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Intelligent bulk MAterials for Smart TRanspOrt industries.

Project description

Innovative bulk materials to drive transport industries

The ageing European transport industries are undergoing a transition towards a smarter form through digitalisation. However, despite this modernisation, further innovation is necessary to ensure the continued efficient operation of modern transport industries. The EU-funded MASTRO project aims to develop intelligent bulk materials specifically designed for the transport sector. These materials can be used efficiently for various purposes, contributing to component maintenance and improvement. By incorporating modern technologies such as self-sensing, self-protection, self-healing, self-de-icing and self-curing, these materials will enhance components’ efficiency and lifespan while reducing manufacturing and maintenance costs.

Objective

MASTRO Project aim is to develop intelligent bulk materials for the transport sector based on the novel concepts like self-sensing, self-deicing, self-curing, self-healing and self-protection methodologies to increase consumer safety, component life-span and performance while reducing maintenance and manufacturing costs. The functionality of the developed components will be demonstrated under relevant conditions at prototype level for the aerospace, automotive and transport transport networks. These developments will be supported by theoretical material models to capture the self-responsive functionalities. The outputs of the Project will consist of numerous applications in these sectors.
The matrices addressed consist of lightweight polymer composites like glass/carbon fibre reinforced polymers and thermoplastic materials (including melt-spinning for textiles used in the transport sector) together with asphalt and concrete formulations incorporating electrical carbon-based conductive nanomaterials. These self-responsive functionalities are based on two physical phenomena: piezoresistivity and Joule effect. The aim of self-responsiveness properties can be summarized as follows:
Self-sensing: to confer to the intelligent components the ability to monitor/store data about its own condition in terms of vibrations, defects, fatigue, creep and strain.
Self-deicing: to avoid the ice layer formation or the loss of performance due to cold weather.
Self-curing: to increase quality and durability while reducing manufacturing cost of the polymer composites and cement concrete formulations by improving the curing process step.
Self-healing: to aid the repair of polymer composites and asphalt concrete formulations by healing those materials without the need of an external and expensive maintenance operation.
Self-protection: to minimize the failure occurrence in case of electrostatic charge accumulation or lightning impacts by discharging the voltage through the smart component

Call for proposal

H2020-NMBP-2016-2017

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Sub call

H2020-NMBP-2017-two-stage

Coordinator

ACCIONA CONSTRUCCION SA
Net EU contribution
€ 814 430,08
Address
CALLE MESENA 80
28033 MADRID
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost
€ 814 430,08

Participants (18)