Characterization of materials and components

This course is an introduction to the most common characterization tools to gather crucial structural and property information of materials and components. The focus is on knowing about several possible characterisation methods and their underlying principles of measurement as well as the strategies to extract the most relevant information from the tests for the purpose in mind. The characterisation techniques will be taught by various colleagues in each field. The methods to covered in this course are classified as follows:

1. Imaging of material structures and surfaces (microscopy, confocal, SEM, EDS)

2. Chemical analysis of polymers (FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, contact angle)

3. Structural characterisation

4. Thermomechanical analysis of polymers (DSC, TGA, DMA/Rheology)

5. Mechanical characterization