Strength Enhancement of Aluminium Extrusion Alloys via Novel Thermal Processes and Alloy Composition Control. The aluminium industry in Australia produces ~4% of total goods and services exports nationally and over $2 billon per year in export earnings. The importance of developing energy-efficient processing and manufacturing technologies for aluminium and its alloys is reflected in the Federal Government's Light Metals Action Agenda. The proposed project has the potential to establish a platfo ....Strength Enhancement of Aluminium Extrusion Alloys via Novel Thermal Processes and Alloy Composition Control. The aluminium industry in Australia produces ~4% of total goods and services exports nationally and over $2 billon per year in export earnings. The importance of developing energy-efficient processing and manufacturing technologies for aluminium and its alloys is reflected in the Federal Government's Light Metals Action Agenda. The proposed project has the potential to establish a platform for intelligent design and development of thermal processing technologies for aluminium extrusion alloys with improved mechanical properties. Such technologies are expected to help the Australian aluminium industry to expand its international market share.Read moreRead less
Isothermal Forging of Titanium Aluminide Based Intermetallic Alloys for Golf Club Head Applications. This project aims to produce prototype premium golf club heads of titanium aluminide alloys using isothermal forging technology. It is expected that innovative materials and processes will be developed that will keep the industry partner, SAT, ahead of its competitors and expand their export market share. It is also anticipated that these advanced materials and processes will lead to further ap ....Isothermal Forging of Titanium Aluminide Based Intermetallic Alloys for Golf Club Head Applications. This project aims to produce prototype premium golf club heads of titanium aluminide alloys using isothermal forging technology. It is expected that innovative materials and processes will be developed that will keep the industry partner, SAT, ahead of its competitors and expand their export market share. It is also anticipated that these advanced materials and processes will lead to further applications in biotechnology and automotive and aerospace engineering.
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Interplay of Microbiological Corrosion and Alloy Microstructure in Failures of Advanced Stainless Steels and their Weldments in Marine Environments. The proposed research program investigates the role of microbiologically-induced corrosion (MIC) on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of weldments of advanced stainless steels (SS). Extensive premature SCC failures of SS weldments have lately become increasingly significant in Australian marine industry, following the inability of advanced SCC-resista ....Interplay of Microbiological Corrosion and Alloy Microstructure in Failures of Advanced Stainless Steels and their Weldments in Marine Environments. The proposed research program investigates the role of microbiologically-induced corrosion (MIC) on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of weldments of advanced stainless steels (SS). Extensive premature SCC failures of SS weldments have lately become increasingly significant in Australian marine industry, following the inability of advanced SCC-resistant SS to alleviate failures. Inconsistencies in SCC data call for an improved understanding of the role of MIC on SCC, particularly because recent failure analyses have indicated a profound role of microbiological activity on localised corrosion (viz., pitting) of stainless steels and their weldments, as well as because pitting is known to facilitate SCC initiation.Read moreRead less
Design Strategy for Cold Roll Formed Products. Roll forming is a widely used metal forming technology in Australia. The demands for shorter lead times, more complex shapes, new high strength materials and more demanding markets such as the automotive industry, requires increased virtual engineering at the design stage. This project will develop the models and tools required to enable the industry to efficiently design robust roll configurations to meet current and future demands. The outcomes ....Design Strategy for Cold Roll Formed Products. Roll forming is a widely used metal forming technology in Australia. The demands for shorter lead times, more complex shapes, new high strength materials and more demanding markets such as the automotive industry, requires increased virtual engineering at the design stage. This project will develop the models and tools required to enable the industry to efficiently design robust roll configurations to meet current and future demands. The outcomes from this project will not only benefit the industry partners involved but the general Australian roll forming industry, opening up new markets and opportunities.Read moreRead less
Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Steel Sheet through Novel Approach in Asymmetric Rolling. Steel sheet production is one of the major industries in Australia, which impacts the automotive and construction industries. There is an ongoing requirement to increase the strength of steel sheet without compromising ductility, which improves the strength / weight ratio and the automobile fuel efficiency. The novel rolling process proposed has the potential to address these requirements. The industrial ....Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Steel Sheet through Novel Approach in Asymmetric Rolling. Steel sheet production is one of the major industries in Australia, which impacts the automotive and construction industries. There is an ongoing requirement to increase the strength of steel sheet without compromising ductility, which improves the strength / weight ratio and the automobile fuel efficiency. The novel rolling process proposed has the potential to address these requirements. The industrial partner Tata Steel is a global steelmaker who has strategic partnerships with Bluescope Steel in Australia. The technology to be developed will be exploited both overseas and within Australia and assist in bringing Australia to a leading position in this area of research.Read moreRead less
