Project description
New system detects kissing bond defects in aircraft components
Friction stir welding is a material-joining technique that offers substantial advantages compared to other joining methods, particularly for welding aluminium alloys. However, the technique is not without its issues. In some instances, disbands can appear between the two joint faces – these defects are known as kissing bonds, and they can initiate cracking in-service, thereby undermining the resilience of the joint and potentially leading to the failure of the structure. The EU-funded FrictionHarmonics project will develop an inspection system for detecting kissing bonds. The system will comprise ultrasonic testing software, specially designed ultrasonic probes, wedges and probe holders, and a custom-built scanner for rapid automated inspection of flat and curved surfaces.
Objective
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a material joining technique that is a major breakthrough due to its substantial advantages compared to other techniques for welding aluminum alloys. This has allowed aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing to achieve 60% cost saving and reduce manufacturing time by 73% in aircraft models. This is only a fraction of what could be achieved. Despite its merits, FSW use is still limited due to a certain defect termed “kissing bond”. Kissing bonds reduce the stress-load resilience of FSW materials and are extremely difficult to detect. Thus, out of fear of low fatigue performance, aerospace and automotive manufacturers cannot leverage FSW to its full potential which translates to manufacturing cost savings of €1.6 billion, fuel savings of €1.9 billion and a reduction of 2 million tons of CO2, during the next 20 years.
This gap gives rise to a unique business opportunity which Vermon (developer of nonlinear ultrasonic transducers) and RISE (expert in signal processing algorithms), IKH (high-tech SME specializing in human-machine interfaces and service robotics) along with Coskunoz (leader in FSW machinery with commercial presence in 4 continents) seek to seize with the aid of TWI (world class research institute who originally invented FSW) by commercializing FrictionHarmonics.
FrictionHarmonics is the fruit of four years of R&D financed by private funds and public grants. It has already been validated in a relevant environment and is proved to detect kissing bonds of less than 0.3mm in diameter with 100% accuracy.
We now need to finalize the system’s commercial version, certify it, and validate its performance in a complete FSW production line. Our primary target customers will be aerospace and automotive manufacturers in Europe and North America. To this end, we request a grant of €2.2m. Our aim is to grow our businesses by €33.44m in gross cumulative revenue, operating at a profit of €13.83m and generating 215 new jobs over the 5 years after market launch.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
37000 Tours
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.