ENHANCED PERFORMANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SHEET ALLOYS VIA CONTROL OF COMPOSITION, THERMAL PROCESSING AND NANOSTRUCTURE. This project involves characterisation using modern facilities of the form and identity of atomic-scale clusters of alloying elements in selected automotive sheet alloys that have been subjected to single and multiple ageing treatments and examination and modelling of deformation mechanisms and behaviour in such alloys. The aim is to establish the precise role of clusters of solute a ....ENHANCED PERFORMANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SHEET ALLOYS VIA CONTROL OF COMPOSITION, THERMAL PROCESSING AND NANOSTRUCTURE. This project involves characterisation using modern facilities of the form and identity of atomic-scale clusters of alloying elements in selected automotive sheet alloys that have been subjected to single and multiple ageing treatments and examination and modelling of deformation mechanisms and behaviour in such alloys. The aim is to establish the precise role of clusters of solute atoms and vacancies in the formation of precipitate phases that control the final strength and deformation behaviour of the alloys, and to provide useful guidelines for further improvements in strength of these alloys via the control of alloy composition and of multiple ageing treatments.Read moreRead less
Modelling of Nanostructuring of Bulk Metallic Materials by Severe Plastic Deformation. The use of ultrafine grained alloys is expected to lead to significant breakthroughs in relation to fuel-efficient cars, light weight/high strength designs in aerospace and structural applications, and bio-medical implants. It will provide a wider market for such metals and create niche applications in domestic and export manufacturing industry. The development of technologically viable processes of nanostruct ....Modelling of Nanostructuring of Bulk Metallic Materials by Severe Plastic Deformation. The use of ultrafine grained alloys is expected to lead to significant breakthroughs in relation to fuel-efficient cars, light weight/high strength designs in aerospace and structural applications, and bio-medical implants. It will provide a wider market for such metals and create niche applications in domestic and export manufacturing industry. The development of technologically viable processes of nanostructuring hinges on the fundamental understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of microstructure and texture development. The knowledge base to be developed through this project will bring Australia to the international forefront in the area of structural nanomaterials and prepare the ground for future frontier technologies. 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
Modelling twinning transitions in light metals: a new foundation for alloy and process development. Australia's quest to become a world leader in light metals technology is being held back by a lack of quantitative understanding of the metallurgical behaviour of magnesium, which is the lightest engineering metal, and titanium, which is the strongest light metal. In particular, there is poor knowledge of the influence of material parameters on deformation twinning. This knowledge is vital for eff ....Modelling twinning transitions in light metals: a new foundation for alloy and process development. Australia's quest to become a world leader in light metals technology is being held back by a lack of quantitative understanding of the metallurgical behaviour of magnesium, which is the lightest engineering metal, and titanium, which is the strongest light metal. In particular, there is poor knowledge of the influence of material parameters on deformation twinning. This knowledge is vital for efficient production and optimised alloy and part design. This proposal aims to develop a quantitative understanding of transitions in twinning activation for improved performance in fatigue, crash behaviour, structural integrity, forming, forging, extruding, hot rolling and annealing.Read moreRead less
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
Interactions between Lattice Defects and Nanoscale Solute Aggregates: Strengthening and Creep Mechanisms in Magnesium Alloys. Advances in manufacturing and processing technologies in recent years have brought renewed interests in magnesium alloys for applications at elevated temperatures (100-200°C). Improvement in strength and creep resistance of existing alloys and development of new alloys require better understanding of strengthening and creep mechanisms and their correlations with deformat ....Interactions between Lattice Defects and Nanoscale Solute Aggregates: Strengthening and Creep Mechanisms in Magnesium Alloys. Advances in manufacturing and processing technologies in recent years have brought renewed interests in magnesium alloys for applications at elevated temperatures (100-200°C). Improvement in strength and creep resistance of existing alloys and development of new alloys require better understanding of strengthening and creep mechanisms and their correlations with deformation behaviour of the alloys. In this project, advanced imaging techniques of transmission electron microscopy and three-dimensional atom probe field-ion microscopy, combined with tensile and creep tests, will be used to study interactions between lattice defects and nanoscale solute aggregates and their quantitative effects on deformation behaviour of magnesium alloys at elevated temperatures. The aim of this project is to develop a robust theory for the design of magnesium alloys with improved strength and creep resistance.Read moreRead less
