Objective
The use of titanium, nickel-base, and cobalt-base alloys is necessary for the production of turbine parts and other components in the aerospace and the power generation industry due to their high strength even at elevated temperatures. On the other hand, these materials are known as the most difficult-to-machine metallic materials and so far, only small progress has been made to improve their machinability. During the production of turbine components up to 50% of the manufacturing costs can be related to machining. The reduction of the production costs by the optimization of the cutting process is mandatory for European manufacturers to remain internationally competitive. The MAMINA project will combine the work of 19 European universities, research institutions and industrial companies to analyse and improve the machinability of three selected alloys that are widely used in industry, namely Ti15V3Cr3Al3Sn, a titanium alloy, Inconel IN706, a nickel-base superalloy, and X40, a cobalt-base alloy. As the chip formation is one of the key factors influencing the machinability of these materials, this process will be studied in detail in a multidisciplinary approach. 24 ESR from the fields of theoretical physics, material science and mechanical engineering will be trained and work under the supervision of experienced scientists on cutting experiments, material analyses and simulations at the macro, micro- and nano-scale. Three different approaches will be made to improve the cutting process of the investigated alloys: 1. the introduction of enhanced manufacturing techniques, 2. the production of progressive tools with extended endurance, and 3. the development of free-machining alloys by the use of permanent and temporary alloying elements. The results will be transferred to applications by the industrial partners of the consortium. It is expected that the production costs during machining will be reduced up to 20%.
Fields of science
Keywords
Call for proposal
FP7-PEOPLE-2007-1-1-ITN
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Funding Scheme
MC-ITN - Networks for Initial Training (ITN)Coordinator
38106 Braunschweig
Germany