concrete evidence to dispute the history of the Alfa Romeo 12C/316: it appears to be the real McCoy.
for more information: Delta article