CHARACTERISATION OF DIE CAST MAGNESIUM ALLOYS FOR AUTOMOTIVE POWER TRAIN COMPONENTS. A new group of magnesium die casting alloys has recently been developed for fabricating automotive power train components. While these alloys exhibit good tensile yield strength at both ambient and elevated (100-200°C) temperatures, they are prone to excessive creep deformation when exposed to moderate levels of loads at temperatures above 125°C. The aim of this project is to characterise microstructures of th ....CHARACTERISATION OF DIE CAST MAGNESIUM ALLOYS FOR AUTOMOTIVE POWER TRAIN COMPONENTS. A new group of magnesium die casting alloys has recently been developed for fabricating automotive power train components. While these alloys exhibit good tensile yield strength at both ambient and elevated (100-200°C) temperatures, they are prone to excessive creep deformation when exposed to moderate levels of loads at temperatures above 125°C. The aim of this project is to characterise microstructures of these alloys subjected to controlled levels of creep deformation in the temperature and stress regime of interests, with a view to identifying microstructural factors that are important in determining the creep resistance of die cast magnesium alloys. The outcome of this project will provide useful guidelines for further improvements in creep resistance of these alloys and development of new die cast alloys with higher creep resistance at elevated temperatures.Read moreRead less
A Microstructure Based Approach to Steel Design for Improved Crash Performance. There is a continual need for the automotive industry to develop vehicles with increased fuel efficiency and safety. This research will establish how different types of new advanced steels can contribute to improved crash worthiness, while also helping to increase fuel efficiency through lighter weight. This will lead to the development of new steels that offer even better crash performance while also providing more ....A Microstructure Based Approach to Steel Design for Improved Crash Performance. There is a continual need for the automotive industry to develop vehicles with increased fuel efficiency and safety. This research will establish how different types of new advanced steels can contribute to improved crash worthiness, while also helping to increase fuel efficiency through lighter weight. This will lead to the development of new steels that offer even better crash performance while also providing more realistic computer models for car designers.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL0992361
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,055,030.00
Summary
Metal Processes and Products for a Sustainable Future. The metal manufacturing industry is extremely important to Australia; either directly through local products or indirectly through our mineral exports to the global market. The growth in emerging economies is driving major increases in metal production which currently requires large amounts of energy and production of significant greenhouse gas. Also many of the products, such as automobiles, are contributing to our environmental problems. ....Metal Processes and Products for a Sustainable Future. The metal manufacturing industry is extremely important to Australia; either directly through local products or indirectly through our mineral exports to the global market. The growth in emerging economies is driving major increases in metal production which currently requires large amounts of energy and production of significant greenhouse gas. Also many of the products, such as automobiles, are contributing to our environmental problems. This program of research will develop new processes, such as strip casting, that can radically reduce the production energy and other resource requirements. Also new products that will lead to lighter weight vehicles will be developed.Read moreRead less
Smart Materials Between Two and Three Dimensions. Shape-memory alloys involving martensitic transformations, are important as smart materials. Both the transformation nucleation and the sample morphology are unsolved issues relevant for these applications. Of particular note are the softening of certain lattice-vibrational frequencies, the development of a tweed-like microstructure on cooling the material and the role of defects, particularly the sample surface, in the transformation process. ....Smart Materials Between Two and Three Dimensions. Shape-memory alloys involving martensitic transformations, are important as smart materials. Both the transformation nucleation and the sample morphology are unsolved issues relevant for these applications. Of particular note are the softening of certain lattice-vibrational frequencies, the development of a tweed-like microstructure on cooling the material and the role of defects, particularly the sample surface, in the transformation process. This project addresses these issues using model materials in thin-film and bulk-crystal forms. Capacitance dilatometry, optical, electron and scanning-probe microscopies, and x-ray techniques, will unlock an understanding of the physical and metallurgical conditions controlling these transformations.Read moreRead less