Bioinspired interfaces for improved carbon fibre composite performance. Carbon fibre composites, where carbon fibres are embedded in a polymer matrix, are gradually replacing traditional materials such as steel. For example, composites make up 50 per cent of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, resulting in a 20 per cent improvement in fuel economy. There is significant scope for improving the damage tolerance of these materials. A fundamental lack of understanding around the fibre matrix interface currentl ....Bioinspired interfaces for improved carbon fibre composite performance. Carbon fibre composites, where carbon fibres are embedded in a polymer matrix, are gradually replacing traditional materials such as steel. For example, composites make up 50 per cent of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, resulting in a 20 per cent improvement in fuel economy. There is significant scope for improving the damage tolerance of these materials. A fundamental lack of understanding around the fibre matrix interface currently limits the development of new composite systems to overcome the problems with damage tolerance. This project takes inspiration from nature to develop a fundamental understanding of the interfaces within carbon fibre composites and optimise their behaviour via model-guided surface and interface engineering. Read moreRead less
Design of reactive foils for joining amorphous alloys. Amorphous alloys or metallic glasses are special materials that retain the random structure of a liquid but in a solid form. They can show special properties of very high strength, toughness and corrosion resistance. The enormous difficulty in joining amorphous alloys to make larger assemblies is greatly curbing their uptake in technology. In this research, state of the art experimental and computational tools will be used to investigate the ....Design of reactive foils for joining amorphous alloys. Amorphous alloys or metallic glasses are special materials that retain the random structure of a liquid but in a solid form. They can show special properties of very high strength, toughness and corrosion resistance. The enormous difficulty in joining amorphous alloys to make larger assemblies is greatly curbing their uptake in technology. In this research, state of the art experimental and computational tools will be used to investigate the extremely fast high temperature reactions occurring in reactive foils of layered metals which, when inserted at the proposed join and ignited, quickly produce a bond. The research will lay the foundation for a robust and reliable means for joining amorphous alloys by means of reactive foils. Read moreRead less
A New Approach to Advanced Steels via Cluster and Precipitate Strengthening. Formation of interphase nanoparticles and clusters is a new approach to increase strength in advanced high strength steels. Exceptionally high strength levels can be achieved in alloys that only have solute clusters by controlling the temperature-time history. However, the exact mechanism for the formation of clusters and precipitates and the cluster strengthening mechanism are not understood, nor do we know how to cont ....A New Approach to Advanced Steels via Cluster and Precipitate Strengthening. Formation of interphase nanoparticles and clusters is a new approach to increase strength in advanced high strength steels. Exceptionally high strength levels can be achieved in alloys that only have solute clusters by controlling the temperature-time history. However, the exact mechanism for the formation of clusters and precipitates and the cluster strengthening mechanism are not understood, nor do we know how to control cluster formation. This project aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the formation of clusters and nanoprecipitates and determine their contribution to strengthening and other mechanical properties using advanced characterisation techniques such as atom probe tomography and electron microscopy.Read moreRead less
Advanced high strength steels produced by energy efficient direct strip casting. Over one billion tonnes of steel is produced every year and one method of reducing the environmental footprint of this production is through strip casting. This process reduces the energy required to process liquid steel into thin sheet product by an astounding 90 per cent. This proposal aims to expand the application of this technology to new steel grades.
