Functional Materials and Composites Research Group

Research activities of the  FMC group currently focus mainly investigation and physical property characterisation of functional materials derived from martensitically transforming shape memory alloys, particularly superelastic NiTi for medical devices and high temperature actuators for automotive and aerospace applications, structures made of  functional materials as functional textiles with NiTi filaments, metal-polymers composites and electroactive polymers combined with NiTi.

Besides application of conventional heat treatment, thermomechanical testing, physical property characterisation to the functional materials, the group has been  active in the development of dedicated in-situ experimental methods for characterisation of deformation processes in advanced engineering materials as e.g.  in-situ X-ray and neutron diffraction, in-situ TEM and SEM, in situ electric resistometry or digital image correlation during thermomechanical loads

Concerning the theory, the group is currently involved in the development of thermomechanical models of shape memory alloys and their application to the simulation and design of NiTi structures and composites.

Although research activities of the group are mainly in the basic research of phase transformation and deformation processes,  recently we have been increasingly active in the development of engineering applications of functional engineering materials.

Head of the group

	name:	Luděk Heller
	tel.:	(+420) 266 053 351
	e-mail:	heller@fzu.cz
	www:	—

Address

Oddělení funkčních materiálů
Fyzikální ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.
Na Slovance 2
182 21 Praha
Česká republika
Fax: +420 286 890 527