Materials and fabrication
The University of Queensland, through the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering and School of Civil Engineering, has materials and fabrication equipment and services that provide an extensive range of manufacturing and testing facilities for various materials.
Additionally, the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) is available through the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). ANFF-Q provides access to a large national network of tools, including those located at our other Queensland site, Griffith University. It also provides training up to expert level and project consultation to ensure its clients get the most from its capabilities.
Services
- Performance evaluation of abrasion-resistant materials
- Research & development of improved abrasion-resistant materials
- Development of solutions to minimise wear in industrial equipment
Equipment
Equipment unique to the UQ Materials Performance (UQMP) abrasive wear research group includes:
- Ball mill abrasion test (BMAT), using 300 mm and 600 mm diameter laboratory ball mills, capacity up to 90 specimens simultaneous exposure
- Inner circumference abrasion test (ICAT), capacity up to 90 specimens simultaneous exposure, capable of operation in sliding bed abrasion, impingement abrasion, gouging abrasion and slurry erosion modes
- Acoustically insulated wear testing chamber containing BMAT and ICAT machines
- Dry sand rubber wheel abrasion test (DS-RWAT, ASTM G65)
- Robotic controlled deposition of hard facing weld overlays
- Cutting and grinding facilities for hard materials (white cast irons, weld overlays, ceramics), including water cooled cut-off saws and vertical-spindle surface grinder
- Horizontal bandsaw
- Charpy impact test machine with interchangeable 7.5, 15, 25 and 50 Joule pendulum strikers
- Mettler-Toledo high capacity precision balance (3 kg capacity, ±1 mg , computer interface)
- Brinell hardness test machine
Contact
Dr Jeff Gates
Senior Research Fellow
Website: UQ Materials Performance
Phone: 07 3365 6123
Email: uqmp@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
The Australian National Fabrication Facility Queensland node (ANFF-Q) has equipment and expertise in the patterning of polymer and glass substrates, the production of novel substrates for immunotherapy and drug delivery, the fabrication of microfluidic devices, and a globally unique SiC on Si Epitaxial reactor.
ANFF-Q provides access to a large national network of tools, including those located at our other Queensland site, Griffith University.
ANFF-Q also provides training up to expert level and project consultation to ensure its clients get the most from its capabilities.
Services
Our services include:
- The ability to undertake patterning of surfaces and devices with nanometer precision
- The design, manufacture, profiling and surface characterisation of microfluidic devices
- Analytical support for research in the areas of nanostructures, polymeric materials and electrostatics
- Production of high-resolution images and precise examination of complex biological systems
- The ability to synthesise and characterise functional nanoparticles and bio-inspired nanomaterials
- The manufacture, analysis and characterisation of innovative functional materials for photolithography, tissue engineering and targeted drug delivery systems and new material development
- Functional organic (photonics and electronics) synthesis, device testing and characterisation services
- Precise printing of micro-scale structures on organic and inorganic nanoparticle materials
- Characterisation and testing of solar cells
- Silicon-based multi-layer substrates for microelectronics
Equipment
Device fabrication
- ADT Provectus 7100
- AJA International ATC-2200
- SPTS Xenon Difluoride Etcher
- EVG 520 Embosser
- EVG 620 Aligner
- Fumehoods Process specific
- Harrick Plasma PDC-001 & PDC-002
- Heidelberg µPG 101
- Hitech CTF/150/3Z/1200C
- Kulicke & Soffa 4526 Wedge Bonder
- MBRAUN MB200
- MBRAUN MBEVAP
- MBRAUN MBEVAP
- MBRAUN MBUV-O3
- MBRAUN Solvent Purification System
- Nanoscribe Photonic Professional GT
- OAI Model 30 UV Light Source
- Oxford Instruments PlasmaPro NGP80
- Plasma-Therm Versaline
- Software Suite CAD Computing
- Temescal Systems FC-2000 e-Beam Evaporator
- Ultimaker 2 Extended +
- Idonus HF Vapour Etch
- TPT HB16
Metrology/characterisation
- Agilent Technologies 1260 Infinity
- Agilent Technologies Agilent B1500A Analyzer
- Agilent Technologies CARY 630 FTIR
- Anton Paar SurPASS
- Anton Paar Litesizer 500
- Asylum Research Cypher
- Asylum Research MFP3D-BIO
- J. A. Woollam VUV VASE (Gen-II)
- Jeol IT-300
