Applications open for accessing to free innovative fracture characterisation tests to address cracking in metal components
SMEs and companies in the metal sector can now apply to receive free services to understand cracking problems, improving part performance, and preventing production losses
- ToughSteel disseminates the benefits of fracture toughness as a tool to address cracking problems in forming and in-service performance of Advanced High Strength Steels.
- Applications for the Open Call are open until the 7th of November 2022 for companies in the metal sector willing to address cracking problems such as edge-cracking, flangeability or crashworthiness.
The ToughSteel project launches an Open Call to help companies of the metal sector to characterise metals’ fracture properties to predict cracking and prevent production losses, tackling challenges in formability and part quality assessment.
Through the ToughSteel Open Call, successful applicants can access an innovative fracture toughness characterisation service in accordance to the EWF methodology to solve the cracking problems. This method is one of the most suited to evaluate the crack initiation and propagation resistance of thin metal sheets, as the values obtained by means of the EWF methodology are useful to assess the cracking susceptibility of high-strength sheet metal products and predict in-service crack-related problems that cannot be addressed using conventional ductility criteria, like edge cracking in cold forming or crack formation under crash loading.
The Open Call aims to provide applicants with fracture toughness results of the analysed steels sheets to better predict the formation of defects in an early stage of design and forecast part performance, as well as assess coil quality and allow for a better materials’ selection for specific components.
ToughSteel’s Open Call objective is to “provide companies with the possibility to test free of charge how an innovative fracture toughness characterisation approaches can address their problems”, explains David Frómeta, ToughSteel technical coordinator and researcher of the Metallic and Ceramic Materials Unit at Eurecat technology center.
“Companies applying will be able to obtain data to evaluate crack initiation and propagation resistance of thin metal sheets”, adds Frómeta, which can result in an increase of the usage of high-strength sheet materials for high-added value products in different applications.
The call for receiving applications is open and will run from October 1 until November 7, 2022. Applicants can propose a problem to be solved by ToughSteel partners and will receive technical services, advisory support and visibility through ToughSteel project channels.
After the assessment of proposals during November 2022, selected applicants will start their activities in December, which will last until March 2023, finalising with a public workshop to present the main results obtained.
The ToughSteel project involves and engages the main actors of the sheet metal forming community with the objective to promote, disseminate and transfer the know-how acquired about the use of fracture toughness as a tool to address cracking problems in forming and in-service performance of Advanced High Strength Steels.
ToughSteel project is executed by an consortium of eight institutions from four European countries: Eurecat Technology Center which is coordinating the project, together with Luleå Tekniska Universitet, (Sweden), the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), the Stellantis research centre CRF (Italy), the steel associations Jernkontoret (Sweden), UNESID – Unión de Empresas Siderúrgicas (Spain), the Associazione Italiana di Metallurgia – AIM (Italy), and UNE (Spain) as the standardisation body.
