Professor Barnett has made significant technical contributions to alloy development in sheet steel research, light metals development, alloy characterisation and alloy functionality.
His area of research involves designing the microstructure of new metal alloys to give enhanced properties. He is particularly interested in manipulating the microstructure to give improved ductility. This requires control over features spanning size scales from small clusters of atoms to meso-crystallographic features up to 1 mm in length. Metals with optimized ductility are more readily manufactured, resist fracture and last longer under mechanical loading. His main strengths are in sheet steels and magnesium alloys. He is also carrying out research into metal particle composites and nano-crystalline electrodeposits.