- Jeol NeoSCOPE
- JPK NanoWizard II
- Keithlink Four Point Probe
- KLA Zeta 300
- Leica SP8
- Mettler Toledo DMA/SDTA861e
- Mettler Toledo DSC 1 STARe System
- Mettler Toledo TGA/DSC 1 STAR e
- Nikon Ti-U and V9.1
- PV Measurements QEX7
- SCI FilmTek 2000M
- Semiprobe SA-6
- Tecan Infinite 200
- Tecan LS Reload
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Nicolet Almega XR
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Nicolet 5700
- Veeco Wyko NT1100
- Veeco Dektak 150
- Waters 1515 Isocratic HPLC Pump
- Waters Alliance 2695 Separations Module
- WITec alpha300 RA+S
- Zeiss LSM 710 Confocal
Microfluidic fabrication
- Harrick Plasma PDC-002
- KURABO V300SS
- Trotec Speedy 360
- Harvard Apparatus Pump 33 DDS
Contact
Professor Justin Cooper-White
Node Director
Website: Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Phone: 07 3346 3858
Email: j.cooperwhite@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Anthony Christian
Facility Manager
Phone: 07 3346 3460
Email: a.christian@uq.edu.au or anff@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
- Concrete trial mixing, casting and testing
- Fresh concrete: vebe consistometer, compacting factor apparatus, spread test J-ring, concrete penetrometer
- Hardened concrete: modulus of rapture, Indirect tensile (Brazil splitting)
- Aggregate: particle size analysis, particle density
Equipment
- Batching facility for mixing up to 120-litre mixes
- Test equipment/apparatus including:
- Large-scale and standard creep testing
- Standard shrinkage conditioning room and horizontal comparator
- Standard concrete curing
- Steam curing capability
- Youngs’ modulus
- Compressive strength
- Flexural tensile strength
- 6 m prestressing bed
- Concrete/cement mortar testing equipment slump cone, V-funnel, U-box, L-box, rheometer Viscomat XL, Vicat apparatus, flow table Pycnometer
Contact
Fraser Reid
Senior Laboratory Manager
Website: School of Civil Engineering
Phone: 07 3365 3603
Email: fraser@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
From very small-scale material compositions to full-scale structural fire testing.
- Heat release rate (kW/m2)
- Critical heat flux for ignition
- Thermal response parameter (TRP)
- Effective heat of combustion (MJ/kg)
- Chemical and convective heat release rates
- Fire propagation index (FPI)
- Smoke yield and obscuration
- Ignition time and extinction time
- MARHE (kW/m2)
- CO2 and CO yield (kg/kg) and O2 consumption (g)
- Mass loss rate (g/s)
- Specific extinction area (m2/kg)
- Flash point of flammable liquids
- Thermal conductivity, diffusivity, specific heat capacity
- Thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry
- Heat of combustion
- Optic properties of materials (emissivity, transitivity, reflectivity)
Equipment
Fire Testing Analysis
Bench Scale
Cone calorimeter
For standards ISO 5660, ASTM E1354, ASTM E1474, ASTM E1740, ASTM F1550, ASTM D6113, CAN ULC 135, BS 476 Part 15:
- Heat release rate (kW/m2)
- Critical heat flux for ignition
- Thermal response parameter (TRP)
Fire propagation apparatus
For standards FM 4910, ASTM E 2058, ISO 12136:
- Effective heat of combustion (MJ/kg)
- Chemical and convective heat release rates
Mass loss calorimeter
For standards ISO 13927 – ISO DIS 17554:
- Fire propagation index (FPI)
- Smoke yield and obscuration
Flash point tester
For standards ASTM D92, D117, AASHTO T48:
- Ignition time and extinction time
Large Scale
Room corner test
For standards ISO 9705, EN 14390, ASTM D 5424, ASTM D 5537, AS ISO 9705-2003, ASTM E 603, ASTM E 1537, ASTM E 1590, NFPA 265, UL 1685, NT FIRE 25, NT FIRE 32, ASTM E 1822:
- MARHE (kW/m2)
- CO2 & CO yield (kg/kg) and O2 consumption (g)
- Mass loss rate (g/s)
- Flash point of flammable liquids
- Cable fire propagation
High-performance gas infrared heaters
For standards ASTM E1321 and replications of ASTM E119 fire resistance furnace testing using radiant burners:
- Heat-transfer rate inducing system (H-TRIS)
- Hybrid fire testing for performance evaluation of structures under different heating conditions
- Fire lateral ignition and flame spread test (LIFT)
- Bushfires research capabilities
Bushfires
- Radiant and convective wind tunnel
- Surface fire propagation test
Thermal analysers
TPS 1500 transient plane heat source
For ISO Standard 22007-2:
- Thermal conductivity
- Thermal diffusivity
- Specific heat capacity
Simultaneous thermal analyser
For standards ASTM E1131, ISO 11358, ASTM D (3418,3850,3895), ASTM D 6375, and ASTM – E1269 (specific heat capacity):
- Transition and reaction enthalpies
- Melting/crystallization points
- Glass transition temperatures
- Thermal degradation temperatures in oxidative and inert atmospheres.
