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The research is vertically
integrated in five major groups:
 Ferrous alloys;
Modelling;
Non-ferrous alloys;
Powder metallurgy;
Controls and sensors.
The research projects and IPRO’s are horizontally integrated to encompass
as many of the five research groups as required. The research agenda is
set by the IAB. Typical research areas include:
Microstructures, properties, and characterization
- Phases,
compositions, crystallographic structure, amounts and microstructure
- Thermal, physical
properties determination
- Residual stress
- Distortion
- Densification(P/M)
- Mechanical properties
Processes and control
- Heating technologies
- Furnace materials
- Furnace gas circulation
- View factors
- Induction, laser, salt bath, fluidized bed
- Quenching technologies
- Immersion quenching (water, oil, polymer...), vacuum quenching, spray quenching, agitation
- Carburizing, nitriding, and solutionizing
- Gas atmosphere potentials
- Gas/solid reaction rates at the surface
- Carbon and/or nitrogen distribution in the part and phase distribution
- Dissolution of phases
- Sensor based control
- Relevant process signals of mechanical, electrical, physical, and chemical nature
Sensor technologies
- Controlling algorithms for integrated control
- Environmental issues
- Environmental impact versus competing processes
- Amelioration of environmental impact
Material models and process modeling
- Transformation kinetics based on alloy compositions and microstructures
- Thermodynamics and phase equilibria
- Transformation kinetics, TTT diagrams and calculations
- Dissolution and precipitation, grain growth
- Material databases
- Physical and mechanical properties
- Thermodynamic properties and phase diagrams
- Kinetic constants for gas/solid reactions, diffusivities and chemical potentials
- Surface heat transfer in quenching
- Database of cooling curves
- Inverse calculations
- Experimental validation
- Thermal and mechanics models
- General thermomechanical model
- Transformation plasticity
- Consolidation model for P/M
- Electromagnetic model
- Experimental validation
- System integration
- Three-dimensional FEM model on PC
- Thermal, metallurgical, and mechanics modules
- Variability and sensitivity study
- Graphical user interface
- Postprocessing
- System validation and bench marking
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