The Group

corrosion-group

The research group “Durability of Engineering Materials” at the Institute for Building Materials (IfB) at ETH Zurich started its activities in January 2017. It is led by Prof. Dr. Ueli Angst.

The aim of our research is to tackle the long-standing, multidisciplinary challenge of ensuring and forecasting the durability of metal-based structures and infrastructures exposed to corrosive environments.

We perform research at the interface of corrosion/materials science and engineering. This means to study corrosion phenomena under particular consideration of the consequences in engineering applications, and on the other hand, to study and predict corrosion processes under actual service conditions.

A key focus area is the interdependence of corrosion reactions (electrochemistry) and reactive transport in porous media. This is for instance relevant for corrosion of steel in reinforced and prestressed concrete structures or for corrosion in soils. 

We seek to deliver the scientific basis for:

  • mechanistic understanding of corrosion and related deterioration processes
  • measurement methods to detect and quantify corrosion and related parameters (sensors, non-destructive test methods, structural health monitoring, etc.)
  • predictive models for the long-term behavior of engineering structures exposed to their actual environments
  • methods and strategies for corrosion control and protection

Please visit the page Research for more details of past and currently on-going projects.