Properties and thermodynamics of steel surfaces

We study fundamental physical properties of surfaces: surface energy, surface stress, surface layer relaxation, surface magnetism, and surface reconstruction.

Iron alloys are the most widely used engineering materials. In our project, we investigate these surface characteristic quantities for bcc Fe and, e.g., the bcc FeCr system (the basis of ferritic stainless steel). The practical importance of iron alloys drives the need for a temperature dependent description of its surface properties. Magnetism in bulk Fe and bcc Fe-based alloys is strongly affected by the temperature, and temperature is expected to play a significant role in the stability and behavior of the surfaces of Fe and Fe-based alloys.

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