Background

The effects of residual and applied stresses and corrosive environments in service are closely interrelated. The more highly stressed (higher energy) regions of a metal will become anodic and corrosive cells will be set up due to differences in local stress levels. Cold worked regions, for example tube or sheet bends and cut edges, will be corroded in preference to uniform parts of sections in the same way that grain boundaries are attacked more than grain interiors on the microscopic scale.

Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) Defined

The combined effects of stress and corrosion can result in a special type of failure known as Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC). This arises under a particular set of circumstances for a given alloy: specific alloy condition plus specific corrosive media and sufficient local tensile stress. Chloride induced cracking of stainless steels, caustic cracking of plain carbon steels and ammonia damage to copper alloys are typical examples of this problem. The mechanism of SCC is shown as a simple representation in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Schematic view of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) and corrosion fatigue cracking

SCC is believed to be nucleated at pitting damage sites and develops under the action of local tensile stresses as a highly branched network of fine cracks. At each crack tip the combined action of the tensile stress and specific ions in the corrosive media cause continual crack propagation with little evidence of local deformation.

In austenitic stainless steels, for example, warm chloride solutions in the presence of residual tensile stress can lead to cracking. SCC tendency is slight in low Ni ferritic and martensitic grades but is severe in the 8-10% Ni austenitic steels. Duplex stainless steels have greater SCC resistance than austenitic since the duplex microstructure helps to inhibit the growth of SCC cracks, which tend to be deflected or arrested at austenite-ferrite interfaces. Maximum resistance is obtained with 50/50 austenite-ferrite microstructures and the dispersion of the two phases should be as fine as possible. The increased interest in the duplex grades stems not only from their high pitting and SCC resistance but also from their higher proof stress level which offers savings in material and weight over austenitic material.

When does SCC occur?

Stress corrosion cracking presents an especially difficult problem, since not only is it highly localised but it can occur in environments that are merely mildly corrosive to the material. The damaging concentration of the harmful ions in that environment may be quite small and difficult to detect and, even in the absence of applied stress, residual stresses in a structure can often be of a sufficiently high level to cause SCC and failure in service.

In a given situation the time of exposure needed to cause SCC failure depends on the stress intensity at any pre-existing or developed crack tip. The concentration of stress at the tip of a sharp crack or flaw can be quantified in terms of the Stress Intensity Factor, K₁. It determines the growth rate of SCC cracks for a specific alloy environment combination. Catastrophic failure of a component will occur when this factor reaches a critical value, the Fracture toughness of the material, K_1C. This enables the determination of allowable defect size in design to avoid failure under given loading conditions.

Below a threshold value of K₁, called K_1SCC, growth of a crack by SCC is not expected, but above this value the initial SCC growth rate increases with increasing K₁, called stage 1 cracking,

In stage 2, the crack growth rate is independent of K₁ and depends instead on the corrosive environment and temperature. During stage 2 growth, K₁ continues to increase and this leads to the rapid acceleration of the crack in stage 3, and final fast fracture when K₁ reaches K_1C which is the Fracture Toughness of the material.

The higher the value of K_1SCC under given conditions, then the greater is the expected SCC resistance, but some materials do not appear to have a threshold resistance.

Mechanism

Due to the electrical potential difference that develops when two dissimilar metals or alloys are connected together in an aqueous solution the base metal will become anodic and the more noble metal will act as a cathode. The noble metal is in effect, cathodically protected by the more reactive metal which is corroded.

Background

Hydrogen can diffuse into metals and alloys from a number of sources during both processing and subsequent service. These sources include the dissociation of moisture during casting and welding, thermal decomposition of gases and pickling and plating operations. Hydrogen can also be generated from cathodic reactions during corrosion in service and from cathodic protection measures by sacrificial anodes and impressed current.
Ferritic and Martensitic Steels

The effects of hydrogen are well known in ferritic and martensitic steels, where it can diffuse to suitable sites in the microstructure and develop local internal pressure resulting in the characteristic form of hydrogen embrittlement.
Low Carbon Steels

In low carbon steels, which have inherent ductility, hydrogen may not give cracking but will cause blisters to develop at inclusions. This can lead to delamination in plate due to the directional nature of the inclusions.
Hydrogen Sulphide Environments

Steels for sour gas service, where the environment contains wet hydrogen sulphide, must have very low sulphur levels or have been treated with additions to control the shape of the inclusions during deoxidation to minimise the danger of hydrogen embrittlement and blistering.
Failure

Failure is time-dependent and occurs at low rates of strain as the load-bearing cross-section is reduced during slow crack growth in the embrittled region. Susceptibility for embrittlement is higher in alloys with higher yield strengths, i.e. those that are cold-worked, age-hardened or in the martensitic form. The sites at which hydrogen is trapped include the original austenite grain boundaries and the interfaces between the matrix and non-metallic inclusions, for example manganese sulphides. These then result in both intergranular cracking (with separation at the prior austenite boundaries) and transgranular cracking (flaking or quasi-cleavage) which is associated with the inclusions.
Other Effects

Hydrogen can assist in the propagation of corrosion fatigue cracks and can also cause sulphide stress corrosion cracking in ferritic and martensitic steels, including the stainless grades.

Mechanism

Due to the electrical potential difference that develops when two dissimilar metals or alloys are connected together in an aqueous solution the base metal will become anodic and the more noble metal will act as a cathode. The noble metal is in effect, cathodically protected by the more reactive metal which is corroded

Galvanic Series

A galvanic series of metals and alloys can be listed for given corrosive environments, for example seawater, to show which material is liable to corrode in a galvanic couple, table 1.

Table 1. Simplified galvanic series for metals and alloys. The relative position in the series will depend on the corrosive environment and on the passivity of the surface of the metal or alloy.

Noble (cathodic) Base (Anodic)

Platinum Gold Graphite Titanium Silver Stainless steels Nickel Monel Cupronickel Tin bronze Copper Cast iron Steel Aluminium Zinc Magnesium

Attack on the base metal will usually be more severe at the junction with the noble metal, but the extent of the damage will depend on the electrochemical differences between them, i.e. the wider their separation in the galvanic series, the greater is the attack on the base partner. The relative surface areas of the two metals exposed to the corrosive media and the nature of that media will also have an affect. When small surface areas of base metal are connected to much larger areas of noble material the attack on the base metal will be rapid.

This is illustrated by the first recorded example of the galvanic effect with the detachment of copper sheets from the hull of HMS Alarm in 1761. This was as a result from attack on the iron nails which had been use to attach the copper to the timbers.

Minimising the Effect of Galvanic Attack

Galvanic attack can be minimised, as can other forms of corrosion, by correct design. The use of galvanically compatible materials and the use of electrical insulation between dissimilar materials will help. Not coating the anodic surface in case of pinhole damage to it is also useful as this could give rapid local attack.

The galvanic effect is the reason why different phases and segregated regions in alloy microstructures will have varying resistance to corrosion. This effect is made good use of when polished specimens are selectively attacked by etching in order to reveal and study microstructural features under the microscope. In stainless steels Cr-depleted zones around Cr-rich second phases will be less noble and as such will be subject to highly localised attack leading to interdendritic and/or intergrannular forms of corrosion.

Background

Metal injection moulding (MIM) is an advanced manufacturing process for the net shape forming of small, complex, high-precision and high performance metal parts. It is a development of the traditional powder metallurgy (PM) process and has several key advantages.
Advantages of Metal Injection Moulding Over Traditional Powder Metallurgy

In the PM process, parts with undercuts or projections at right angles to the pressing direction cannot normally be directly made. The MIM process substantially removes this limitation. Full density components can also be realised with MIM.
An Overview of the Metal Injection Moulding Process

Injection moulding is well established for producing quite intricate parts in plastic. Adapting this process for metals involves mixing a very high volume of metal powder with organic binders to produce a feedstock with toothpaste-like consistency. A bonded metal ‘green’ part is then moulded. Careful removal of the binders leaves a skeleton of metal which is then subjected to high temperature sintering. After sintering, full density can be realised and for that reason the mechanical properties of MIM components are generally superior to those of traditional PM parts. MIM components have properties similar to wrought materials and dimensional tolerances superior to investment casting.
Materials Suitability for Metal Injection Moulding

Almost any metal that can be produced in a suitable powder form can be processed by MIM. The list of metals useable in MIM includes many common, and several less common metals and their alloys - plain and low alloy steels, high-speed steels, stainless steels, superalloys, intermetallics, magnetic alloys, controlled expansion alloys and hard metals (cemented carbides). Clearly, where the net shape forming capability of MIM is combined with the application of expensive materials then the advantages of MIM multiply. This is because, unlike alternative processes that involve machining, metal yield in MIM is very high and there is practically no wastage.
Case Study – Stainless Steel Gas Connector Flange

A good example of MIM’s advantages is illustrated by a manufacturer who had a fabrication problem. He had a sub-assembly that was comprised of three separate parts. Previously these were machined separately from wrought stainless steel and vacuum brazed together - the problem was high cost and poor quality. Using MIM, the part was re-engineered into one moulding and in doing so realised significant cost savings as well as improvements in quality.

Background

Can forming, wire and tube drawing all benefit from advanced ceramic solutions throughout the production process.

Seaming rolls, wire dies, guides and forming tools in alumina, zirconia and silicon nitride have recorded performances in terms of many thousands of hours, and metres of metal.

By a careful manipulation of microstructure and material selection for metal/ceramic combinations, specific solutions are frequently derived for individual components and application areas.

Thanks to their hardness and surface quality, Technox® 500 ceramics achieve the highest ratings in tool life and tube quality when it comes to tube processing. Technox® 500 ceramics play a key role in trouble-free and cost-efficient production in the following tube processes:
Industrial Applications for Technox Zirconia Ceramics
Tube Industry Applications For Advanced Ceramics

Applications within the tube industry call for materials with both good wear resistance and good surface properties, such that the quality of the manufactured product is not compromised by contact with the tooling.

Thanks to their hardness and surface quality, Technox® 500 ceramics achieve the highest ratings in tool life and tube quality when it comes to tube processing. Technox® 500 ceramics play a key role in trouble-free and cost-efficient production in the following tube processes:

Bending and Expanding Aluminised Steel Tubes

Bending and expanding tools made from Technox® 500, are highly resistant to fracture and have a good resistance to cold welding. The extended tool life helps to reduce set up and maintenance costs during the shaping process.
Expanding Copper Tubes

Using Technox® 500 mandrels for expanding copper tubes significantly improves tool life and can lead to a reduction or even the elimination of lubricants.
Tube Welding

Technox® 500 welding rolls are unaffected by inductive or magnetic fields during longitudinal seam welding of tubes. The use of Technox® 500 significantly reduces customary excessive roll wear.
Metal Extrusion Dies

An increase in life of ten to fifteen times over steel, including reduced stress cracking is claimed for aluminium and copper/brass extrusion using Technox® dies.

The Technox® die insert can cost up to four times as much as steel. However considering such inserts often last up to 10 times more than conventional materials, the cost benefit can be shown to be in the favour of Technox® dies. Other advantages include faster production rates, better dimensional stability of the extruded product and better surface finish.
Beneficial Properties of Technox Zirconia Ceramics
Wear Behaviour

Comparative tests by wire manufacturers have shown that Technox® guides and rolls can outlast a conventional high speed steel by a factor of >20. Depending on the shape and complexity of the part the price penalty is rarely more than a factor of 4. Consequently the cost benefit analysis is very favourable, without taking account of the effect on machine downtime. Several customers have measured lifetimes in terms of years, not weeks.
Strength

Technox® ceramics are up to 5 times stronger than conventional alumina and zirconia grades. They display bending strengths similar to the yield strength of low alloy steels.
Surface Finish

With a sub micron grain size and near-zero porosity, Technox® materials can be finished to display the highest degrees of surface finish, polish and precision. Surface roughness value less than 0.05µm Ra are attainable.
Impact Resistance

Unlike the brittle behaviour displayed by conventional alumina materials, Technox® advanced ceramics can withstand severe impacts and mechanical shocks. Their “Transformation Toughening” ability means a Technox® nail can be hammered through a block of wood.
Corrosion Resistance

In acid or alkali mediums, Technox® ceramics display excellent resistance to the most hazardous of environments.
Advantages of Technox®

· Minimise possible damage to the wire surface during drawing

· Assurance of wire surface quality due to the improved sliding characteristics of ceramic materials

· Improved production reliability, especially for thin wires, due to the reduced adhesion between wire and pulley

· Reduced abrasion leading to improved product quality and increased tool and die life

Background

Bodycote Testing Group provide the most comprehensive range of mechanical testing service available today. All Bodycote laboratories incorporate dedicated machine shops to provide specimen preparation.
Laboratory Accreditations

All our laboratories are accredited to National, International and in-house standards; as well as client specifications, in a bid to provide complete assurance.
Specimen Preparation

Specimen preparation is often the slowest part of the mechanical testing process and to counter this we are continuously investing in new CNC controlled equipment to improve efficiency and reduce turnaround times.
Typical Testing Procedures

The Group is able to meet all routine mechanical testing requirements such as: -

· Tensile Test

· High Temperature Tensile Testing

· Impact Test

· Hardness Tests

· Weld Procedure Qualification & Welder Qualification
Tensile Testing

Bodycote routinely perform tensile tests on a vast array of metallic and non-metallic materials. Our inventory allows testing to be performed between the load ranges of 20N to 2000kN.

Bodycote can also offer tensile testing services at a range of test temperatures, to a range of international standards.
High Temperature Tensile Testing

High temperature environmental chambers are available at most sites to undertake elevated temperature tensile testing. Testing temperatures range from 50°C to 850°C and beyond for particularly high temperature applications.
Impact Tests

Bodycote Testing Group can perform a range of impact tests, including Izod and Charpy tests. Testing can be performed to both European and American standards. Testing is routinely performed from 100°C to -273°C.
Hardness Testing

Vickers, Rockwell and Brinell tests can be performed across the Group at a range of loads. The Group are routinely requested to perform Hardness Testing on a production basis.
Welder Qualification and Weld Procedure Testing

The Bodycote Testing Group has vast experience of welder qualification and weld procedure testing, to a range of specifications, including BS EN 287/8 and ASME IX. Bodycote can also provide welding engineering consultancy.
Non-Routine Tests

Due to the unique Bodycote Testing Group structure, a major benefit to clients is the performance of non-routine tests, which include: -

· Drop Weight Tear Tests

· Flexural Strength Measurements

· US FQA Bolt Testing

· Impact Tests to 660J

· Fracture Mechanics
Typical Materials Tested

Bodycote Testing Group also possess unrivalled experience in testing a wide range of materials including: -

· Nickel Alloys

· Aluminium Alloys

· Copper Alloys

· Stainless Steels, including Duplex and Austenitics.

Bodycote Testing Group provides the definitive mechanical testing service to facilitate early product release or production start.

On the occasion of last year’s International Forum for Materials Testing, testing machine manufacturer Zwick is presenting its Z1200E model as an expansion of the product line. This significantly increases the nominal load range for spindle-driven testing machines from the previous 600 kN to 1200 kN. The machine was designed to meet the needs for tensile, compression, and bending testing of steel specimens and components.

With a long traverse path for a relatively low overall height, the testing machine allows trouble-free clamping and convenient testing of specimens of diverse lengths. It is further distinguished by its extensive force measurement range (from 2.4 kN in class 1 and from 12 kN in class 0.5 in accordance with ISO 7500), which does not require an alteration or measurement range change-over.

The testing machine has a particularly robust and stable load frame with an electromechanical drive over free-from-play mounted ball screws. The standard machine comes with hydraulic specimen grips equipped with 1200 kN nominal force. The determination of the proof stress requires an accurate extensometer. The incremental macro extensometer meets the stringent requirements.

The extremely high traverse path resolution and position-repeat accuracy guarantees exact testing results and high repeatability. A maintenance-free AC servo drive, very low operating costs, and no consequential costs are further advantages for the user.

As the basis for many national regulations, the standard regulation for tensile tests, ISO 6892, determines the testing methods for the tensile test. There are still slight discrepancies in the specimen shape, the testing speed, and the method for determining the results. With a testXpert® standard testing program however, the user can depend on always using the correct test parameters regardless of whether testing according to ISO, EN or ASTM. With an application program from the new testXpert® testing software, the test becomes simple and reliable.

Abstract

This introductory paper describes the current state of R&D in materials science and engineering in Indonesia. The paper reviews the industries that produce materials, as well as industries that utilize materials. Study programs in material science and engineering are available in the University of Indonesia (Jakarta), ITB (Bandung) and ITS (Surabaya). Moreover, materials technology are included also at other departments, such as the Depertment of Chemistry and Physics of other universities. Research is performed at the universities, government research agencies and to a certain extent in industries. The activities of the Reserch and Development materials technology are briefly highlighted.

Introduction Indonesia has a many of natural resources, such as minerals, coal, oil and gas, as well as tropical rain forest and plantations which should be a good starting point to build materials industry. But the richness in natural resources is not enough, we need technology, educated people, finance, management, etc, and above all integrity of the people. A brief review on materials industries and its utilization in Indonesia [1] as well as its research effort is presented in this paper. With annual production of about two million tons of steel, the Krakatau Steel Ltd in Cilegon is the largest steel plant in Indonesia and the only steel industry which starts from iron ore to produce long and flat products. Pellets of iron ore which are imported from Brazil and Sweden are directly reduced in the HyL III plants. The source of energy as well as reductor is natural gas (mostly methane) coming from Cilamaya Area - West Java through pipeline of approximately 300 km long. The steel making process is performed in electric arc furnaces (EAF) with sponge iron and small portion of steel scrap as input materials. Further processes are classics, namely hot rolling processes on the slabs and billets to produce plates, reinforcing bars, profiles and wire rods. Most of the steel belong to the group of structural steel. Steel sheets are produced in the cold rolling mill, followed by annealing and temper rolling. A large portion of the steel plates are to produce steel pipe, mostly for the oil and gas industries. The steel pipes produced meet the API 5L X65 grade, also linepipe for sour gas service. A large part of the steel sheets are utilized by automotive industries for car frame and body. The steel sheets meet the formability requirements for stretch-forming and deep-drawing. Another portions of steel plates and sheet go to the construction fabrication industries, for example the manufacturers of agro-industries equipments: palm oil, sugar, tea, etc., LPG gas container heat exchangers, oil & gas platform, ships and railway coach and wagons, as well as to the general fabricators. Steel industries which are mostly located in the region of Jakarta and Surabaya start with steel scrap as raw material for their EAF, while the others start from billets to produce reinforcing bars. Other steel industries are located in Medan-North Sumatra and Makassar-South Sulawesi. Some ideas have emerged in employing coal base iron reduction process. Thus, utilize Indonesian coal as a part of the reduction process. The lengthy economic crisis has delayed its further development. A similar case has occurred with the development of a stainless steel plant. Bearing in mind that steel products should be developed, there are on-going R&D projects on specialty steels, such as (HSLA), transformer sheet, and high strength-high ductility-high formability steel sheet. In the field of steel casting, there are foundry industries whose products are to serve the mining industries, cement plants, sugar industry, heavy equipment, etc. In the field of cast iron, most of the industries utilize scrap as raw material. In the case of steel scrap as input material, induction furnaces are used, while the scrap of cast iron as well as sponge iron and imported pig iron are melted in the cupola furnaces. Most of the cast iron castings is gray type, and a smaller part is nodular cast iron. A large portion of cast iron products are sent to the automotive industries, such as brake drums, engine blocks and cylinder heads. Other products are train brake shoes, brake valve, pump casing, etc. Extractive industries are in the field of aluminium, tin, nickel and copper. The aluminium plant in Kuala Tanjung - North Sumatra converts the imported alumina to produce aluminium ingot using hot electrolysis process. The aluminium ingot produced by the plant is around 225 000 ton per year. About half of the aluminium ingot is further used by domestic industries. Another half of the ingot production is exported to Japan. Tin mining and tin refining are the oldest metallurgical industry in Indonesia. The mining activities are located in Bangka and Belitung islands, including offshore dredging. The tin smelting plant is located in Muntok - Bangka. Most of the tin is export commodity. A small portion of the tin is used to produce tin plate. In Soroako and Pomalaa-South East Sulawesi there are two industries producing nickel matte and ferro-nickel, respectively. The copper ore mine in Tembagapura in the middle of Papua (or Irian Jaya) sends the slurry of copper concentrate through a pipeline to the harbor of Amamapare. Further extractive processing is performed abroad. A part of the concentrate is processed at a copper refining and smelting plant in Gresik - East Java. There are several semi-finished products of copper produced by Indonesian industry, such as wire and cable mostly for the electric power distribution and telecommunication. Some of the industries start with the remelting of copper ingot and scrap, while the others start with hot rolling of copper billet and followed by wire drawing and annealing process. In the field of aluminium, several extrusion plants start with aluminium ingot melting and alloying to produce billets by semi-continuous casting. Most of them have their own dies shop. All of them have heat treatment facilities for the extruded profiles. Some of them have surface treatment facilities as well, i.e. anodizing. Finished parts of aluminium alloys are manufactured for the automotive industries, such as engine block, cylinder head, piston and motorcycle’s wheel hub. It is also interesting to note that recycling activity has an important role. It is mainly due to the cheap labor force. Many people make their in come in collecting, classifying and selling scraps. Beside recycling of steel, cast iron and aluminium scrap, there are significant use of recycled lead, especially for the manufacturing of battery cells. The upstream polymer industries producing raw materials for polymer industries are located in petrochemical centers, such in Palembang-South Sumatra, and Cilegon and Merak-Banten. All products are derivatives of petrochemical products. The down stream polymer industries came to Indonesia earlier than the upstream industry. They produce semi-finished and finished products. In terms on “continuity” of processing, it is still further