Metallic and Ceramic Materials

Development of a complex material model for press hardening of steel, covering mechanical, thermal and metallurgical factors to generate an accurate prediction of the final behaviour of the material. The MiPre project has the objective to improve the accuracy of metallurgical and mechanical modelling to predict material properties in press hardening. Together with improvements in sensoring and process control, these advances will allow a further level of microstructural tailoring, leading to components with locally optimized properties. The use of new press hardening technologies in combination with high strength metallurgical concepts is known to be a competitive [...]

Production of metal glass powder through the development of a new centrifugal atomization technology. The GLASCENT project aims to develop a new technology for producing glass metallic powders. Metallic glasses are metals with an amorphous microstructure that are obtained by rapid cooling techniques. These advanced materials have a huge interest in many fields of engineering due to their combination of properties and characteristics such as a high hardness, a high yield strength and a high fracture toughness or corrosion resistance. The Unit of Metallic and Ceramic Materials of Eurecat participates in the GLASCENT project in the [...]

Control of risk for hydrogen embrittlement (HE) in steels for automotive applications. The CRYSTAL project, coordinated by Eurecat, aims to reduce the hydrogen embrittlement risk in high strength steel parts for the automotive industry. The project will use a novel solid-state gas sensor to quantitatively measure in-situ the hydrogen absorbed during the production of steel parts and during their service life. On the other hand, the CRYSTAL project will also define and determine the best methodology to evaluate HE during steel production and life span of the components. To determine which is the test that allows [...]

New sustainable products through the transformation of ladle slag into high value-added products. The CYCLO-SLAG project develops an innovative and sustainable solution by transforming ladle slag into high value-added products with the aim to promote a sustainable approach and diversify the industrial sectors and markets for the final products. In this way, the use of ladle slag would be made profitable by turning it into a resource capable of generating income and, at the same time, reducing the costs associated with its management, increasing the competitiveness of the company and reducing the environmental impact of steel [...]

Development of an innovative range of dental implants based on new designs and advanced antibacterial surface treatments for the improvement of the biomechanical response. The BIOIMPLANT project has the objective to develop a new range of dental implants based on a new design of the external geometry (obtained from advanced methods of simulation by infinite elements), with a new surface finish obtained by means of a combined treatment of shot blasting and acid etching. Moreover, the new implants promoted by the project are manufactured with a low elastic modulus titanium alloy and provided by a revolutionary [...]

Development of new tests and computer simulation methodologies with the aim of predicting the life of the electric vehicle chassis components and selecting optimal materials. The Fatigue4Light project works on the application of new materials adapted to chassis requirements, such as advanced high-strength steels, special automotive stainless steels, high-strength aluminium alloys and metal-polymer hybrid materials. The innovation of the project manages to reduce the weight of the vehicle chassis up to 30% compared to more innovative solutions and up to 40% compared to some existing applications, taking into account aspects of eco-design and circular economy. The [...]

Development and application of novel retrofitting technologies and equipment for efficient use of Variable feedstock in metal making processes. The REVAMP has the objective to cope with the increasing variability and to ensure an efficient use of the feedstock in terms of materials and energy. These new technologies developed will be exemplarily demonstrated within three different use cases selected due to the industrial relevance: electric and oxygen steelmaking, aluminium refining and lead recycling. Eurecat, through the Metal and Ceramics Materials Unit and the Smart Management Systems Unit, will be mainly involved in the research of the [...]

Development of new models and methods to improve the design capabilities of the hybrid boxes, such as the wings of the airplanes, formed by metallic panels and composite materials components. INNOHYBOX project, coordinated by Eurecat, investigates the thermo-mechanical behaviour of hybrid boxes with the purpose to optimize them by developing a new robust and experimentally validated design. Currently, it is usual to use a combination of metallic and composites materials in the construction of airplanes wings, but it is necessary more knowledge about the hybrid structure to avoid disadjustments between the components, causing thermal stresses and [...]

The objective of effiPRESS project is to characterise and develop hardening processes of greater efficiency and sustainability through hot stamping and the implementation of high strength steels (DOCOL®) and high thermal conductivity steels (HTCS®). Within the framework of the project, addressed especially at the automotive industry, investigations of the assisting heating and cooling processes and sheet forming are aimed at ensuring the comprehensive industrial applicability of the effiPRESS project. The innovation developed during the project has reduced processes times up to 10% by integrating steels with greater resistance into optimized tools with a higher thermal conductivity; [...]

Novel material characterisation and data driven analytics to predict and avoid edge-cracking in safety related automotive parts. Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) have become the dominant material choice for lightweight construction in the automotive and transport sector for its good in-service performance, manufacturability and recyclability. However, in these kind of materials some limitations in cracking resistance and formability appear, which may trigger edge-cracking problems that compromise part quality. CuttingEdge4.0 project develops experimental tools and digital twins for the cutting process and incorporate Industry 4.0 data driven analytics based on Artificial Intelligence and machine learning solutions. The [...]

CERORSOM develops an innovative degassing technology based on the ultrasonic treatment of light metals to demonstrate, for the first time on an industrial scale, that ultrasonic degassing technology can be an efficient resource and environmentally friendly method to be used effectively in industrial conditions. CERORSOM means a significant improvement for the foundry sector of non-ferrous alloys, delivering a solution that improves melt quality by reducing the gas content and oxide formation between 80-90%, and with a reduction of the gas emissions to the environment by 80-100%, allowing the production of high added value casting parts. The [...]

Integrative cutting solutions to produce high performance automotive components with high-manganese (HMnS) steel sheet. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge about the effects of the cutting processes on the mechanical properties and formability of HMnS. This complicates their extensive industrial application because non-optimized cutting could cause a dramatic reduction of part performance. A detailed investigation regarding the quality of the cut edge that determines fatigue and delayed fracture resistance is needed to face the industrial implementation of HMnS in structural vehicle parts. The iCUT project has the objective to describe the relationship between the cut [...]

The Community of Industries of the Future, coordinated by Eurecat and composed of 28 reference entities in the Catalan manufacturing sector, aims to consolidate a leading innovation pole in Efficient and Sustainable  Manufacturing in Catalonia, by creating a network of capacities and local pilot plants that allow the cohesion of integral value chains around industrial R+D+i. The IdF community jointly proposes the realization of 5 strategic projects of applied research and industrial development during the 2018-2020 triennium, focused on the fields of industrial digitization, collaborative robots, advanced processes and functional products. These include the IGNITE project, [...]

OptiQPAP project addresses optimization of performance properties of the Q&P steels for their application in automotive industry. Commercialization of the Quenched and Partitioned (Q&P) steels to a large extent is currently limited by the lack of knowledge on their application related performance properties. This project aims to deliver tools to optimize performance properties of Q&P steels while retaining their high mechanical strength via intelligent microstructural design. The objectives of the OptiQPAP Project, that counts with the participation of Metal and Ceramic Material Unit of Eurecat, include: To gain fundamental knowledge of the principles of microstructural design [...]

Development of new Complex Phase Low Carbon Microalloyed Steels, by optimization of chemistry and thermomechanical processing, i.e. hot rolling and cooling, to simultaneously obtain refined microstructures and arrays of precipitate nanoparticles. The previously unexplored synergies between the elements Nb, Mo, V and Ti on precipitation before, during and after phase transformation from austenite during hot rolling and cooling will be also addressed. NANOFORM project will result in new product concepts optimized with respect to processing parameter windows to give robust mechanical properties, i.e. static and fatigue strength, bendability, hole expandability and toughness. The objectives of this [...]