The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) was established on September 1, 2002, in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology (NT), NTNU, by combining the previous Department of Materials Technology and Electrochemistry and the Department of Chemistry’s Inorganic Chemistry Section. This restructuring was primarily undertaken to bring similar materials research together into a single department. DMSE was established in the wake of the substantial changes in the faculty and the department’s structures that were undertaken in 2002. The research strategy described in this document pertains to the period from 2003-2010.

DMSE is responsible for research-based education as well as research into basic and applied material technology, process metallurgy, electrochemical process technology, and energy technology along with inorganic chemistry. This work is conducted in close cooperation with the Norwegian industry, the business community at large, and the public sector. The department’s disciplines include the manufacturing and processing of metals, ceramic materials science, materials recycling, the characterization of material structure, chemical and physical properties, the connection between material structure and properties, and corrosion protection, methods of surface modification, the development of new energy transformation processes, and functional materials.

One important research goal for DMSE has been the production of a large number of successful PhDs. It is also a department goal to have a high proportion of temporary academic staff either as postdocs or as researchers. These jobs are important both to keep the quality of our research at a high international level and to ensure recruitment to academic posts at the department. Research at DMSE should be internationally competitive, published in recognized international journals and presented at international conferences. Our research should also be disseminated to facilitate the discussion of important scientific and technological questions and issues in society at large.

DMSE will be Norway’s leading institute for research in basic materials science, industrial materials, process metallurgy, electrochemical energy, electrochemistry and functional materials. DMSE also intends to be in the top tier of similar international research and education institutions. The department will achieve this goal by focusing on our areas of greatest national and international strength, and on areas where we can contribute to the further development and strengthening of these areas by working in cooperation with the public sector, the Research Council of Norway, the industry and other national and international partners. The department should be dynamic and be able to quickly react to address new and upcoming research issues. In the near future, functional materials, nanotechnology and electrochemical energy will be growth areas for DMSE. From an international perspective, DMSE has ambitions to be an to be an active partner in the EU's 6th Framework Programme, as well as to expand its cooperation with foreign universities through student exchanges and guest lecturer programmes.

The department is the most central of any to NTNU’s Materials strategic area. The department is the main player in the light metals focus area, and is one of the most central departments in the functional materials focus area. DMSE also has ambitions to be one of the most central departments in the establishment of nanotechnology in the Norwegian university and research environment. SINTEF is an important partner for most of DMSE’s research areas, and DMSE and SINTEF’s electrochemical and ceramics division has been chosen as one of three knowledge centres at NTNU/SINTEF. The department’s main priority areas are described below.

MATERIALS PRODUCTION AND RECYCLING

Light metal production and electrolysis
DMSE’s light metal production area is an international leader and serves an important Norwegian industry. The department’s research efforts are mainly linked to the primary production of aluminium, an industry that is characterized by modernization and expansion. The light metal production area was brought under the umbrella of DMSE when the department was first established. Ongoing research efforts over a number of decades have given the area a unique position with respect to expertise in high temperature experimental techniques, and molten salt handling, and have contributed to creating worthwhile contacts in the industry, and with foreign research institutes.

Researchers have also developed experimental test methods and models that are used in the workplace, and which have helped optimize industrial processes. This research has taken place in close cooperation with SINTEF, where researchers share joint laboratory space. The department wishes to continue its good cooperative efforts with SINTEF. The department will, however, continue to give priority to fundamental research questions. Important research questions will in the near future be linked to pollutant behaviours, reduced energy consumption and inert material inclusion. The department is also a participant in the Carbomat research programme, where we are focused on research to encourage the better use of carbon materials in the aluminium industry. Research into magnesium production has also been an important research area, but research activity in this area has been reduced of late because Norsk Hydro has shut down its primary production of magnesium at the Porsgrunn facility. It is desirable for the department to continue some research into electrolytic magnesium production to make use of the expertise we have in this area. Both Hydro, through its production in Canada, and other magnesium producing centres represent interesting cooperative partners. The department has had a good cooperative relationship with the former Falconbridge nickel works, and Outokumpu Norzink, and it is desirable to continue to strengthen these efforts. The study of new electrode materials for electrode processing will also be prioritized. In this context, it makes sense to work with researchers in the electrochemical energy technology area. The plating industry in Norway is characterized by having many small firms with quite limited research budgets, while internationally there is a fair bit of research activity. The department has conducted some research in this discipline, and would like to build the department’s expertise in the investigation of fundamental research issues. A cooperative effort with corrosion researchers, along with the use of modern optical methods and electrochemistry, will be made a priority.

Carbothermal production of ferroalloys, silicon and ceramic powder
The department’s research related to the Norwegian ferroalloy industry is strongly anchored in the process metallurgy research area at DMSE and SINTEF. The research is coordinated and financed by the Norwegian Ferroalloy Producers Research Association (FFF), with support from the Research Council of Norway. This university discipline, which is one of very few in the world that has expertise in electrometallurgical processes, is something the industry would like to maintain. It should be underscored that FFF has wholly financed a professor position in this field for a transitional three-year period, to ensure innovation and continuity. Research in this discipline spans subjects that include high temperature process thermodynamics and kinetics, slag/metal and slag/carbon reactions, heat and mass transport, refining, electric oven technology, simulation of industrial flame arcs and their properties as heat sources in Si and FeSi processes, plasma technology and multiphase flow. An increasingly important area is process modelling with a view to improving existing processes as well as to develop new processes and products that will serve future material needs and meet the increased demands for environmental protection, resource management and recycling. The trend in applied electric smelting is to move towards higher power concentrations and weaker coupling between the electrical characteristics and the charge material’s properties. The research being conducted on carbon, both as an electrode material and a reduction facilitator will continue to be a priority area. Some examples of relevant new products are pure silicon for solar cells, silicon based intermetals and ceramic powders based on carbides and nitrides. The production of powder at the nanoscale level using plasma technology is a relevant new research area.

High temperature process technology
DMSE, along with SINTEF Materials Technology, has considerable expertise and equipment suitable for metallurgical and chemical high-temperature processes that employ either thermal plasma or electric arcs. The production of carbon nanomaterials and nanosilica are examples of these. This research area has at its disposal several different types of plasma burners with direct current sources that can generate extremely high temperatures and heat fluxes in different atmospheres. There is also the SINTEF burner, with magnetic rotation of the flame arc and burners to draw down the drift in metal melts. It is possible to conduct research at effects of up to 400 kW. The numeric simulation of flow and heat transfer in plasma reactors and of plasma particle interactions are important areas with regards to the development of new industrial processes.

Refining and recycling
The purity requirements for metals, alloys and alloy additives are becoming increasingly strict. This applies not only to dissolved contaminants, such as hydrogen in aluminium and steel, but also to the content of the particles/inclusions. Reuse, such as the recycling of scrap metal, results in large energy savings, is environmentally friendly and leads to reduced CO₂ emissions. It is important for the Norwegian aluminium and magnesium industry to take a leadership role when it comes to recycling. One reason for this is the strict requirements for recycling and environmental impact on the European continent. Practical and theoretical insights into methods for filtering, flushing gas and vacuum treatment are necessary to be able to make meaningful contributions in this field. The study of filtering should investigate the effectiveness of having a "sticky" coating on the filter material. The filtering of recycled solar and electronics silicon is also well worth studying. This would involve methods for refining that use partial solidification and partial melting. Expertise in analytical methods is important, in part because it can supply answers during the process. Methods for the characterization and billet analysis of inclusions are important, as are microscopy techniques to be able to describe the surfaces of solid and fluid metals. One example of this type of surface study is a project on substituting SF6 as a protective gas for liquefied magnesium. SF6 provides a warming effect in the atmosphere that is more than 20000 times greater than CO₂. The burning off of lacquer and organic material before remelting is an example of a new and important problem area.

Ceramic and refractory materials
The department, along with SINTEF, has been the central academic community in Norway in the production and properties of refractory materials and traditional ceramic materials such as porcelain, etc. Our understanding of the breakdown mechanisms in refractory materials and feedstuffs has been of special importance, and it is desirable to safeguard this expertise. The production of modern structural and functional ceramics has previously been an important research area for the department, and ceramic material sciences are helping to form an important foundation for the department to be able to contribute to the increasing focus on functional materials in Norway. The important research areas in the near future are the processing of synthetic inorganic powders using wet chemistry methods, ceramic forming methods and sintering of ceramics. The main focus will be on functional ceramics with applications in the energy and process industries.

FABRICATION AND MATERIALS

Alloy development
In view of the light metals industry’s central position in the Norwegian economy, DMSE has a responsibility to maintain a high international standard concerning light metal alloy development. The department also has national responsibility for physical and metallurgical issues linked to the development of copper/brass, steel, titanium and silicon alloys, along with intermetallic and new metallic compounds, including the use of heat treatment to create microstructures with special qualities. In terms of aluminium, the areas of special importance include formation techniques for dispersoids, their composition and crystal structure along with new dispersoid forming elements such as Hf, Zr+Sc, Hf+Sc and Hf+Zr+Sc. Similar surveys should be undertaken with unhardened alloy systems. There is much to be done with nucleation and early growth, including the formation of atomic- and void-rich clusters.

Casting, forming and joining
Casting and solidification are topics that are central to the department’s research, and are also areas where the university has a national responsibility to provide the best possible research and educational offerings. The department, in association with SINTEF and other related NTNU departments, would like to become the leading European academic group for light metal casting. This will be achieved through increased international cooperation and new investments in pressure casting.

The establishment of a new laboratory for the directed solidification of solar cell silicon will also enable the department to increase its expertise in new advanced moulding processes. The department also wants to be at the cutting edge in the development of inoculants and grain refiners for the international iron and steel industry. In terms of downstream activities, formability and forming of metals in general and light metals in particular are high-priority research areas. Another priority is the development of physically based models for the description of microstructures and microstructure development under thermal mechanical treatment.

The forming laboratory called FORMLAB is operated as an integrated cooperative effort with SINTEF and the departments of Engineering Design and Materials and Structural Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology. The department believes it is critical to further develop activities in formability and the forming of metallic materials so that NTNU is perceived as a national and international leader in this field. An important developing area of research with significant potential is the development of light alloys with ultra-fine grain sizes at the submicron and nano levels. Nano materials of this kind have considerably greater strength and more ductility than more conventionally produced alloys, as well as having better surface properties. They may also have super plastic properties, which helps to reduce time and costs in the mass production of automobile parts, for example. Magnesium alloys with an ultrafine grain size have the potential to store hydrogen. A third and technologically important area where the department should continue to develop its expertise is in the joining of materials in general and light metals in particular. A priority research task is the development of new methods for the joining of light metals based smart hybrid solutions.

Corrosion and surface technology
It is estimated that 2-4% of the gross domestic product in industrialized countries is used to replace and maintain structures and equipment that are damaged by corrosion. It is believed that 20-25% of these costs could be avoided by the proper selection of materials and the correct corrosion protection. Because the safety and environmental risks from corrosion play a major role both in chemical and metallurgical processing and oil production, DMSE has an obligation to provide expertise and international level research in materials design and corrosion protection. Moreover, the department is responsible for maintaining a high international profile in its research on the corrosion of light metals, as well as maintaining current industry cooperation in the development of medical technology, manufacturing methods and that counteract corrosion.

The technology that allows the modification of the surface properties of metals, specifically to increase corrosion /erosion resistance, is a rapidly expanding field internationally. DMSE will work with fundamental studies of techniques for the precipitation of metals and ceramics, both from aqueous solutions and from salt melts. The use of surface techniques to improve the properties of light metals has great significance for the Norwegian light metal industry. The department will therefore maintain its expertise in the use of surface analytical methods, in addition to electrochemical methods.

FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS

International materials science today is marked by research on functional materials. Functional materials have special physical or chemical properties that are related to the material's structure, and these distinctive properties (electronic, magnetic, optical, dielectric, elastic, ion conducting, catalytic, and biocompatible) can form the basis for new technologies. The classic examples are semiconductors and fibre optic cables in information and communication technologies. New processing methods (semiconductor micro-fabrication) now allow for the volume production of such components, and today they have become commonplace. Functional materials are also crucial for the realization of new environmentally friendly process technology and new sustainable energy.

The university has made a focused commitment to research on functional materials and nanotechnology (FUNMAT) in cooperation with the University of Oslo, SINTEF and IFE. The department is one of the key players at the university for FUNMAT. The plan calls for focused investment in areas where Norwegian research has special qualifications, which is a priority in the research agreement, and where the potential for new value creation is significant. FUNMAT calls for the establishment of a common infrastructure that can be used efficiently and maintained systematically, along with a planned, coordinated upgrading of advanced equipment for the manufacturing, characterization and fabrication / processing of functional materials.

As a result of the FUNMAT initiative, NFR has recently started to make substantial investments in funding for research in functional materials and nanotechnology. The department would like to be a central player in this initiative. The core issues for the department’s research efforts are fuel cell materials, ion conductors for fuel cells and membranes, materials for the production and storage of hydrogen as an energy carrier, Airgel, the production of silicon for solar cells and functional oxides for micro and nanotechnology. The department’s mandate is to strengthen expertise in the production, processing and characterization of functional materials. Of special importance is the production of powder, films and polycrystalline components using chemical methods, including sol-gel technology. The work being done in functional materials should build on department's expertise in ceramic materials science and electrochemical energy.

ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

Alternative energy technologies, CO₂ capture and storage, and the shift from fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, to natural gas or hydrogen all represent a research area that is growing substantially at an international level. The department has, in recent years, had considerable and increasing activity in the field of electrochemical energy technology and the production of silicon for solar cells. Hydrogen is considered by many to be an environmentally friendly energy carrier for the future, when oil and gas reserves are gone. Hydrogen can be stored in metal hydrides or in carbon materials, but the approach poses great challenges for material technology.

Hydrogen and fuel cells
Activity in this area in recent years has been comprised of hydrogen production using water electrolysis with the use of PEM technology, hydrogen storage in metal hydrides, metal hydride electrodes, direct methanol fuel cells and PEM fuel cell technology, including related technologies, such as HCl production with the help of PEM fuel cells. These projects have been supported by the industry, the research council, the EU and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Energy Research Programme. The department is also a participant in the interdisciplinary program called “Hydrogen as an energy carrier” at NTNU, along with a large KMB (Competence project with user involvement) in cooperation with the industry, NFR and SINTEF. The main focus for activity in the department has been electrocatalysis (the relationship between microstructure and characteristics of catalytic layers and electrodes), along with studies of materials’ kinetic properties, mainly with the help of electrochemical methods, hydrogen storage in metal hydrides, development of bipolar plates, and the properties of polymer membranes, etc.

The department would like to expand and strengthen its efforts in the field of PEM fuel cell technology, water electrolysis with the help of PEM technology, and direct methanol fuel cells. We are also working to be involved in a number of EU projects. Further studies will focus on contamination mechanisms for impurities in hydrogen gas, properties of bipolar plates, and functional properties of catalytic materials at the nano-particle level. This last subject will be linked with the national effort on functional materials and nanotechnology. In terms of laboratories, we wish to further develop the fuel cell test station that has been built, and to strengthen the laboratories by obtaining new measuring instruments for more detailed studies of reaction mechanisms (such as DEMS) and gas analysis.

The department also plans to strengthen the modelling efforts that are linked to these activities, both at a micro and macro level. Studies of systems of different energy converters and energy storage units will also have an increasing focus, both from an experimental and theoretical approach (modelling). The department has previously expended a great deal of effort in work on high temperature SOFC fuel cells. SOFC to an increasing degree will be an important research area again because of an increasing interest from Norwegian industry. Modelling of SOFC fuel cells will be taken up again in close cooperation with SINTEF, with a heightened focus on increasing our work in this area, through participation in EU NoE and IP. These efforts will be comprised of modelling at all levels, along with studies of structure and thermo mechanical properties of electrolytes and electrode materials. Other important research areas in the future will be electrochemical properties of new electrode materials, new cell concepts based on porous bearers, reduced operating temperatures because of new materials and/or thinner electrolytes. Another area where we also see an increased focus is electrode materials for batteries, such as redox batteries.

Solar cells
The future’s energy systems will be based on solar energy in one form or another, and the transformation of solar energy to electrical energy in solar cells will be a central part of any sustainable energy system. Norway is among the world’s largest producers of silicon for metallurgical purposes, but today doesn’t produce silicon of high enough quality to be used in semiconductors or solar cells. The world’s market for silicon for semiconductors and solar cells is increasing steadily, 20 percent per year just for solar cells. Norway ought to develop an advanced industry in this area based on the knowledge that is already found in Norwegian companies and Norwegian research institutes, particularly at DMSE and other research groups at NTNU and SINTEF. The bottleneck preventing further growth in the solar cell market is access to silicon that is of sufficient purity, and the knowledge of how we should optimize all levels of the process chain to be highly effective at an acceptable price. One goal that has been expressed is that by 2010, we should have reached an effectivity rate of 20 percent as compared to the standard industry produced solar cell panels. DMSE’s strategy, which is shared with the Norwegian industry and SINTEF, is to expand research and development in i) areas that are central to obtain cheaper and pure enough solar cell silicon, ii) casting and heat treatment for the production of polycrystalline solar cell silicon with high enough quality along with iii) characterization of silicon for solar cells.

