Featured Video

Queen's University Materials and Mechanical Engineering research spotlight: Reactor Materials Laboratory
From TWOLITREmedia.

About Us

The Materials Group in MME includes experts in processing, structural/chemical characterization, mechanical testing, and modelling of metals and ceramics. There are particular research strengths in materials for the Nuclear, Aerospace, and Energy Conversion industries. Other materials research areas at Queen’s can be found in collaborating departments.

We have a comprehensive suite of characterisation equipment including:

  • Accelerator laboratory: 4MV tandem producing 8MeV H or 12MeV He; for damage or implantation studies.
  • Electron Microscopy Laboratory: FEI Osiris FEG-TEM (STEM, EDS, EELS, in situ heating & straining), FEI FEG-Nova NanoSem (EBSD, EDX, in situ heating and straining).
  • Mechanical Testing Laboratory (quasi-static; fatigue; fracture; delayed hydride cracking; digital image correlation measurements; nano- and micro-indentation from ambient to elevated temperatures).
  • X-ray Laboratory (Xradia micro-CT; texture; diffraction; in situ deformation and heating; thin film).
  • A wide range of sample preparation techniques (including 50kV focused ion beam, ion milling, electropolishing, etc.) is also available.

Research Activities by Faculty

Levente Balogh
  • Nuclear materials, characterization of radiation damage
  • X-ray and neutron diffraction
  • Advanced synchrotron X-ray techniques
  • Microstructure - mechanical property relations of structural materials
Laurent K. Béland
  • Atomistic simulation on short timescales
  • Atomistic simulations on long timescales
  • Mesoscale simulations
  • Classical force-field development, based on empirical and quantum mechanics
J. Doug Boyd
  • Steel Physical Metallurgy
  • Metal Matrix Composites
Brad Diak
  • Microstructural Phenomena in Metals and Alloys
  • Materials for Transportation Applications
  • X-ray/Electron Scattering Techniques
Mark Daymond
  • Micromechanisms of Deformation in Metals, Ceramics and Composites
  • Advanced Neutron and X-ray Scattering Techniques
  • Engineering Mechanics, Components and Processes
Vahid Fallah
  • Laser Additive Manufacturing of Metals
  • Thermomechanical Processing of Aluminum Alloys
  • Thermal FEM Analysis of Metallurgical Processes
  • Solidification and Phase Transformation Phenomena in Metals
Malcolm Griffiths
  • Radiation damage in nuclear reactor core materials
  • Development of improved materials for nuclear reactor applications
  • Irradiation tests using electron, gamma, ion and neutron irradiation
Richard. A. Holt
  • Nuclear materials/zirconium alloys
  • Crystallographic texture/anisotropy
  • Modeling materials behaviour
Suraj Persaud
  • Corrosion and Environmental Degradation of Materials
  • Materials Characterization
  • Nuclear Materials
A. Keith Pilkey
  • Material Failure Mechanisms
  • Metallographic Image Analysis
  • Metal Forming
Shig Saimoto
  • Metal Physics Fundamentals
  • Processing and Constitutive Modelling of Aluminum Alloys Performance
Zhongwen Yao
  • Characterization of Micorstructures
  • Radiation induced defects in nuclear materials

Materials Engineering Laboratories