Single crystalline, μm-sized cantilevers are fabricated out of epitaxially grown Ag thin films by a lithography-based procedure and are deflected by a nanoindenter system. The microstructure of the plastically deformed cantile-vers is investigated using transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) on the cantilever cross section. 3D discrete dislocation dynamics simulations (DDD) are performed for further analysis. A mechanism to explain the formation of dislocation networks upon loading is suggested.

This work presents a data mining framework applied to industrial heattreatment (bainitization and case hardening) aiming to optimize processes and reduce costs. The framework analyses factors such as material, production line, and quality assessment for preprocessing, feature extraction, and drift corrections. Machine learning is employed to devise robust prediction strategies for hardness. Its implementation in an industry pilot demonstrates the economic benefits of the framework. - This work presents a data mining framework applied to industrial heattreatment (bainitization and case hardening) aiming to optimize processes and reduce costs. The framework analyses factors such as material, production line, and quality assessment for preprocessing, feature extraction, and drift corrections. Machine learning is employed to devise robust prediction strategies for hardness. Its implementation in an industry pilot demonstrates the economic benefits of the framework.

Recent studies of deformation mechanisms of metals and alloys pioneer the better investigation of the friction and wear behavior of materials with well-defined initial microstructures. Within this scope, in this work, the effect of sub-surface deformations on the resulting friction and wear behavior has been searched by means of a systematic experimental study on Au-Ni metallic multilayer model alloy system.

The main objective of this work is to significantly deepen the understanding of the material and the structural behaviour of continuous-discontinuous SMC composites, following a holistic approach to investigate microscopic aspects, macroscopic mechanical behaviour as well as failure evolution at the coupon, structure and component level. In addition, criteria to evaluate the effect of hybridisation are introduced and modelling approaches are presented and discussed.

Water diffusing into silica surfaces gives rise for several effectson diffusion behaviour and mechanical properties. Water added to silica glass increases its specific volume so that the silica expands near the surface. Mechanical boundary conditions give rise for compressive “swelling stresses”. This fact provides a tool for the interpretation of many experimental observations from literature.

This work aimed at designing, studying and producing the first prototypes of KIDs tailored for fusion plasma polarimetric diagnostics. Diamond was considered for the first time as substrate material for low-temperature superconducting detectors given its unmatched optical, radiation hardness and thermal qualities, properties necessary for working environments potentially saturated with radiation. This work represents a first step toward the optimization and final application of this technology.

Hierarchically structured active materials in electrodes of lithium-ion cells are promising candidates for increasing gravimetric energy density and improving rate capability of the system. To investigate the influence of cathode structures on the performance of the whole cell, efficient tools for calculating effective transport properties of granular systems are developed and their influence on the electrochemical performance is investigated in specially adapted cell models.

Ink-jet printed devices on the flexible substrate are inexpensive and large area compatible as compared to rigid substrates. However, during fabrication and service they are subjected to complex strains, resulting in crack formation or delamination within the layers, affecting the device performance. Therefore, it is necessary to understand their failure mechanisms by correlating their electrical or structural properties with applied strain, supported by detailed microstructural investigations.

Soft Magnetic Composites (SMCs) typically consist of large iron particles coated with a fairly thin inorganic layer. The combination of soft particles with a brittle layer causes, however, a rather poor mechanical behaviour of the SMCs. The particle boundaries of the specific SMC Somaloy 700 3P can be classified into four different types according to the complexity of their layers. Tests on both micro- and macroscale showed that the particle-boundary interface is critical in terms of failure.