Course detail

Degradation of Materials and Service Life Prediction

FSI-WDMAcad. year: 2026/2027

The course is designed to familiarize students with the fundamental mechanisms of production and operation degradation of the properties of engineering materials, in particular steels and other metals. The knowledge obtained will provide on one hand for a more accurate determination of the limit state and a more effective exploitation of the materials used and, on the other hand, for a qualified estimate of failure causes. Production degradation (metallurgy, purity, chemical and structural heterogeneity, and effects of welding as an example of the effect of the technological process itself). Operation degradation (corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement, wear, radiation embrittlement, and structural stability). The nature of the degradation process is always made clear, together with methods of evaluating it and its effect on the properties of materials. Methods of analysing the causes of defects in machine parts, including practical examples. Students are made familiar with selected methods for predicting the service life of machine parts.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Ing. Libor Pantělejev, Ph.D.

Department

Institute of Materials Science and Engineering (ÚMVI)

Entry knowledge

General knowledge in the field of materials engineering and related manufacturing technologies (metallurgy, foundry engineering, metal forming, and welding). In-depth knowledge of limit states and strength calculations.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Conditions of awarding the course-unit credit: Attendance at exercises, demonstrating the basic knowledge of the topics dealt with in the course of exercises when solving model problems.
Exam: The knowledge of the concepts and essence of the topics discussed is tested. The emphasis is on testing the ability to apply the knowledge obtained. The exam is oral; in the case of second resit there is also a written part.
Education is controlled via the attendance at exercises; the attendance is recorded by the tutor. If serious lack of knowledge or absence from exercises is found, the tutor assigns a topic for individual written report.

Aims

The objective of the course is to make students familiar with problems of production and operation degradation on such a level that they are able to assess the effect of the technologies used as well as of exploitation conditions on the properties of the materials of component parts and structures, including a subsequent estimation of their remanent service life.
The course will provide students with the basic information on production and operation degradation in engineering materials. Students will learn to regard metallic parts as chemically and structurally heterogeneous bodies, whose states can be greatly affected by exploitation conditions. The basic methods for estimating remanent service life will be introduced to students.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Edit. Khelefa A. Esaklul. Handbook of Case Histories in Failure Analysis. Vol. 1. 2 Materials Park OH: ASM International, 1996. ISBN 0-87170-495-1 (EN)
Remanent Life Prediction, IMechE seminar Pub., 1998, ISBN 186-05-815-44
STRNADEL Bohumil. NAUKA O MATERIÁLU II. Degradační procesy a design konstrukčních materiálů. Ostrava: VŠB-TU Ostrava, 2008. ISBN978-80-248-1842-9. (CS)

Recommended reading

KUTZ, M. Handbook of Environmental Dagradation of Materials: Second Edition. Elsevier, 2012. DOI: 10.1016/C2010-0-66227-4. ISBN 9781437734560
Strnadel, B.: Nauka o materiálu II Konstrukční materiály a jejich degradační procesy. (Učební texty), FMMI VŠB-TU Ostrava,1993, 187 s. (CS)
Strnadel, Bohumír Řešené příklady a technické úlohy z materiálového inženýrství, Ostravské tiskárny a.s., Ostrava 1998, 332 s. (CS)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme N-MTI-P Master's 2 year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. Libor Pantělejev, Ph.D.

Syllabus

The lectures cover the following thematic areas:
1. The influence of metallurgy on the properties of steels.
2. Microcleanliness and its effect on the properties of metallic materials.
3. Chemical and related structural heterogeneity.
4. Manufacturing and operational degradation of welded joints.
5. Hydrogen embrittlement.
6. Radiation-induced embrittlement.
7. Wear of metallic materials.
8. Methods for estimating remaining service life.
9. Practical examples of operational failures – expert analyses.

Laboratory exercise

13 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. Libor Pantělejev, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Practical Exercise Topics:

1. Optimization of deoxidizing aluminum content in steels with respect to achieved mechanical properties.
2. Examples of chemical and related structural heterogeneity in connection with failure analyses of machine components.
3. Examples of property degradation in welded joints.
4. Stress corrosion cracking.
5. Hydrogen embrittlement.
6. Adhesion, abrasion, and cavitation.
7. Contact fatigue – examples.
8. Assessment of radiation-induced embrittlement using witness samples.
9. Demonstrations of methodologies for estimating remaining service life.