Thermo-Mechanical and Tribology Infrastructure (TMTEST)
- Reference number
- RIF14-0083
- Start and end dates
- 160101-211231
- Amount granted
- 15 000 000 SEK
- Administrative organization
- Luleå University of Technology
- Research area
- Materials Science and Technology
Summary
Reliable mechanical and tribology characterization is pivotal to develop new and innovative material technologies for future mechanical systems, lightweight technologies, energy storage and conversion devices. The mechanical and tribology infrastructure at Luleå University of Technology (LTU) is well-equipped to collect material property data in extreme experimental and environmental conditions. It has been serving academic and industrial communities. The infrastructure has potential to be developed to a “National Thermo-Mechanical and Tribology Infrastructure” with the addition of new technologies and method development. A new thermo-mechanical system with in-situ microstructural observation by laser-ultrasonic technology will be added which will make the infrastructure to an only infrastructure in Europe in its completeness for thermo-mechanical and tribology characterization in broad temperature range. The infrastructure is of strategic relevance, in line with LTU vision 2020. The infrastructure will support projects of strategic relevance e.g. LIGHTER and collaborate with other infrastructure, for instance “National Spark Plasma Sintering Facility” to identify new revolutionary directions of research. The infrastructure fellow (IF) will support strategic research by developing new methods and fulfill needs of the partners. The number of projects and users will be increased during the grant period to make the infrastructure sustainable after the completion of the project.
Popular science description
Establishing a link between processing, microstructure and properties and function of complex materials requires a strong methodological foundation. Several techniques are available for microstructural and property characterizations. Metals, alloys, ceramics, porous materials and composites are important examples of functional materials where a deep understanding of processing, microstructure and properties plays a vital role to achieve high performance. Microstructural engineering is complex but it allows tailoring of the properties of materials to improve properties and lifetime. Integration of processing methods, microstructural control to tailor the properties of metals, alloys and composites are under expansion these days. Researchers are focusing on the inherent complexity of multi-phase nature of materials to design complex structures and materials for applications in automotive, aerospace, energy conversion devices, mining tools and equipment and biomedical application. The growing awareness of energy efficiency and carbon footprint on the planet has drifted the materials research to develop lightweight and energy efficient technologies. This demands a reliable infrastructure for property characterization where accurate experimental test data could be obtained in a broad temperature range to support the breakthrough development of novel materials, mechanical designs and verified models for simulating materials properties. The TMTEST infrastructure proposed in the project is designed for cutting-edge research effort across scientific disciplines involving materials providing researchers and industries with the capability to design materials with tailored properties for the research projects of strategic relevance e.g. materials in energy, mining and lightweight materials. A new thermo-mechanical system with in-situ microstructural observation by laser-ultrasonic technology will be added which will make the infrastructure to an only infrastructure in Europe in its completeness for thermo-mechanical and tribology characterization in broad temperature range.