Materials Mechanics

The operational division Materials Mechanics has interdisciplinary organisation. It is concerned with the combination of experimental methods, theoretical modelling, as well as analytical and numerical simulation methods for the quantitative and qualitative assessment of behaviour of base materials and welds under mechanical load.

For the welding of joints, laser-, friction stir-, and diffusion welding processes are deployed.
Basic research activities supply the necessary know-how of the behaviour of the materials from the microscopic scale to the component level.

Topics

Joining processes (e.g. friction stir welding - FSW, laser welding - LBW) for light-weight structures
Process simulation of joining processes (FSW, LBW) for process development and property prediction
Quantitative survey of the correlations between micro structure of light weight materials, such as aluminium, magnesium and titanium alloys, and the deformation and damage mechanisms at the joining level, and the global stability and toughness properties
Materials models for the description of deformation, damage and fracture
Implementation of material models and crack extension models in Finite Element code
Micromechanical testing for investigation of mechanisms on the micro scale and experimental testing methods for the identification of model parameters
Reliability assessment of light weight components

The research activities of the operational division Materials Mechanics are included in the Helmholtz-Programme "Advanced Engineering Materials" of the Helmholtz-Research-Area "Key Technologies" under the topic "Joining and Integrity of Multi-Material Components for Advanced Light-Weight Structures".