M2i is proud to announce that two projects submitted to the Material Challenges call 2019 were granted by NWO.
“Designing hydrogen-resistant alloys through novel multi-scale modeling and experimentation” (De-Hy), project leader Dr. Poulumi Dey (TU Delft), co-applicants Dr. Vera Popovich (TU Delft) and Dr. Francesco Maresca (RUG). The project is supported by a consortium of industrial partners Tata Steel, Allseas Engineering, Koninklijke Nedschroef Holding and Daimler. NWO project grant is €730,000.
The project will tackle the most difficult to understand phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) in steels. Hydrogen embrittlement is an outstanding problem in the mechanics of structural metals which results in the loss of mechanical properties, such as strength and deformability, when hydrogen is present in metals or its surrounding environment (water, acids, …). In spite of the numerous scientific efforts, the ambiguity related to fundamental mechanisms behind hydrogen embrittlement still persists. The proposed work will provide deeper insights into underlying mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement. The project approach consists in multi-scale modelling-experimentation synergy based on Density Functional Theory, Molecular Dynamics, crystal plasticity and advanced HE experimental characterization that will connect atomistic information with microstructural behaviour of multi-phase steels in presence of hydrogen, enabling design of new steels that are resistant to hydrogen embrittlement. The novel methodology developed within the project for steels, will be transferrable to other technologically relevant materials e.g. superalloys and the novel high-entropy alloys. Strong collaborations with the world’s leading universities and research institutes such as University of Cambridge (Prof. Gábor Csányi) and Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH (Prof. Dierk Raabe) will be established on the fundamental side of the project.
“Dissipative Metamaterials”, project leader Dr. Corentin Coulais (UvA). The project is supported by a consortium of industrial partners Tata Steel, ATG Europe and Livit. NWO project grant is €750,000.
In this project researchers will look at how the extreme mechanics of metamaterials can be used to achieve on-demand damping of shocks and vibrations performances. Specifically, by generalizing the geometrical framework to allow for dissipative degrees of freedom and by validating it through a wide array of experimental and numerical techniques. Metamaterials are man-made materials with extraordinary properties that come from their geometrical structure rather than their chemical composition. This project will lead to a full picture of the mechanics of viscoelastic metamaterial under dynamic loading conditions and provide new vistas for the control of dissipation using viscoelastic metamaterials, relevant in e.g. damping devices in aerospace, sandwich structures for automotive and buildings as well as orthopedic devices.