- Thermal gravimetric (TGA) method
- Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method
Bomb calorimeter
For standards EN ISO 1716, ISO 1928, ASTM D 240, ASTM D 4809, ASTM D 5468, ASTM D 5865, ASTM E 711:
- Heat of combustion
- Gross calorific value
- Net calorific value
- Ash value
Analytical techniques
Fourier transform infrared mid-infrared (FTIR) spectrometer
For standards ASTM D6348-2012, ASTM E168, ASTM E1252:
- Gas FTIR, ATR, Raman and NIR
Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF)
- Elemental analysis
Contact
Sergio Zarate Orrego
Fire Laboratory Manager (Acting)
Website: School of Civil Engineering
Phone: 07 3443 1092
Email: s.zarateorrego@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
- Component damage and failure investigations
- Expert witness and forensic engineering
- Problem-solving and consultancy services in the fields of mechanical engineering and materials science
- Microscopy and materials testing
- Analysis of polymers and non-metallic materials
- Analysis of dusts, particulates and deposits
- Analysis of building cladding materials
Equipment
Equipment unique to the UQMP contract research and consulting group includes:
- Panametrics portable ultrasonic thickness gauge
- Nikon SMZ25 stereo microscope
- Polarised light microscope
- Magnetic particle crack inspection
- Die penetrant crack inspection
- Various hardness testers including Brinell, Shore 00, A & D, Barcoll
- Horizontal bandsaw (cut capacity up to 330mm diameter)
- Vertical turret milling/drilling machine
- Solidworks simulation CAD and FEA software
- Portable PerkinElmer FTIR-ATR
Contact
Mr Lenny McInnes
Senior Consultant
Website: School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Phone: 07 3365 6123
Email: uqmp@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
Mechanical testing to the relevant standards including tensile, compressive, creep and cyclic/fatigue loading. The laboratory has a 2D digital image correlation (DIC) installation able to show strain fields, as well as various mechanical extensometers for simple strain measurement. An enviromental chamber is able to control the temperature of a sample either above or below ambient temperature during testing.
Equipment
- Instron 5584 and 4505 EM Load Frame (100kN x 600mm/min) capacity with a range of load cells 100N, 1000N, 5kN, 10kN and 100kN
- Instron 8031 Hydraulic Servo Load Frame (100kN x 150mm stroke)
- Samples of various shapes and sizes can be held in a number of flat or vee grips with a maximum thickness/diameter of 12mm
- Instron AVE for optical strain and DIC measurement.
Instron Environmental Chamber +/- 180degC
Contact
Daniel Graham
Research Assistant
Website: School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Phone: 07 346 8740 or 0409 276 014
Email: labsupport@mechmining.uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
Structural static and fatigue materials testing, portal configuration and test frame configuration.
Equipment
- Portal frames – constructed on the strong floor with columns (250UC 89.5: 10 x 5m, 4 x 2.5m) and cross beams (610UB 125: 4 x 4.75m, 8 x 3.25m, 10 x 1.75m)
- Servo-hydraulic actuators (all ±250mm actuator travel) – 1 x 1MN (100t), 1 x 500kN (50t), 2 x 250kN (25t), 2 x 100kN (10t); 1 x 1MN ±250mm actuator travel stand-alone test frame; 3 and 4 point bend testing up to 1MN (100t)
- Test frames – 10MN (1000t) servo-hydraulic compression frame with test space, 700 mm x 700 mm 2000 mm high
- 1MN (100t) servo-hydraulic tension and compression frame with test space – 1003 mm wide, 603 mm deep and 783 mm to 4002 mm high not including fixtures
- 250kN (25t) servo-mechanical tension and compression frame
- 100kN (10t) servo-hydraulic tension and compression frame with test space – 530 mm wide and 363 mm to 1700 mm high not including fixtures
- Data acquisition – extensive suite of National Instruments data acquisition modules including stress/strain, displacement and force measurement
- Digital image correlation – non-contact strain field measurement
Contact
Fraser Reid
Senior Laboratory Manager
Website: School of Civil Engineering
Phone: 07 3365 3603
Email: fraser@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus