Department of Production Engineering has at its disposal four specialist laboratories:

• Laboratory of spatial design

• Laboratory of production process optimization

• Laboratory of workplace safety.

• Laboratory of computer aided manufacturing processes

Laboratories of the Institute of Metals Technology are equipped with newest professional devices:

• Thermal Analysis Laboratory

• STA 449 F3 Jupiter Simultaneous Thermal Analyser (TG-DSC/DTA)

• Original high-temperature calorimeter

• Hydro- and Biometallurgical Laboratory

• Shakers

• Zeiss Axio Imager A1m optical microscope

• SOLAAR M6 atomic absorption spectrometer

• Spectrophotometer

• Laboratory of Metals Technology

• Chamber furnace for metal melting (1550 *C) made by Czylok company

• Shaft furnace for metal melting (1300 *C) made by Czylok company

• Magneto-hydrodynamic pump for platinum recovery from used automotive catalytic converters

• Inproel mixer

• Inproel balling disk

• Mills and devices for grinding slag and ceramic materials

• Laboratory of Metals Manufacturing Modelling

• Physical model of continuous casting machine

• Two-strand tundish model

• Model of two-strand tundish channel type

• Model of three-strand tundish

• Model of six-strand tundish channel type

• Six-strand delta-shaped tundish model

• RH device model

• Models of moulds for continuous casting

• Blast furnace model

• Model of combined blow oxygen converter

• Physical model of URO-200 reactor for batch aluminium refining

• Physical model of URC-7000 reactor for continuous aluminium refining

• Computer laboratory for 2D and 3D numerical modelling of steel manufacturing and aluminium refining

• Laboratory of Vacuum Furnaces and Metals Refining

• VIM 20-50 Seco Warwick induction furnace

• ISM Seco Warwick induction furnace

• Casting Laboratory

• Mixer for moulding sand preparation

• Furnace for melting non-ferrous alloys

• Furnace for ATD thermal analysis with optional use of protective atmosphere

• Heat treatment furnace

• FoudryMaster optical emission spectrometer

Institute of Metals Technology - Department of Mechanics and Metal Forming

• Torsion plastometer for determination of formability characteristics

• Flywheel hammer for tensile and bending tests at very high strain rates

• MTS 810 testing machine for static tensile and fatigue tests

• Two- and four-high laboratory rolling mills

• 150 T hydraulic press

• Original device for incremental forming with segmented punch

• Original devices for compression, aided by additional cyclic shear stress

• Laboratory rolling stand for longitudinal rolling with axial motion of Rolls

• Erichsen sheet metal testing machine with systems for automatic strain analysis

• Original tube hydroforming testing device

Division of Ceramic Materials and Composites, operating under the Institute of Material Science, has at its disposal the following equipment:

• Pressureless furnaces for synthesis and sintering of ceramics materials in various atmospheres (air/ Ar, N2, CO etc.) up to 1750 *C

• Rotary tubular reactor for sintering granules in controlled gas atmosphere (up to 1100 *C)

• Device for synthesis of ceramic materials and processing, such as high-energy planetary mills, attritor mill, ball mill, ultrasonic disintegrator for suspensions, mechanical homogenization, mixers, presses, etc.

• Workstation for preparing compositions and melting glass in a control gas atmosphere

• Tower for production of optical fibres in a gas controlled atmosphere

• Workstation for synthesis of precursor powders by wet chemical methods

• Workstations for shaping ceramic products (uniaxial pressing, moulding etc.)

• Device for thin film ceramic slurries casting by Blade’s method

• Device for freeze-drying and sublimation of ceramic suspensions

• Measurement of nano and micro particle size distribution (Mastersizer 3000 by Malvern) in the liquid environment

• Oxygen/nitrogen determination (ON-900 by Eltra)

• Devices for measuring main parameters of porous structures

• Devices for measuring tribological and erosive wear

• Device for sample observation at UV light

• Fibre optic spectrophotometer to evaluate optical properties of ceramics

• Workstation to analyse phase composition by X-Ray Diffraction method (XRD-Panalytical)

Division of Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering, operating under the Institute of Material Science, has at its disposal the following units:

• Laboratory of diffusion coatings technology,

• Laboratory of vacuum heat treatment,

• Laboratory of CVD technology,

• Laboratory of PVD technology,

• Laboratory of galvanic processes and coatings, X-ray

• Laboratory of coating characterization, cyclic and long term tests, Burner Rig

• Laboratory of non-destructive shape and size evaluation – 3D scanning,

• Laboratory of flame resistant coating testing,

• Laboratory of kinetics oxidation.

Division of Materiallography, operating within the Institute of Material Science, is equipped with the following devices:

• Preparation/metallography devices – broad equipment allows for quick and precise preparation of metallographic sections, fracture surfaces, replicas and thin foils.

