Meeting focussed on characterisation of hardmetals and superhard materials to take place at Hilti
March 9, 2016
The EPMA’s European Hard Materials Group will be holding its Summerev 16 meeting at Hilti AG, Liechtenstein, June 16-17, 2016. Summerev 16 will focus on the characterisation of hardmetals and superhard materials.Hardmetals and superhard materials are defined as composite materials with interpenetrating crystalline phases that have properties that vary from the high elasticity of inorganic carbides to the high plasticity of supporting metallic regions. The performance and reliability of ultrahard tool components are controlled by material internal microstructure over a wide length scale range, from nano to micrometres in general.
Summerev 16 will focus on the characterisation of interfaces and associated chemistry and phase metrology of substrates and adjacent matrices, with additional presentations on the influence of these parameters on elevated temperature properties. It is intended that interfaces can be interpreted at both the microscopic scale (interphase) and mesoscopic (coatings, substrates, etc) and elevated does not just mean very high temperatures but also intermediate, around 6-800oC.
Subsequent meetings under the overall banner of hardmetals and superhard materials intend to address complementary aspects such as modelling (processing and performance), wear performance and tribological behaviour, heterogeneity and near surface structures; where possible using advanced characterisation methods such as in situ tests, 3D microscopy and high resolution analytical methods.