Exploiting Annealing Reactions for New Steel Grade Development. Overseas steel markets are demanding thinner and cheaper formable products. The proposed work aims to establish how the reactions that take place during annealing can be exploited to create new products to meet these needs. The processes of recrystallization texture development, which controls the ease with which the product can be drawn into shapes, precipitate dissolution, which impacts on surface quality, and creep, which can lea ....Exploiting Annealing Reactions for New Steel Grade Development. Overseas steel markets are demanding thinner and cheaper formable products. The proposed work aims to establish how the reactions that take place during annealing can be exploited to create new products to meet these needs. The processes of recrystallization texture development, which controls the ease with which the product can be drawn into shapes, precipitate dissolution, which impacts on surface quality, and creep, which can lead to annealing defects in thin products will be studied. The objective is use the knowledge generated to remove over-design of processing parameters and steel composition to develop new cost effective export grades.Read moreRead less
Effect of Chromium and Manganese on the Formations of Graphite and Carbide on the surface of Low Carbon Sheet Steels. Surface graphite and surface carbide are two surface defects observed in cold-rolled low carbon steel sheets after batch annealing under non-oxidising atmosphere. The surface defects detract from the appearance of the steel sheets and diminish the surface treatment potential of the sheets, causing significant and costly material losses. The aims of the project are to study the in ....Effect of Chromium and Manganese on the Formations of Graphite and Carbide on the surface of Low Carbon Sheet Steels. Surface graphite and surface carbide are two surface defects observed in cold-rolled low carbon steel sheets after batch annealing under non-oxidising atmosphere. The surface defects detract from the appearance of the steel sheets and diminish the surface treatment potential of the sheets, causing significant and costly material losses. The aims of the project are to study the inhibition of surface graphite formation by the additions of Chromium and Manganese and to study the mechanism of formation of surface carbide with the aim of developing an alloying / processing strategy which eliminates both the surface graphite and the surface carbide.Read moreRead less
Role of oxide grain boundaries in controlling high temperature corrosion of steels by carbon dioxide-rich gases. Advanced coal combustion technologies make carbon dioxide capture possible, but require improved materials to handle hot carbon dioxide-rich gases. These gases are surprisingly corrosive and the corrosion process is not fully understood. This project aims to achieve this understanding and to provide the basis for future alloy design.
Optimisation of Nanostructure in new Microalloyed Strip Cast Steels for Control of Properties. Australia is an internationally competitive producer of steel and stands to benefit from the improvements in steel design made possible by a more fundamental understanding of the relationship between steel nanostructure and steel properties and performance. Using targeted microalloying additions, this project aims to develop a new class of strip cast steels that can serve entirely new applications and ....Optimisation of Nanostructure in new Microalloyed Strip Cast Steels for Control of Properties. Australia is an internationally competitive producer of steel and stands to benefit from the improvements in steel design made possible by a more fundamental understanding of the relationship between steel nanostructure and steel properties and performance. Using targeted microalloying additions, this project aims to develop a new class of strip cast steels that can serve entirely new applications and so open up new market growth opportunities in Australia's manufacturing industry. This research falls under the national research priority 'Frontier Technologies for Transforming Australian Industry'.Read moreRead less
New Approaches to Understanding Grain Boundary Chemistry. This project will provide a fundamentally better understanding of the relationship between grain boundary segregation and the recrystallisation behaviour of steel and Al alloys. This knowledge will lead to more efficient thermomechanical processing techniques, which will be of benefit to Australia's steel and light alloy industries. The experimental techniques to be developed will be the first of their kind. They have enormous potential f ....New Approaches to Understanding Grain Boundary Chemistry. This project will provide a fundamentally better understanding of the relationship between grain boundary segregation and the recrystallisation behaviour of steel and Al alloys. This knowledge will lead to more efficient thermomechanical processing techniques, which will be of benefit to Australia's steel and light alloy industries. The experimental techniques to be developed will be the first of their kind. They have enormous potential for use in future segregation studies of other alloy systems and are expected to make a major contribution to fundamental and applied research over the next few years.Read moreRead less
Nanoarchitectured anti-corrosion coatings for zinc-plated steel. Zinc-plated steel is widely used in buildings, households and vehicles, but the long-term performance is limited due to corrosion resulting from exposure to high humidity or alkaline conditions. Currently, available chromium coatings are toxic, while polymeric coatings lack durability. This project aims to use nanotechnology to develop highly effective, multifunctional anti-corrosive coatings in which long-term protection is achiev ....Nanoarchitectured anti-corrosion coatings for zinc-plated steel. Zinc-plated steel is widely used in buildings, households and vehicles, but the long-term performance is limited due to corrosion resulting from exposure to high humidity or alkaline conditions. Currently, available chromium coatings are toxic, while polymeric coatings lack durability. This project aims to use nanotechnology to develop highly effective, multifunctional anti-corrosive coatings in which long-term protection is achieved by controlling the wettability and self-healing properties. The project is excepted to generate new knowledge in coating materials that limit corrosion and address environmental problems. This advanced manufacturing technology should be of high-value benefit to manufacturers and consumers of zinc-plated steel.Read moreRead less