The understanding of corrosion and corrosion protection processes contribute significantly to greater resource efficiency in many technical processes. Caused by a large number of physicochemical processes between solids and the respective environment, different reaction products are formed on and in the material. To understand these phase-forming processes, the working group uses mineralogical phase theory and the systematic analysis of thermodynamic and kinetic boundary conditions. The modifications induced by corrosion permanently change the properties of the technical materials and thus the service life of the component. Our research approaches focus on the following aspects:
- The description and understanding of surface and interface reactions between solids and reactive media.
- Real-time analysis of surface changes in the initial stage of the reactions.
- Complementary phase analysis for the identification of reactive transport processes during the nucleation and growth processes of secondaryly formed phases on the surface and at internal interfaces.
The studies focus on processes of material damage at high temperatures, for example for energy generation and conversion with conventional (biomass, coal) and alternative fuels, as well as in use in technologies for the use of the deep geological substrate (geothermal energy, final storage, gas storage). Realistic experiments in furnaces and autoclaves are developed, as well as targeted real-time experiments and experiments in a real environment, in which, for example, classic oxidation tests are combined with X-ray methods. The detection and the thermodynamic, kinetic and structural boundary conditions for the changes in the material properties are subsequently carried out by means of mineralogical analysis (e.g. electron beam analysis, microscopy, X-ray diflection). This information is used, among other things, to optimise the development of novel, innovative materials with regard to their long-term stability.