from “continuous”. There are several “missing links” in the chains of processing from upstream to downstream. Natural polymers such as rubber and cellulose have high economic values. The rubber plantation has been the traditional agro-industry which employ many people as it is labor intensive. The uses of blend of natural - and synthetic rubber are found in several engineering finished products. Pulp from the domestic forestry is the main raw material for the paper industry. Other natural polymers such as bamboo and ijuk (palm tree fibers) are still further developed to have a better - and smarter use of it. The development of natural silk industry is an on-going stage in at least two provinces: West Java and South Sulawesi. The improvement in the ceramics industry is probably in the method of processing and handling, i.e. the use of machinery in forming and firing equipment. Other clay based ceramics are floor-tiles and wall-tiles, as well as bath room wares on which glazing process is needed to close the pores. Engineering ceramics such as insulators up to medium voltage electric power transmission (20kV) are manufactured domestically. Fine ceramics which are still in small production find their application in the electronic components such as resistors. Glass fibers are produced by an industry in the viccinity of Jakarta. The uses of composites are mostly for small size water tank, bathtub, furnitures, panels for car, bus and truck, boats and yacht. They are manufactured using glass fiber and liquid resin which cured at room temperature. The application of composites in the Indonesian aircraft industry and airlines so far are still limited to the non structural members, such as fairings, wing trailing edges and interior panels, although its application for the load carrying structure is under development. All of composite parts in the aircraft are manufactured from prepreg. The curing process takes place at elevated temperature, mostly in the autoclave. Study Programs in Materials Engineering Usually the fields or topics in materials are treated separately in various departments, for instance extractive metallurgy in the mining department, manufacturing technology of metals in mechanical engineering, polymer sciences in chemistry department, manufacturing technology of polymers in chemical engineering, magnetic and electronic materials in department of physics. Study program in materials engineering – as an integrated effort- is rather new in Indonesia. ITB (Institute of Technology, Bandung) started to open an undergraduate program in materials engineering in 1995, while the graduate program in materials science & engineering was started three years earlier. A rather similar approach has been followed by UI (Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta) and ITS (Surabaya). There are ~ 45 new students annually at the study program in Materials Engineering of ITB. In each new academic year the graduate program has approximately 10 to 15 new participants from various disciplines, such as chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, etc. Scheme of Research Funding We are fostering the tradition of research which practically did not exist until recently. Research works are performed in the Universities and the Research Institutes, such as LIPI (The Indonesian Institute of Science), BATAN (The National Agency for Nuclear Energy), BPPT (The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology), etc. Some of the research funding is provided by the government. At the moment, the industries show more interest in the development and “trouble-shooting” type of work. The government, through the ministry of research and technology has various funding schemes to support research activities: bottom-up proposals, as well as top-down research topics. Research funds are to be competed among team researchers. The topics are grouped and assessed by ten panels, as follows: · System and Policy · Agriculture and Food · Health · Environment · Earth & Marine Sciences &Aerospace · Transportation · Energy · Manufacturing · Micro-electronics & Informatics · Materials The number of topics ( for the ten groups of fields) funded under these scheme in the last ten years is summarized in Table 1 [2]. Table 1.Number of Research Topics funded by the Ministry of Research & Technology RUT Tahun Total 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 I 1 109 295 2 103 3 83 II 1 149 369 2 135 3 85 III 1 142 343 2 131 3 70 IV 1 106 235 2 95 3 35 V 1 153 400 2 143 3 104 VI 1 148 335 2 121 3 66 VII 1 110 252 2 92 3 50 VIII 1 163 399 2 154 3 82 IX 1 90 179 2 89 X 1 62 62 Total 109 252 360 322 318 326 335 158 213 244 233 2870 Another scheme is the so called partnership research, in which a company or an industry is encouraged to perform joint research with an institute. The result is expected to be a pilot processing unit. The company should share the research cost. Therefore the proposed topics should be of the interest of the industry involved. The Department of National Education provides funds to be competed by the academic staffs. This scheme is to improve their ability in performing research. Research in Materials Engineering The topics can be classified in two main streams, namely the structural materials and the functional materials. In the structural materials are for instance the development of high performance concrete, bamboo composites, housing panels. In the functional materials there are research in thin films, membranes, degradable polymers. The key players from the universities in material research are mostly staff members from UI, ITB, UGM and ITS. While from the research institutes are from LIPI (from Institutes for Applied Chemistry, Applied Physics and Metallurgy), BATAN (from the Material Center), from BPPT (from the Institute for Testing & Construction). Just until recently there are new teams from outside Java, for instance from Medan, Bandar Lampung and Makassar). Closing Remarks An overall evaluation on the research scheme has been made [2]. Some important points are as follows: · The scheme of funding has improved the communication among researchers. · It has reduced the iddle time of laboratory equipment. However it shows only a small economic impact. Its results are not attractive enough to the potential users. The results should be further worked-out as pilot processes.