Professional Activities:
Employments:
- [1999-] Research Academic, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
- [1986-1997] Academic staff, Department of Materials Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Technology (Currently Henan University of Science and Technology), Luoyang, Henan, China.
- [1982-1983] Assistant Foundry Metallurgist, Xing-Tai Internal Combustion Engine Factory, Hebei, China.
Research interests and expertise:
- Nano-structured coatings: Superlattice multilayers and nanocomposite coatings, fabricated by plasma PVD,forwear-resistant and low-friction applications in cutting tools, anti-corrosion/ oxidation, etc.
- High-performance steels: Ultrahigh strength spring/structural steels for automotive/aerospace industries; Wear resistant martensitic/bainitic/austenitic steel castings of low-alloy for mining/cement industries; Phase transformation kinetics of martensitic/bainitic steels.
- Failure investigation: fatigue and fracture, corrosion, wear and friction;
- Metallurgy and manufacturing technologies: casting, forging, welding, heat treatments, and various machining/cutting processes.
- Tribology: Friction and wear mechanisms of metals, ceramics and coatings/films, in nano/micro-scales, especially studied by cross-sectional TEM and spectroscopic techniques.
- Quantitative XRD: surface residual stress, retained austenite and martensite of hardened steels, lattice misfit of superalloys.
- Electron microscopic analyses: TEM, SEM, EDX and EELS of nano-particles, fibres, thin films and coatings, and bulk materials; especially expertise in cross-sectional TEM techniques.
Record of research projects & industrial applications:
(1988-95)
Technical leader of a government-funded project of fundamentals of abrasive wear, and several industrial R&D and technology transfer projects collaborated with Chinese manufacturing industry;
(1999-2006)
Researcher (and programme-maker) of three EU research projects:
- Advanced machining technologies of aerospace and aumototive aluminium alloys and titanium;
- Duplex nitriding and PVD coatings;
- Oxidation resistant coatings for thermal engines;
(2006-today)
- Project leader: A government-funded R&D project of ultrahigh strength spring steel torsion bars for large vehicles, and the associated knowledge transfer partnership project(Tinsley Bridge Ltd, UK);
- Collaborated research of nanocomposite and multilayer coatings (University of Sheffield, University of Southampton, MibaTeer Coatings Ltd),
- Knowledge Exchange project on superalloys for thermal power generation (Doosan Power System, UK);
- Optimised heat treatments of surgical blades (Swann Morton Ltd, UK);
- TEM analyses of ceramic fibre(Morgan Technical Ceramics Ltd, UK);
A large number of small contracted consultancy/research projects with UK industry, etc.
Academic visits / presentations in the last five years:
- 2009 - Visiting Professor Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, China.
- Academic visits and seminars at (1) Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou; (2) Beijing University of Chemical Engineering.
- 2010 - Oral paper presented at ICMCTF: International Conference on Metallurgy Coatings and Thin Films, San Diego, USA. Hosting academic visitors: Lanzhou Institute of Physical Chemistry.
- 2011 - Oral paper presented at WoM: International Conference on Wear of Materials, Philadelphia, USA.
- Hosting academic visitors: Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials.
- Member of organising committee: Asian-European International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering, Dalian, China.
- 2012 - Sectional chair, two oral papers presented at The 20th Congress of International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering, October 23-25, 2012 Beijing China;
- Invited visit & seminar to Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials;
- Academic Visit to Tsinghua University, Beijing, and Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang.
- 2013 - Oral presentation at The 3rd International Congress of Nanoscience and nanotechnology, Xi'an, China.
- Academic visits and invited seminars to (1) North-western Polytechnic University, Xi'An, and (2) Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang.
- 2014 - Hosting an academic visitor (12 month, from September 2014) from Henan University of Science and Technology;Invited visit to Chingqing Huade Group on wear-resistant low-alloy cast steels (June 2014) Invited visit &plenary lecture r to Guangdong University of Technology on advanced PVD coating technologies Hosting academic visitor, Prof. KH Kim from Busan University, South Korea.
Scientific Awards:
- 1994-95: Joint China-UK Scholarship of 1-year visiting research in surface engineering, University of Hull, UK.
- 1994-97: 2ndAwards of Technology Innovation, Henan Provincial Government, China.
- 1995-98: Joint PhD studentship sponsored by University of Sheffield & Sheffield Hallm University, UK.
- 1999: Grand Prize & 1stEM Prize, 12th International Conference on Wear of Materials (ASM), Atlanta, USA.
- 2002: Joint 2ndPrize, Bodycote International paper competition.
Reviewer/Editorial board to scientific journals / conferences:
Reviewer:
- Surface and Coatings Technology;
- Wear;
- Tribology Letters;
- Tribology International;
- Journal of Alloys and Compounds;
- Journal of Engineering Tribology;
- Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science;
- Tribology - Materials, Surfaces & Interfaces;
- Materials Chemistry and Physics;
Reviewer:
- International Conferences of Metallurgy Coatings and Thin Films;
- European International Conference of Plasma Surface Engineering;
- Asian/European International Conference of Plasma Surface Engineering;
Editorial Board:
- Chinese Journal of Materials Science;
- International Scholarly Research Notices - Nanotechnology
- Journal of Nanomaterials: Guest editorial board of special issue 'Nanostructured Protective Coatings';