GENERIC TOOLS

Chemical thermodynamics
Chemical thermodynamics, particularly related to high temperature processes and oil related processes, has been a particularly strong area of expertise in several of the department’s research groups. This generic knowledge is important in keeping the department’s research at a high international level for metallurgical processes, oil related processes, and understanding of material durability under extreme conditions. Chemical thermodynamics also constitutes an important cornerstone in the education that the department provides its students in chemistry and materials technology. The department’s research groups have a strong tradition in experimental chemical thermodynamics. This expertise will be maintained while we also strengthen our expertise in the use of software in modelling phase diagrams and related.

Characterization of microstructures
The study of the relationships between micro structural properties is an essential part of all materials technology operations. The connection between the material’s structural construction and the mechanical, physical and chemical properties are therefore a high priority research area for the department. These connections also include the relationships between process/preparation parameters, structural development and useful properties. Research in this field requires DMSE to be at the forefront in micro structural characterization using light microscopes and x-ray diffraction along with electron microscopy and scanning and transmission electro microscopy and microsonde. The department also must undertake a broad approach to the characterization of mechanical and functional properties. In all these activities, the department has to always implement and use new techniques that have been developed, and itself must be involved in the development of techniques in selected areas (such as scanning electron microscopy). The further development and improvement of equipment for the characterization of microstructures and properties is occurring at a breakneck pace, and for the department to continue to remain on the front lines of research, it is important that it continues to refurbish and replace its stable of instruments.

DMSE has a long tradition of working closely with the Department of Physics in this area, particularly concerning light metals. The grounds for that cooperation have now been considerably expanded and strengthened so that functional materials and solar cell materials have become a part of DMSE’s central activities. Both of these materials involve a considerable need for advanced equipment and great expertise in nano and microstructure characterization (SEM, TEM and surface techniques, such as AFM and STM).

DMSE will therefore expand its close cooperation with the Department of Physics in this area, and work towards solutions that ensure the good and stable operations of the two departments’ relevant laboratories, along with ensuring the coordination of future development and upgrading of expertise and equipment.

Process and Materials modelling
Process and materials modelling has become a quite important supplement to expensive laboratory experiments and industrial research efforts, and will be a substantial activity in most of DMSE’s operations. This modelling is naturally linked to FEM simulations. By optimizing existing and developing new manufacturing processes for ferroalloys and light metals, the numeric simulation of heat and mass transfers, chemical reactions and electric conditions in parts or the whole of the metallurgical reactor has become an indispensible tool. This approach uses advanced CFD methods, among others. Electric oven circuit analysis is also important in connection with the development of electrometallurgical processes. The interactions between the current transport through charge materials or electric arcs and the chemical and metallurgical conditions are a central research area.

Materials modelling is also an important tool for simulating material properties and behaviour, in hardening, casting, forming and joining. The goal is to create virtual tools to optimize production processes and tailor make material and product properties. DMSE has a great deal of experience and is internationally recognized for its work in micro structural modelling. An important challenge in this context is the coupling of micro structural models with FEM to take into account the complex deformation conditions and spatial variations that are found in industrial processing conditions. While we will continue to improve and expand existing models, we will also work with the development of so-called "through process models", which cover the entire process from casting to the forming of completed products.

Atomic modelling, based on quantum mechanical calculations, molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo methods, is one of the strongest growing areas in materials science, from an international perspective. In close cooperation with the Department of Physics, the department would like to build up Norwegian expertise in this area. Combined with the use of new instruments and methods for detailed studies of nano and microstructures, we hope to improve our fundamental understanding and quantitative description of the important industrial processes and reactions at a nano and micro structural levels, such as nucleation in defined phases, and the formation of and interactions between crystal defects.

The modelling of electrochemical systems is also a priority research area. For many years, this has meant working with the development of method to model current distribution in corrosion protection of large structures, particularly in connection with the offshore industry. In cooperation with SINTEF, the modelling of electrolysis cells for the production of aluminium has been carried out. This work includes a consideration of hydrodynamic conditions and electrochemistry (excess voltage, current distribution).

Electrochemical characterization
Electrochemical measuring methods are used at DMSE to a great degree to map out mechanisms for electrochemical reactions. These studies are linked to some of the most important industrial electrolysis processes in Norway (aluminium, magnesium, zinc, nickel, cobalt), as well as in the study of corrosion mechanisms for light metal alloys, and in the studies of electrode reactions in fuel cells. We have established good contacts with international expertise in all of these areas. We would like to update our expertise in the development of new electrochemical measuring methods and keep our equipment up to date. This also follows on newly established studies to combine electrochemical techniques with optical methods.