Thermal Analysis and Thermal Physics

Group

Großes Labor für Thermische Analyse und Thermophysik
© Fraunhofer IKTS
Laboratory for thermal analysis and thermal physics.

Thermal processes, especially heat treatment processes, as well as conditions and condition changes of materials depending on temperature, time and gas atmosphere are examined, simulated and optimized. On the one hand tools and base are a variety of thermoanalytic and thermophysic methods, which are utilized individually, as a complex or coupled with each other. On the other hand many years of experience and extensive knowledge in the methodical area and the area of material science as well as in thermodynamics and kinetics can be offered.

 

Products and services offered

 

  • Characterization of the thermal behavior of materials, pre-products and components in a temperature range of -150 to 2400 °C in inert or reactive gas atmospheres (oxidizing, reducing or corrosive gases like oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, ammoniac etc., doped gases or gas mixtures) after different kinds of preparation (milling, granulation, shaping, stocking under special conditions etc.)
  • Identification of thermodynamical and thermophysical properties and characteristics (phase transition-, conversion-, melting-, consolidation- and crystallization parameters [temperatures, enthalpies, phase diagrams] stability, heat capacity, thermal expansion coefficient, density, thermal diffusivity, thermal or heat conductivity, electric conductivity or resistance, wetting parameters etc.) in a temperature range of -150 to 2000 °C
  • Characterization, simulation and optimization of thermal processes, especially of debinding, outgassing and sintering processes by experiments, modeling and prediction (parameters for process analytic: temperature, time, process atmosphere, weight, geometry, furnace charge, energy, component size etc.)
  • Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis and modeling of thermal processes of debinding, outgassing and sintering (also on real component geometries), consulting, schooling and seminars about the entire subject

 

Technical equipment

 

Extensive amount of devices for sample preparation and defined sample storage
Fully automatic laboratory gas maintenance for high purity and defined gases on all facilities (inert and reactive gases)
High temperature range between -180 °C and 2400 °C
Large range of sample geometries from few mg to 500 g or few mm to 6 cm
Simultanous thermal analysis [STA]* (thermogravimetry [TG]*, differential thermoanalysis [DTA]*, differential scanning calorimetry [DSC]*, emission gas analysis [EGA]* with mass spectrometer [MS] and FTIR spectrometer or humidity and oxygen analysators) for a temperature range of -80 to 2400 °C
Thermomechanic / thermodilatometric analysis (TMA/TDIL) for a temperature range of -150 to 2000 °C
Differential thermoanalysis [DTA]*, differential scanning calorimetry [DSC]* for a temperature range of -80 to 2400 °C
Laser-flash-analysis [LFA]* for measurement of thermal diffusivity between 20 and 1500 °C
Heat conductivity tester for measurement of heat conductivity at room temperature
Heating microscopy [HM] and optical dilatometry for wetting and shrinkage studies in a temperature range of 20 to 1750 °C
In-situ resistance analyis for measurement of electric resistance in a temperature range of 20 to 1500 °C

*accredited by DAkks according to DIN ISO 17025

Current research

Optimization of sintering processes

Current research

Optical dilatometry in high-purity atmospheres

Topic

Thermal analysis

Topic

Thermal physics

Topic

Thermodynamic modeling of sintering and corrosion processes