Casting: single-crystal/investment casting of superalloys for aerospace and power generation applications.

The Casting Theme in IMPaCT Centre provides a focal point of research in the science and engineering of solidification processing.

The goal of research in the Casting theme is to perform fundamental research in solidification science while working with industry to advance commercial metal casting practices and develop new commercial solidification processes

We aim to produce technologically relevant solidification science and future technical leaders who have unique research experience and lead the UK will lead the UK, in particular the aerospace and energy sectors, to new levels of innovation and value-add.

The span of casting research will support broad industry needs in four thrust areas: single-crystal and investment casting, high temperature materials and processes, fundamental of solidification, speciality materials and processes.

Single-crystal investment casting: in collaborating with IMPacT partners, e.g. Rolls-Royce, Doncasters we will use state-of-art research facility to design and optimise investing casting process for single-crystal components in gas turbine engines for aerospace and power generation applications. Research projects includes, novel process, microstructural development, metal filling, and mould- and refractory-metal interaction, novel heat treatment

High temperature materials and processes: it aims to develop new casting processes for the future high temperature materials, e.g. new intermetallic systems.

Fundamental of Solidification: This area includes fundamental study of nucleation and growth using synchrotron X-ray and multi-scale and multi-physics modelling

Specialty alloys and processes: it covers a wide range of solidification science and technology areas, including fabricating a super-hydrophobic film on alloy surface, magnesium alloys and processing.

Materials characterisation and performance evaluation theme has a broad coverage of research and development on both the theoretical and practical aspects of the processing, structure, properties, and performance of materials used in mechanical, transportation, aerospace, energy and medical devices.

In collaboration with IMPaCT industrial partners, research topics in this theme cover: Integrity of materials in mechanical testing, Fatigue and fracture, Corrosion, Wear and erosion, Integrity of components and systems such as gas and oil transportation systems.

The structural behaviour of metals can be described using various scales, ranging from atomistic, nanoscale, microscale, mesoscale and finally macroscale. Computational modelling of metal processes using the Finite Element (FE) method has been mainly focussed on the macro (continuum) level where the different microstructures, voids, and phases are not modelled, but are incorporated in the material constitutive laws.

Multi-scale modelling attempts to bridge the gap between different length and time scales. For example, damage models are usually phenomenologically-based and do not model the polycrystalline and intergrannular ductile damage in metals.

More recently, multi-scale modelling techniques, such the Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Method (CPFEM), have been used to link the micro and macro behaviour of metals. Multi-scale models provide industry with valuable tools for designing new metal products and processes.

Research projects in this IMPaCT theme will address the challenges associated with modelling materials at the different scales.

Net shape manufacturing technologies aim at producing a part to its final or near-to-final shape in a single process to reduce the machining and finishing operations that are believed to account for more than half of the cost of some high-value engineering components.

This category of manufacturing technologies includes powder metallurgy, advanced metal forming (e.g. superplastic forming), novel joining technologies, (e.g. friction joining), and additive manufacturing.

The underlying materials sciences for these technologies requires an in-depth understanding of various microstructural mechanisms such as sintering, high temperature deformation, and solidification to understand how to tailor these manufacturing technologies by controlling the process variables to achieve the desired material performance.

As an enabling technology, Surface Engineering has an underpinning role across the full spectrum of metal processing industry and has produced huge technological, economic and societal impacts via reduction in capital investment, increased profitability, design changes, environmental benefits and technical innovation.

Technologically, advanced surface engineering can provide superior mechanical, chemical and tribological properties for reliable, long-life and high-performance manufacturing products.

Economically, the current surface engineering market is estimated to be about £30 billion in the UK and surface engineering has critically affected circa £150bn manufacturing products.

Ecologically, the application of advanced surface engineering technologies can prolong the lifespan of manufacturing products and remanufactured components.

This will effectively reduce the consumption of energy and nature resources and reduce carbon footprints, thus contributing to sustainable and green manufacturing.

Clearly, Surface Engineering is one of the key metal processing/manufacturing technologies of the 21^st century.

The advent of Nanotechnology is one of the most important transformations in the materials science. Lying at the heart of nanotechnology are novel nanomaterials, which possess distinct and fascinating properties compared with the bulk counterparts, primarily due to the quantum confinement and the very large surface-to-volume ratios. Nanomaterials have now been applied in medicine, electronic and opto-electronic devices, catalysis, and even consumer products such as clothing and sunscreen creams.

There is an increasing transition worldwide toward the use of nanotechnologies, which offers a significant economic opportunity for the UK. The global revenue from nano-enabled products has undergone rapid grow, from $339 billion in 2010 to $731 billion in 2012, and is expected to reach $4.4 trillion by 2018. UK is one of the major players with strength in nano-optics and nanoscale materials, and it is important for the UK to build upon its existing commercial strength in nanotechnologies in order to exploit this opportunity for business growth.

Synthesis of nanomaterials plays a central role in nanoscience and nanotechnology as this determines the properties and thus the applications of nanomaterials. For metal processing/manufacturing, novel nanomaterials can be tailored to offer improved strength and flexibility, and other properties such as corrosion-resistant and magnetic properties.

Welding is the process used to join materials by applying heat, sometimes with pressure and sometimes with an intermediate or filler metal.

Welding is probably the most important technique for fabricating complex structures in engineering alloys such as aluminium, titanium, nickel and steel.

Fusion welding processes which involve melting of the parts to be joined by, for example, an electric arc or a laser, are more commonly used in industry than solid state welding where high pressure is used to create solid state bonding.

In spite of the great importance of welding, there is insufficient research on topics including weld metallurgy, dissimilar metal welds, modelling and simulation of welding processes, structural integrity of welded joints in service.

These areas are all ones which will be included in the portfolio of research projects at IMPaCT.