Professor Mike Loretto OBE

School of Metallurgy and Materials
Emeritus Professor of Materials

Contact details

Telephone: (0)121 414 5214
Email: lorettmh@bham.ac.uk

Address: School of Metallurgy and Materials
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT

After graduating from Sheffield University Michael Loretto worked in CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia, in the Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA, in the Cavendish laboratory, Cambridge UK and the University of Birmingham. He retired in 2001 from his position of Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Materials for High Performance Applications at Birmingham. During the time that he was Director of the IRC he set up the Net Shape Laboratory and introduced additive manufacturing and Net Shape Hot Isostatic Pressing as important parts of this net shape laboratory. He is still actively involved in these programmes and applies his expertise in transmission electron microscopy to the study of the microstructure of materials processed to net shape.

Qualifications

Professor Loretto graduated from Sheffield University B.Met in 1955 and was awarded a D.Sc. by the University of Birmingham in 1972

Research

The application of transmission electron microscopy to defects in metals and the application of all electron beam techniques to microstructural characterisation.

The role of processing on controlling microstructure and hence properties.

Research mainly on Ti-based alloys and intermetallics: (i) The role of hard particles and plastically anisotropic phases on the development of internal stresses in Ti- and TiAl-based alloys. (ii) The development of Net Shape HIPping for production of components. (iii) Development of heat treatments to refine the structure and to improve the properties of cast TiAl components.(iv) The role of carbon in influencing the ageing response of Ti-15-3 and other beta Ti alloys. (v) Laser fabrication for the production of functionally graded Ti alloy components.

Publications

Professor Loretto has published about 300 papers and conference presentations and some of these are listed below..

Selected Publications

Intrinsic and extrinsic nodes in a gold-tin alloy. Phil Mag 1964, 10, 467

Stacking fault tetrahedra in deformed fcc metals. Phil Mag 1965, 12, 459. (With L M Clarebrough and R L Segall).

The influence of large elastic anisotropy on the determination of Burgers vectors of dislocations in beta brass by transmission electron microscopy. Phys stat solidi 1967, 20, 521 (With P Humble and A K Head).

Slip systems in NiAl single crystals at 77° and 300°K. Phil Mag 1971,23, 1311. (With R J Wasilewski).

Limiting factors in specimen thickness in CTEM and STEM. Phil Mag 1977, 35, 159 (With I P Jones and H L Fraser).

In situ observations of the formation of martensite in stainless steel. Acta Met 1979, 27, 1829. (With J W Brooks and R E Smallman).

Bulk and dislocation core diffusion in RSP AlMo solid solutions. Phil Mag 1988 57, 593. (With C P Chang)

The massive transformation in intermediate TiAl alloys; mechanistic observations. Acta Materia, 1996, 44, 3723-34 (With X D Zhang, S Godfrey, M Weaver, M Strangwood, P Threadgill and M J Kaufman

The structure & stability of precipitates in TiV25V15Cr -xAl alloys exposed at 550°C. 1998 Acta Mater vol 46. No 16 pps 5777- 5794.(With Y G Li P A Blenkinsop & N A Walker).

The significance of acoustic emission during stressing of TiAl-based alloys. 1 Acta Materia, 2001, 49, 1693-1699. (With X. Wu, D Hu, R. Botten)

Microstructural study of pre-yielding and pre-yield cracking in TiAl-based alloys. Intermetallics 2006, 14, 91-102(With Xinhua Wu,* H. Jiang, A. Huang, D. Hu, N. Mota-

Deformation of microstructurally refined cast Ti46Al8Nb and Ti46Al8Ta

(with Z. Wu, M.Q. Chu, H. Saage 1, D. Hu, M.M. Attallah) Intermetallics, 23, 2012 , 1-11.

The Influence of Precipitation of Alpha2 on Properties and Microstructure in TIMETAL 6-4

(With Zhiwei Wu, Chunlei Qiu, V. Venkatesh, Hamish L. Fraser, R.E.A. Williams, , G.B. Viswanathan, Matthew Thomas, S Nag and R Banerjee). Met Trans A 2012