Johan Hektor
Senior lecturer/Associate Professor

Presentation

My research uses advanced X-ray and neutron imaging to look inside engineering materials as they are being used, rather than after they fail. By applying three-dimensional tomography under realistic mechanical, thermal, and environmental conditions, I study how materials deform, accumulate damage, and ultimately break. These experiments are performed in situ and operando, meaning that the internal structure of a material can be observed non-destructively while it is loaded, heated, or exposed to its working environment. This makes it possible to follow critical processes as they unfold in real time and in three dimensions.

A key focus of my work is understanding how microscopic features give rise to macroscopic behaviour. In addition to imaging internal damage and morphology, I use diffraction-based techniques such as three-dimensional X-ray diffraction (3DXRD) to resolve the behaviour of individual grains within polycrystalline materials. These methods reveal how crystal orientation, internal stress, and grain-scale deformation evolve during use, providing a detailed picture of how complex materials respond to applied loads.

By combining imaging and diffraction, my research connects events at the scale of individual grains to the overall performance of engineering components. This integrated perspective helps explain why materials succeed or fail in service and provides experimental foundations for improving predictive models. Ultimately, the goal is to support the design of safer, more reliable, and longer-lasting materials by understanding what happens inside them when they are pushed to their limits.