• Metallographic research – microscopes:

• Light microscope Olympus GX71 with automatic scanning stage in axis X-Y-Z,

• Light microscope Olympus GX51,

• Microhardness tester Duramin A300,

• Stereoscopic microscope Olympus SZX9,

• Light microscope NEOPHOT 32,

• Station for macrographic research.

• Software for image processing, analysis and quantitative materiallography:

• METILO 12.1;  APHELION 3.2,  analySIS PRO 5.0,  VISILOG 4.1

Division of Engineering Materials, operating within the Institute of Science, has at its disposal the following equipment:

• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Hitachi S-4200, Hitachi S-3400N

• Research of the structure of metallic, ceramic, composite, polymeric and biological materials from micro to nanoscale - morphology and size of precipitates, analysis of defects, cracks, fracture surfaces, heterogeneity of chemical composition

• Morphology and chemical composition of non-conductive samples in variable vacuum without covering the conductive layer

• Analysis of orientation of crystalline materials with identification phase technique electron backscatter diffraction EBSD

• Chemical composition analysis of EDS and EBSD orientation of the same area.

Contact: Associate Professor Maria Sozańska PhD, DSc (maria.sozanska@polsl.pl)

• Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) Hitachi STEM HD-2300A, Microstructure investigations using a transmission electron microscope:

• A detector of secondary electrons (SE) - sample surface imaging.

• Transmitted electrons detector (TE) - observation of structure in bright field technique.

• Annular dark-field detector (HAADF) - observation of structure in dark field

• Imaging structure in high resolution (HREM) and ultra-high resolution  (UHREM) modes.

• Microanalysis of chemical composition - EDS spectrometer provides the possibility of registering X-ray spectrum: from the point, along any line drawn (line-scan) and from the area (mapping).

• Electron diffraction from nano-areas.

Contact: Associate Professor Kinga Rodak PhD, DSc (kinga.rodak@polsl.pl)

• Focused ion beam microscope (FIB) FB-2100, compatible with a Hitachi STEM HD-2300Amicroscope

• Preparation and preliminary observation of samples for STEM and SEM investigation. This apparatus is used to cut samples with a thickness of approx. 6 nm. The device enables observation and control of cutting process for extremely small samples. The device has a special system for handling and fixing the sample to carrier element.

Contact: Associate Professor Kinga Rodak PhD, DSc (kinga.rodak@polsl.pl)

• Electrochemical investigation Laboratory. Comprehensive electrochemical investigations:

• DC electrochemical research (potentiostatic technique, galvanostatic, potentiodynamic, galvanodynamic, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical noise)

• AC electrochemical research (impedance measurements in the range from 10 MHz to 100 MHz).

The use of these techniques allows mainly to research kinetics and mechanisms of electrochemical corrosion of metallic materials with particular emphasis on:

• General corrosion and pitting,

• Passivation processes,

• Anodic dissolution,

• Corrosion inhibitors,

• Control corrosion resistance of coatings.

Other research possibilities:

• Electrosynthesis,

• Electroplating,

• Testing batteries, fuel cells and sensors,

• Study transfer of ions and electrons,

• Sol-gel technology,

• Electrochemistry general.

• Physico-chemical Laboratory. Research offer:

• Research in the field of X-ray structural analysis (qualitative and quantitative analysis, measuring the size of crystallites, internal stress, determination of crystal lattice parameters and structure of crystalline materials)

• Research of high-temperature corrosion resistance (up to 1200 °C) in atmospheres that simulate the actual operating conditions,

• Heat treatment with controlled speed of heating and cooling (up to 1400 °C)

• Microhardness measurement using Vickers and Knoop methods at load range of 0.01 ÷ 2 kg

• Gravity casting attempts of magnesium alloys in a protective atmosphere,

• Long-term creep tests in a temperature range of 200 ÷ 1200 °C

• Metallic Materials Laboratory. Research offer:

• Metallographic research (light and stereoscopic microscopy)

• Thermal analysis of metals and alloys, ceramics, composites, including:

• dilatometric research: determination of thermal expansion coefficient (up to 1700°C), determining phase transformation temperature (up to 1700°C);

• thermogravimetric research (TG): determination of kinetic mass changes under the influence of heating and cooling (up to 1700°C);

• differential thermal analysis (DTA): determination of thermal characteristics of materials, enthalpy and temperature of phase transformation with the temperature of liquidus and solidus (up to 1700°C).

Department of Industrial Informatics has few laboratories, equipped with latest professional devices:

• Numerical modelling laboratory

• Computational intelligence laboratory

• Induction heating laboratory

• Numerous computer laboratories

The Department has at its disposal high and medium frequency generators, electric heaters (resistance and induction), computers, servers, computational computer clusters, specialized computer software for FEM modelling, Fluid Dynamics modelling, optimization and advanced numerical calculations.