Master Thesis: Investigation of the corrosion protection ability of aluminum coated steel - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

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Background:
Imagine a world where the steel structures we rely on, like wind towers, ships, and even cars, could last longer and be more environmentally friendly. That's exactly what this project is aiming for.

Right now, we often use zinc coatings to protect steel (commonly called Galvanizing), but they have their drawbacks. They're not great in marine environments, and they can be risky for high-strength steels because of hydrogen embrittlement. So, we're turning to aluminum, which is cheaper, lighter, more sustainable, and better at protecting steel.

However, there's a catch - aluminum has trouble protecting steel in certain areas. We're working on creating special aluminum coatings that will solve this problem. We're using cutting-edge technology to design these coatings and even developing a new method to make sure they work perfectly with the steel they're protecting.

The result? These new coatings will be better for the environment, lighter, and even safer for steel constructions. It's a step forward in making our world more resilient and sustainable.

The project:
EU funded project in the framework of Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) with a total of 8 partners (Universities, institutions, and companies) from different countries in Europe. Within this project, researchers at RISE are responsible for corrosion investigations.

Typical tasks:

• Sample preparation (cutting, grinding, polishing) for atmospheric corrosion exposures.
• Exposure to corrosive species and controlled atmospheric corrosion, followed by:

-Weight loss measurement at different times of exposure to determine the rate of corrosion.

-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for characterizing the functional groups of corrosion products and XRD for determining the corrosion compounds.

• Setting up bimetallic strip experiments and measuring the galvanic currents in solution after different exposure times and condition

Outcome:

• Understanding of test and experimental conditions which can aid definition of measurement protocol for corrosion monitoring.
• After critical analysis of above experiments over different aluminium alloys and the different exposure conditions, forming a ranking with respect to corrosion protection ability.

Who this project is for:

• You who has an interest and passion for laboratory level corrosion testing.
• You are nifty with handling equipment, are hands-on and love working in the lab and are self-motivated to perform experiments.
• You who are resilient- while there is opportunity to learn a lot of new things, experimentation for research does involve a lot of repetitive tasks and success isn’t always guaranteed in the first try.

Location and start date:
The Corrosion Department of RISE is located at Isafjordsgatan 28 A in Kista, Sweden.
Master thesis work start in January 2024.

Supervisory team at RISE:
Main supervisor: Carolina Schneiker, phone:  +46 73 088 76 75, e-mail carolina.schneiker@ri.se
Co-supervisor: Salil Sainis
Unit manager: Johan Tidblad, e-mail: johan.tidblad@ri.se

Interested?
Send in your application (CV and motivation letter) no later than 2023-11-09.