Metallic and Ceramic Materials

Measurement of toughness in high-strength steels sheets to predict fractures in car components, during service or forming. In Tough-Sheet project, the fracture toughness of advanced high strength steel (AHSS) sheets used in automotive industry has been evaluated to improve material selection in cold sheet metal forming and assess crashworthiness of structural and safety components. The method used to achieve this is the Essential Work of Fracture methodology (EWF), commonly applied to characterise polymeric thin films. The application of this project has provided a new mechanical property, fracture toughness, to consider in high strength sheet products, which [...]

System for detection and diagnosis of mechanical failures based on acoustic emissions for a predictive maintenance in railway deviation systems. Predivia has developed technologies that allow the detection and monitoring incipient issues of cracks in critical elements of the railway infrastructure, as well as forecast their evolution, allowing to predict the fracture of the component once a crack is detected. The Predivia innovation allows to continuously supervision of railway infrastructure elements in order to substantially increase the infrastructure’s security, as well as reduce the operation and maintenance costs, maximising the availability of the infrastructure, increasing its [...]

Development of innovative coating and surface treatment technologies for biomedical applications obtained by means of vacuum plasma assisted deposition techniques. The BIOPLASMA project develops advanced and innovative coatings for biomedical applications, such as prosthesis or implants, with the aim to improve the biological response of these components, eliminating the clinical and surgical complications derived from both chemical and mechanical lack of biocompatibility and biostability. The solution of BIOPLASMA develops coatings with good wear resistance, a high hardness and adhesion, a low coefficient of friction and good antibacterial properties, among other improvements. To obtain these innovations, different [...]

Educational programme that aims to spread the issues related to Critical Raw Materials (CRM) through an in-field training programme, and a software tool to support engineers and industrial designers to promote a more responsible and sustainable materials selection process. Currently, materials are selected in mechanical design with no integration among performance, supply risks and sustainability requirements. To fill this gap, DERMAP project develops pilot training instruments with educational content focused on the selection of materials, based on CRM issues. Within the framework of the project, industrial courses are promoted to implement these tools and make designers [...]

European Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) driving competitiveness to the sheet metal forming industries. The FormPlanet project responds to challenges of the sheet metal forming industry, optimizing the development, design, production and performance of high-strength metals while reducing production costs and time-to-market for sheet products. FormPlanet, coordinated by Eurecat, is developing new material characterisation techniques and new modelling approaches to predict the performance of pieces and possible defects in an initial design state. Apart from this, FormPlanet also offers innovative and transversal services related with the compliance with regulations, access, the traceability of material data and [...]

Investigation of the effects of the microstructure on the fracture resistance of 3rd generation advanced high strength steels (3rd Gen AHSS) in order to optimize their crash resistance. Crash&Though project will permit to trigger the application of these steels in the manufacturing of safety automotive components, achieving weight savings of about 20% at affordable costs. The project will end up with the required knowledge to develop 3rd Gen AHSS optimized for crash together with new and more accurate finite element models to predict the crash behavior of these materials. The Crash&Tough project is led by Eurecat’s [...]

High-spec aluminium structural and skin pieces for vehicles through research into new manufacturing techniques and strategies oriented towards the sheet metal forming process. During the ALUTOOL project, new components and manufacturing techniques will be created by optimising the combination of the die material, coatings and lubricants to create the best-quality reinforcements with less energy consumption. More specifically, the project will develop dies with special characteristics to form and cut aluminium parts for vehicles and aluminium sheet materials with optimised characteristics, in order to improve the part manufacturing process. In parallel, new, advanced surface treatment processes and [...]

The development and industrial implementation of advanced PVD hard coatings for the application thereof in the shaping, cutting and machining operations of materials used in the automotive and aeronautics sectors. The REDUCA project is developing new materials highly resistant to wear (both abrasive and adhesive) and to mechanical fatigue fracture. The project focuses on the development of thick hard coatings of titanium aluminium nitride (TiAIN) (in the form of a gradient nanostructured layer) and of ultra-hard coatings of amorphous, diamond-like carbon (DLC). It will therefore be necessary to design and implement new and advanced concepts in coatings [...]

The AVINT project aims to develop and introduce an application for predicting the roughness and surface finish of mechanised pieces for their optimal surface integrity. In addition, the project will allow new products and pieces with added value to be obtained, such as mechanised tools, coverings for tools and lubricants/cooling agents. The project focuses its activity on optimising the efficiency of metallic mechanised processes, using simulation and optimisation tools and automatic learning for greater optimisation of the quality control and surface integrity of the components. AVINT is a project of the  RIS3CAT Comunitat Indústries del Futur [...]

Intelligent monitoring system for the predictive maintenance of the critical elements of bogies, based on the processing of acoustic emissions. The BEA project has developed tools to detect, locate and diagnose emerging cracks in the critical elements of bogies, such as the axles and wheel tread, and to predict the development of the fracture once it has been detected. A bogie, the chassis on which a current locomotive or train carriage sits, is made up of a platform of two or three axles and their corresponding wheels, attached to the vehicle through a vertical swivel. The [...]

The aim of INNOESTAMP is to develop and demonstrate a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)-based surface treatment solution able to enhance the performance of tooling for press hardening of steel sheet. The project deals with the development of thick, nanostructured nitride-based PVD coatings and temperature resistant DLC coatings, with enhanced tribological properties through nanostructuring. Factors such as doping or the architecture of the coating and its influence on the final performance will be studied, in order to obtain an optimized solution. These solutions will be demonstrated in a press hardening pilot line, set up and validated during [...]

INNOFORMIN implements an innovative sheet forming center, which will integrate incremental and stretched deformation systems, with the aim of creating a hybrid technology that combines the technologies of Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) and Stretch Forming (SF). The combination of Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) technology, which allows the processing of metal sheets by cold deformation, with the aim of manufacturing pieces with a low initial investment, and Stretch Forming (SF), a process applied to the production of prototypes of single pieces or short series that uses the same tooling as the ISF processes, allows to increase the [...]

The European project HARSHWORK develops a technology to improve the efficiency in the handling and processing processes of raw materials such as copper or nickel, where the impact and wear of industrial components is very high. HARSHWORK will increase the competitiveness of mining companies and manufacturers of industrial equipment for this sector, as well as steel manufacturers and companies in the recycling sector. HARSHWORK counts with the participation of Eurecat’s Metallic and Ceramic Materials Technology Unit , which is dedicated to determine the main wear mechanisms of industrial components to develop a software that allows to [...]

The GEOFIT project develops innovative and optimized geothermal systems with the aim of promoting the use of renewable energies and energy efficiency in the construction sector, mainly in rehabilitation, and implementing advanced methods of inspection based on a multidisciplinary approach. GEOFIT responds to the need to design a methodology that meets the European requirements of quality and comfort of the occupants and the level of CO2 emissions. Eurecat Metallic and Ceramic Materials Unit and Sustainability Unit participate in the project. The contribution of the Metallic and Ceramic Materials Unit is to analyze the failure mechanisms of [...]

Jif2Land project aims to evaluate laminar flow wings technology and to reduce the amount of combustible needed and, ultimately, the environmental and footprint of air transport. The project contributed to the development of the natural laminar flow wing technology and to test the technology on an Airbus A340 aircraft for the validation of the concept; the world’s first commercial test aircraft with a laminar flow wing. The adoption of this technology on commercial aircrafts such as Airbus A340 will allow a considerable reduction in wing friction and will drop CO2 emissions up [...]