• The relations between parameters of manufacturing and microstructure (defects at the atomic or molecular scale, phase arrangement -crystalline, amorphous-, defects linked to processing -microcavities, decohesion-…);

• The relations between microstructures and macroscopic behaviour measured by various techniques (mechanical, electrochemical, calorimetric, dielectric, acoustic…);

• The evolution of these microstructures in operation (phase transitions, corrosion, damage modes…).

MATEIS has close ties with other labs in Lyon or the Rhône-Alpes Region through CNRS Research Federation “Structural Materials and their Properties” (FR CNRS 2145) as well as through the regional research cluster MAterials and COnception for a sustainable DEVelopment. It is an associate member of Lyon Chemistry Institute (FR CNRS 3023). It takes part in European Union programmes and contributes to a long-term cooperation with Tohoku University in Japan.

Companies wishing to cooperate with MATEIS are welcome, either on a short term basis (a transfer engineer has been hired to deal with microstructural characterisation) or through longer term contracts (postdocs, PhDs).

Our achievements in parteneurial research have obtained official recognition through the admission of the lab into Institut Carnot Engineering in Lyon (I@L), that proposes in Lyon a global offer toward industry in the fields of Materials, Energy, Transportation.

Ceramics can be processed in the laboratory as well as sintering of all kinds of powders, notably by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Emphasis is laid on nanostructured materials. Processing of other materials is performed by academic or industrial partners of the lab.

• To observe the microstructures on various scales : high resolution transmission electronic microscopy and local chemical analysis; scanning environmental electronic microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray scattering, diffraction and tomography…

• To carry out in situ observation during mechanical / environmental tests,

• To carry out material degradation in various conditions (corrosive atmosphere, high temperature creep and fatigue, elasto-visco-plastic at small strains -mechanical spectrometry-…)

• To follow evolutions in situ, in a non destructive manner, by ultrasonic techniques and acoustic emission, by measuring thermoelectric power…

Different scales are being used for modelisation and numerical simulation: molecular dynamics coupled with Monte-Carlo methods for the first stages of precipitation in metals or cavity formation in polymers ; constitutive laws for amorphous polymers based on molecular mobility ; cohesive zone models for void formation in two-phase materials ; finite element calculations based on three-dimensional structures produced by X-ray tomography ; estimation of residual lifetime based on statistical physics models …

The lab designs materials that can be used in biological or medicinal applications, or as actuators. They combine structural and physical or biological properties. Examples are nanoparticles for visualisation or human organs, hybrid materials for bone substitutes, for implants, electroactive polymers…