Hydro Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) - the way to industrial processing. Australia has rich resources in aluminium, titanium and magnesium. It is of strategic national importance to Australia to change from being an exporter of metals to becoming a purveyor of technology and high-end manufactured products. To compete in the global market, Australia needs to be in a leading position in production of light alloy components for automotive, aerospace, electronic, and bio-medical applications. ....Hydro Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) - the way to industrial processing. Australia has rich resources in aluminium, titanium and magnesium. It is of strategic national importance to Australia to change from being an exporter of metals to becoming a purveyor of technology and high-end manufactured products. To compete in the global market, Australia needs to be in a leading position in production of light alloy components for automotive, aerospace, electronic, and bio-medical applications. The establishment of industrially viable Hydro-ECAP technology for production of bulk ultrafine grained light alloys with superior mechanical properties will lead to a major breakthrough in the use of such materials and will help transforming Australia's metal forming companies to future-oriented manufacturing industries.Read moreRead less
New Wrought Magnesium Alloys: Manipulating the Annealed Microstructure. One of the main impediments to increased use of wrought magnesium is its characteristic but mediocre mechanical properties. The proposed work paves the way for new improved wrought magnesium alloys by determining how the constituent nano-structures, micro-structures and deformation conditions can be manipulated to control the evolution of properties during annealing. The project will deliver mathematical models describing th ....New Wrought Magnesium Alloys: Manipulating the Annealed Microstructure. One of the main impediments to increased use of wrought magnesium is its characteristic but mediocre mechanical properties. The proposed work paves the way for new improved wrought magnesium alloys by determining how the constituent nano-structures, micro-structures and deformation conditions can be manipulated to control the evolution of properties during annealing. The project will deliver mathematical models describing the annealed microstructure and mechanical properties. The work will also explore the potential of a recent discovery made by the CI of a simple technique to randomise the alignment of the annealed atomic lattice structure, which promises to markedly improve formability.Read moreRead less
Development of Ultrafine Aluminium Matrix Composites for Automotive Applications. This project aims at developing aluminium matrix composites using flyash, a waste product from power stations, for automotive applications. It introduces innovative processing and a new generation of metal matrix composites (MMCs) containing ultrafine ceramic particles. These MMCs will be tailored for selected applications such as disc brake rotors and drums. It is expected that an integrated system for processi ....Development of Ultrafine Aluminium Matrix Composites for Automotive Applications. This project aims at developing aluminium matrix composites using flyash, a waste product from power stations, for automotive applications. It introduces innovative processing and a new generation of metal matrix composites (MMCs) containing ultrafine ceramic particles. These MMCs will be tailored for selected applications such as disc brake rotors and drums. It is expected that an integrated system for processing MMCs and forming components be developed and prototype automotive parts produced. The results will lead to further collaborations with automotive parts suppliers in Australia and overseas to develop commercial products and enhance the export capability of the industry.Read moreRead less
DETERMINATION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ENVIRONMENTALLY-ASSISTED CRACKING OF SMALL AND MICROSTRUCTURALLY VARIED REGIONS WHILE MAINTAINING FRACTURE MECHANICS VALIDITY. The proposed work seeks to develop an improved tool for more accurate design data and improved materials selection criteria for critical equipment and infrastructure maintenance in major Australian industries, where environmentally-assisted cracking is a serious concern (viz., marine, polymer/chemical processing, aeronautical, alumina m ....DETERMINATION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ENVIRONMENTALLY-ASSISTED CRACKING OF SMALL AND MICROSTRUCTURALLY VARIED REGIONS WHILE MAINTAINING FRACTURE MECHANICS VALIDITY. The proposed work seeks to develop an improved tool for more accurate design data and improved materials selection criteria for critical equipment and infrastructure maintenance in major Australian industries, where environmentally-assisted cracking is a serious concern (viz., marine, polymer/chemical processing, aeronautical, alumina mineral processing and pulp-and-paper). A successful validation of the novel testing approach (namely, Spiral Notch Torsion Test (SNTT)) for evaluating the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of materials of practical interest that are difficult or impossible to adequately characterize by conventional tests, is as much a fundamental research challenge as its accomplishment will be industrially attractive.Read moreRead less
Improvement in Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of Stainless Steels in Environments Conducive to Localized Pitting Damage. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) represents a serious threat to infrastructure exposed to chloride and caustic environments. The proposed project will characterize the chloride-SCC crack propagation parameters for a super duplex stainless steel, which is the material of construction for vessels for stripping vinyl chloride monomer in a PVC processing plant. Alarmingly hig ....Improvement in Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of Stainless Steels in Environments Conducive to Localized Pitting Damage. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) represents a serious threat to infrastructure exposed to chloride and caustic environments. The proposed project will characterize the chloride-SCC crack propagation parameters for a super duplex stainless steel, which is the material of construction for vessels for stripping vinyl chloride monomer in a PVC processing plant. Alarmingly high numbers the welds (nearly 50%) in the vessel had suffered extensive pitting (which is a well-known SCC initiator) and SCC cracking. For the mitigation measures, the project will also investigate pitting and SCC susceptibility of weldments of alternative varieties of stainless steels, such as Zeron 100.Read moreRead less