Tag: alloy design

On the 3D printing of novel aluminium crossover alloys

~ Matheus A. Tunes ~ Leave a comment

Aluminium crossover alloys are one of the more interesting recent developments in light metals. Rather than staying within the traditional wrought families, they deliberately blend the chemistries of the AA5xxx and AA7xxx systems, and in doing so they form the compositionally complex T-phase, Mg32(Al,Cu)49, which gives a remarkable hardening response and has already attracted serious … Continue reading On the 3D printing of novel aluminium crossover alloys

Rethinking copper metallurgy for the future of fusion reactors

~ Matheus A. Tunes ~ 2 Comments

We are delighted to share a new preprint that takes on one of fusion energy's most stubborn materials problems: building a heat sink that can survive inside a reactor. Commercial fusion demands components that withstand intense neutron bombardment while extracting punishing heat loads for conversion to electricity, and CuCrZr — a copper alloy strengthened by … Continue reading Rethinking copper metallurgy for the future of fusion reactors

Grateful to be among the 2025 Rising Stars in Materials Science

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I am deeply humbled and grateful to the American Chemical Society and the editors of ACS Materials Au for selecting me as part of the 2025 class of Rising Stars in Materials Science. This recognition came as a wonderful surprise, and I am truly thankful to be included alongside 13 other outstanding early-career researchers from … Continue reading Grateful to be among the 2025 Rising Stars in Materials Science

New Preprint: Unlocking Nanoscale Detail in Aluminium Alloys with DPC Segmentation

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We are pleased to share our latest preprint, now available on arXiv: Unlocking nanoscale microstructural detail in aluminium alloys through differential phase contrast segmentation in STEM (arXiv:2603.11643). In this work, we show how differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging in scanning transmission electron microscopy can be turned into a powerful, quantitative tool for characterising the microstructures … Continue reading New Preprint: Unlocking Nanoscale Detail in Aluminium Alloys with DPC Segmentation

The Spirit of Metallurgy at 75 Years Strong

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Professor Peter J. Uggowitzer was never officially my mentor or supervisor -- neither during my studies nor in my former postdoc in Leoben. Yet, his presence and friendship over all these years have profoundly shaped both my personal and professional life. Through him, I learned not just metallurgy, but how to think metallurgy -- how … Continue reading The Spirit of Metallurgy at 75 Years Strong

The Birth of the ZIP Phases

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It started far beneath the southern sky,In Brazil, where questions first took flight.In Leoben’s halls the dream grew strong,And in Los Alamos — it found where it belonged. There atoms formed a pattern new,Two shapes, two souls — yet one clear view:One diamond-like, with perfect grace,One hexagonal — a mirrored face. With metal bonds and … Continue reading The Birth of the ZIP Phases

Dr. Aster’s Breakthrough in Aluminium Alloy Design with Cluster-Hardnening

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In his recent work, Dr. Philip Aster delivers a remarkable contribution to the understanding of microstructural evolution in Al-Mg-Zn-Cu crossover alloys, with a particular focus on the role of copper in long-term aging (LTA) conditions. Through advanced atom probe tomography (APT), Dr. Aster demonstrates how Cu additions not only promote finer clustering and T-phase precursors … Continue reading Dr. Aster’s Breakthrough in Aluminium Alloy Design with Cluster-Hardnening

Pushing the Limits of Aluminium Crossover Alloys

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Dr. mont. Patrick Willenshofer’s recent publication, “Influence of alloy chemistry and overaging on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance in aluminium crossover alloys”, is a remarkable contribution to the rapidly evolving field of advanced aluminium alloy development. This paper investigates the nuanced interplay between alloying elements and thermal history in novel AlMgZn-based crossover alloys enriched with copper … Continue reading Pushing the Limits of Aluminium Crossover Alloys

Leoben makes waves in fusion materials research

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The [X-MAT] team at the Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy, Montanuniversität Leoben, has drawn global attention with a groundbreaking study published in Advanced Science (DOI: 10.1002/advs.202417659). With more than 1k views and reads in the journal's first month after publication, our work challenges the prevailing high-entropy alloy (HEA) paradigm by proving that even simpler alloy systems can outperform their … Continue reading Leoben makes waves in fusion materials research

The Great Mentor of World’s Non-Ferrous Metallurgy

~ Matheus A. Tunes ~ 1 Comment

It is with great pride and heartfelt congratulations that we celebrate the recent recognition of Professor Peter Uggowitzer, who was awarded the Great Badge of Honour of the State of Styria on 12 May 2025 in a formal ceremony at the Old University in Graz. The honour was presented by Governor Mario Kunasek and Deputy … Continue reading The Great Mentor of World’s Non-Ferrous Metallurgy