Research fields
The research directions of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering are: Production of advanced materials; Advanced technologies for materials processing; Treatments for improving materials’ surface properties; The structural analysis of compact and porous metallic and non-metallic materials; Microscopic and macroscopic materials analysis; Digital image processing in optical and electron microscopy; Structural, microscopic and thermodynamic analyses; Determination of the physical, mechanical and technological properties of materials; Destructive and nondestructive testing; Elaboration of metal powders of special alloys, superalloys; Permeable materials; Engineering ceramics; Biomaterials; Thin layers (plasma spray, PVD, CVD); Advanced powder metallurgy processes for production of advanced materials; Material selection and design.
Within the Department of Materials Processing Engineering the main research directions are: Modeling, simulation and optimization of technologies and equipment for plastic deformation, including non-conventional processes such as orbital pressing and forging, dieless drawing; Development of new tools and technologies for plastic deformation; Preparation of nanostructured materials by severe plastic deformation; Finite element analysis and technological design for advanced materials and complex parts produced by plastic deformation; Advanced heat treatment and surface engineering technologies; Assessing the corrosion, wear, fatigue and thermal shock behavior of the surface layers produced by various surface engineering technologies; Advanced technologies for smelting and casting of metals and alloys; Replacement of pollutant galvanizing processes with clean technologies.
In the Department of Environmental Engineering, the main research topics are: The use of ozone in water treating processes; The purification of water containing heavy metals by ion exchange; Superior valorification of wastes; Valorification of slush from water purification plants; Atmosphere protection; Structure and shape analysis; Technologies and equipment for microwave heating and drying; Energy and ecological efficiency of industrial processes and systems (burning, heat transfer, energy recovery, diminishing industrial polluting emissions); Alternative energy sources; Advanced technologies and equipment for metal casting; Management and marketing in materials processing engineering.
The Department of Physics's main research fields are: Thin films (production, physical and structural definition); The study of the electrical, magnetic and spectroscopic properties of ceramic and vitreous materials; Nuclear magnetic resonance – NMR – (development of modern NMR methods for the investigation of the structure and molecular dynamics of elastic solids, biological tissues definition, NMR image processing, transportation phenomena in porous materials, research on nonlinear effects in highly non-homogeneous magnetic fields); Intermetallic alloys magnetic behavior; Applications of gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy; Environmental quality studies.
The Department of Chemistry's main research fields are: Ceramic and polymer materials; Chemical pollutant factors; Structure-property relationships; Electrochemical sensors; Material design from recycled wastes; Teaching software applications.
Research centers and laboratories
The Research Center for Materials Science covers the following main activities: investigations of the structure and properties of materials; elaboration of metal powders (alloys with special properties and superalloys) by atomization and by oxide reduction; processing of structural materials by powder metallurgy; elaboration of advanced materials and alloys and of materials with special properties by powder metallurgy; elaboration and study of permeable porous materials; studies on technical ceramics and biomaterials; elaboration of coatings with special properties by plasma spraying; structural, microscopic and thermodynamic analysis of materials; determination of physical, mechanical and technological properties of materials; nondestructive inspection of materials; selection and design of materials.
The Advanced Technologies Research Center is one of the first research centers developed within the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. It aims at joining together the research teams working on advanced technologies in materials processing and on educational issues related to this domain. Another objective of the center lies in supporting technological transfer towards industry.
The Electron Microscopy Laboratory (Research Center with Multiple Users) covers the following main activities: study of metallographic structures; topographic analysis of surfaces; analysis of magnetic domains; analysis of deformations; study of the phase composition of alloys; determination of the local chemical composition; study of the distribution of chemical elements; study of porous structures.
The research activity of the Materials Science Laboratory – Thin Films mainly regards the superconducting, dielectric and magnetic thin films grown both by physical and chemical methods. The R&D expertise in the Laboratory covers the following areas: Superconductivity and superconducting materials; Magnetism and spintronics; Thin films (physical and chemical methods); Organo-metallic precursor chemistry for oxide materials; Alloys and intermetallic compounds; Magnetic, electrical, structural and morphological characterization of bulk materials and thin films.
The Regional Center for Training and Expertise in Environment Protection is certified by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development for research, expertise and design in the following fields: Control and reduction of environment pollution, Ecologic management of wastes, rehabilitation of degraded sites, drawing out of environment balances and environment impact studies. The Center carries out the following scientific activities: Consultancy and audit in energy balances, Expertising of metallurgical thermal equipment, Valorification of secondary energy resources, Determination of volatile organic compounds (VOC), Studies and researches for implementation of clean technologies BAT, Drawing up of sonometric maps.
