BeLEADFREE has been conducted by a multidisciplinary consortium with two industrial partners, Daido Industrial Bearings Europe Ltd (United Kingdom) and Elsyca NV (Belgium), who were supported by research partners Fundación Tekniker (Spain) and Coventry University (United Kingdom). The project was developed over 24 months and during this time, the BeLEADFREE consortium took a multidisciplinary approach involving management, research and engineering staff with strong industrial, research and innovation skills in the following areas:
- Engine bearing design, research and manufacturing
- Material and surface engineering
- Material and tribological characterisation
The technical work conducted during the project consisted of 4 main stages:
STAGE 1: Initial work was focused on the definition of a Reference System based on a representative Lead-based bearing material and the evaluation of its environmental and eco-toxicological impact. This was then followed by the characterisation of the novel Lead-free bearing material and its environmental and eco-toxicological impact. Fundamental characterisation and optimisation of the manufacturing process was also conducted as part of this stage.
STAGE 2: Data generated during Stage 1 was used to develop novel designs to optimise the manufacturing process. These designs were implemented into the prototype pilot line constructed as part of this stage. Additional design refinement work was conducted based on results obtained from Stage 3 in order to further optimise the manufacturing process.
STAGE 3: This stage was mainly focused on the full-size preparation of prototype large engine bearings with the novel Lead-free materials and their validation under real working conditions. Prototype bearings with the new Pb-free material were produced for validation in real working conditions. Results confirmed the superior performance of the new Pb-free material under real working conditions.
STAGE 4: Dissemination of the project results to the industrial and academic sectors, environmental policy makers and general public has already started. This included the generation of a project website, press releases, industry workshops, general dissemination articles, presentation at academic conferences and generation of per-review scientific papers. A dissemination plan was developed and implemented to maximise the impact of the BeLEADFREE action. This included the participation in the EU Industry Day 2018, where the achievements and successful outcomes of the BeLEADFREE action were showcased to legislators, policymakers and press, including the Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska, and several members of the Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME) and the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation, among other EU agencies.
