Skip links menu. Some links may not be available on all pages, for example section navigation may not be available on the home or landing pages.
The correct operation of plant and equipment requires an appreciation of the mechanisms of degradation of the equipment. Failures of plant can cost millions of dollars in downtime. Therefore it is important to select the correct material for a particular application and also understand the causes of failure of equipment as these failures occur.
The Industrial Materials Science group specialises in providing high quality technical support in the area of materials selection and failure analysis. Our research programs are built around increasing the knowledge base for our understanding of failure mechanisms such as corrosion, fracture, fatigue and wear in industrially important materials of construction. Some of our key projects include:
Study of flow-assisted corrosion in Bayer liquor
Fatigue and fracture of magnesium alloys
Selection of wear resistant materials in alumina refineries
Study of mercury embrittlement of aluminium alloys
As well as providing contract research services and post-graduate research opportunities, the Industrial Materials Science group also provides a range of consulting services, particularly in the area of Failure Analysis. The Failure Analysis group is headed by Professor Richard Clegg. Professor Clegg has over 20 years experience as a metallurgical failure analyst, starting at ETRS Pty Ltd in 1986. He studied at the University of Cambridge with D.R.H Jones, noted failure analyst and foundation editor of the journal Engineering Failure Analysis. After completing his PhD, he worked at University College London, QUT and since 2003, at CQUniversity. He has had considerable experience inproviding expert advice in legal matters and has appeared in Courts in Queensland and Western Australia as an expert witness. His main experience is in materials-related failures of process plant and mining equipment and in engineering-related failure analysis of medical devices.
The Industrial Materials Science laboratory is well-equipped for materials-related investigations and includes:
CQUniversity CRICOS Provider Codes: QLD-00219C; NSW-01315F; VIC-01624D
