The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA), with assistance from its PM RADNET (Academic Network) working group, has reported that it has embarked on a Europe-wide mapping exercise of Powder Metallurgy research and development centres. The EPMA PM R&D Centres Mapping Project is aimed at highlighting the number of R&D centres in Europe that are working on various PM related Read more→

Creusot : naissance d’« Excalibure », nouveau pôle d’excellence en métallurgie. Une association d’entreprises et d’organismes publics a été créée ce lundi 20 février au Creusot dans le domaine de la métallurgie des poudres, une spécialité qui va permettre de forger des pièces avec plus de précision et de qualité. Déjà 8 entreprises de plusieurs régions françaises ont intégré le cluster, dont Areva, Arcelor Mittal, Solcera (une entreprise de céramique) ou encore Lisi Aérospace qui travaille dans l’aérospatiale. Elles travailleront avec des organismes publics comme l’Université de Bourgogne, le Pôle de l’Industrie Nucléaire en Bourgogne, l’agence de développement Ecosphère.

C’est fait ! Ce lundi 20 Février à 14h52 a officiellement été créée l’association Excalibure qui portera l’avènement de la métallurgie des poudres dans le berceau de la révolution industrielle. Un clin d’œil à l’histoire, autant qu’une projection dans l’avenir.

C’était en décembre 1785. Avec une première coulée de fonte au coke en Europe continentale, Le Creusot était devenu le berceau de la révolution industrielle. Depuis plus de deux siècles, la production métallurgique a toujours été le fruit de coulée de métal en fusion, ce qui aRead more→

A key objective of the affordable strategy is that the nuclear components can be fabricated to the exacting tolerances demanded by the designers. This includes not only the physical dimensions, but also density and crystalline phase of the alloys. The materials’ characteristics determine thermal and mechanical performance of the core, which in turn affects its nuclear performance. After several joint efforts, an exact replica of the kiloPower core was fabricated at Y-12 with depleted uranium (Credit Photo @ LANL)

For the past five decades – from the Apollo-era lunar science experiments to the Mars Curiosity and the New Horizons missions – Pu-238 Radioisotope Thermal Generators (RTG) have served as a power source. While some of the NASA’s forays will continue to rely on these RTGs, others will require larger power sources to enable human Read more→

(Le futur toit en métal photovoltaïque – ( Credit Photo @ Eric Destiné – RTBF)

Aujourd’hui un enjeu majeur pour les entreprises sidérurgiques, c’est développer des aciers à haute valeur ajoutée plus résistant, plus léger, avec un coût sous contrôle mais aussi des aciers dits “intelligents” ou “connectés”. Créer ce métal de demain, c’est notamment la mission du CRM Group à Liège. Un groupe de recherche qui développe ces technologies pour le compte de ses partenaires industriels comme, par Read more→

As the world’s biggest ball-point pen maker, China’s more than 3,000 pen manufacturers have been producing more than 40 billion pens annually, according to the Shanxi province-based steelmaker. Taiyuan Steel, one of the country’s largest stainless-steel makers, said after close to 100 experiments, it had made “major breakthroughs” on seven technical challenges. They include the steel’s performance stability, corrosion resistance and “free-cutting” property that allows it to be machined easily. Among other challenges are coming up with the right process for blending different metals in the alloy and harmless treatment of impurities. Taiyuan Steel said its product was subject to 1,000 tests in a laboratory of a major domestic pen producer, and a pen made of the material was demonstrated to be able to write for 800 metres at different angles without a break. On photo A worker checks newly produced steel components for pen tips at Taiyuan Steel. (Credit Photo: Xinhua)

Shanxi-based Taiyuan Iron & SteelCo Ltd, or Tisco, one of China’s major stainless steel producers, has independently developed the special steel needed to make the feedstock for ballpoint pens tips. It is hoped this will replace the annual import of 1,000 metric tons of special steelRead more→

In the project Z-Ultra, a 12-ton forging was produced as a demonstrator. (Credit Photo © Saarschmiede)

As the most important industrial construction material, with more than 2,500 grades, steel is highly specialized for diverse applications. Even the smallest changes of the composition can modify the material structure on an atomic scale and improve material properties on the macroscale. The consortium of the EU-project Z-Ultra, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, has developed new 12% chromium alloys for high-temperature applications that are up to 30% stronger than traditional 9% chromium steels and withstand higher temperatures and pressures for a longer period of time. Atomistic simulations supported the development of the new steel alloys in a targeted manner.

Higher operating temperatures in gas and coal power plants mean higher efficiencies and, therefore, less CO2 emissions per kilowatt-hour of electricity. However, the temperature capacity of real materials is naturally limited. The materials used in power plants (usually steels) Read more→

Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. (January 23, 2017) Matthew Minnick (left center), a materials engineer at Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), explains how the center is using Cold Spray Additive Technology to Marine Corps Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation (Sustainment), William E. Taylor. Taylor, a member of the Senior Executive Service, visited FRCSW to learn about the Cold Spray process to repair aircraft components. The additive, solid-state thermal spray can restore components’ critical dimensional features that have been lost due to corrosion, wear or mechanical damage. Listening behind them are (l to r) Chris Root, FRSCW advanced technologies lead, Tim Woods, FRCSW materials laboratory supervisor, and Gabe Draguicevich, FRCSW manufacturing department head. U.S. Navy (Credit Photo @ US Navy )

SAN DIEGO (NNS) — The Marine Corps Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation (Sustainment), William E. Taylor, visited Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) Jan. 23 to learn more about cold spray additive technology. Engineers and artisans from FRCSW didRead more→

The metallurgy disruption is coming and it will revolutionize how materials are designed, manufactured and controlled during the entire life cycle. This revolution is based on three science fields :  Big Data, Machine Learning, and Genetic Algorithms. After the Medtech,  the Biotech, the Cleantech, the Finetech industries,   now its up to “Metaltech” to take the lead  for the next 100 years. Read the futuristic paper published by NATURE magazine entitled ” Can Artificial Intelligence Create the Next Wonder Material ?

AA 

It’s a strong contender for the geekiest video ever made: a close-up of a smartphone with line upon line of numbers and symbols scrolling down the screen. But when visitors stop by Nicola Marzari’s office, which overlooks Lake Geneva, he can hardly wait to show it off. “It’s from 2010,” he says, “and this is my cellphone calculating the electronic structure of silicon in real time!” Even back then, explains Marzari, a physicist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, his now-ancient handset took just 40 seconds to Read more→