For the design of engineering components the prediction of life time of materials is an essential task. However, also in the case of forming – for example during forging or rolling – the possible deformation or the forming limit is an important parameter of materials. A difficult problem is that fracture usually starts as a very small micro-crack, which grows during further loading. This growth is affected by the micro- and nanostructure of the material and the loading conditions. For an accurate prediction of the forming limit or the lifetime, the knowledge of deformation and fracture mechanics at the different hierarchic levels of the materials is necessary. This knowledge is important not only for a save design or for effective production of components, it is also very important for the generation of microstructures with special properties.

In the last years the Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science has developed special methods to analyse the deformation n the different hierarchic levels of materials down to the atomistic level.

 

Aims