| |
PROCESSES: IMPROMETA
Improvement of the behaviour in fatigue and the formability of metastable steels through microstructural design.
IMPROMETA is a basic research project financed by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Ministry of science and Innovation). The objective of this project is to improve the mechanical properties of metastable steels. The term "metastable" refers to those materials which can undergo microstructural changes induced by deformation. The initial hypothesis is based on the possibility of optimising the mechanical behaviour through a suitable microstructural design; in other words, "create" different microstructures through thermomechanical treatments and according to the evaluation of the mechanical properties of each of them establish the best combination of microstructural parameters for improving the response of the steels studied. Special emphasis is put on two aspects: formability and response in fatigue. Four different kinds of steels are being studied: TRIP, TWIP, austenitic stainless and duplex stainless. All of them are materials of a great industrial importance, especially for the car industry.
An outstanding aspect of the project is the use of advanced characterisation techniques such as AFM, FIB, EBSD, FESEM, Nanoindentation, etc
Companies and centres which are collaborating on the project apart from CTM: UPC, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo.
Microstructure of a TWIP steel deformed in cold.
|
