Objective
Wire guide tubes:
A hard, coherent coating has been produced down the bore of the tube by an optimized boronising process.
A diamond polishing process has been developed to polish the ends of these hardened tubes (in task A3).
The breaking characteristics of the current commercial tubes have been quantified and a processing schedule has been developed that produces these characteristics in the boronised tubes.
Tubes have been produced for industrial trials using the optimised process (in Task B3).
The wear behaviour of the coating in the industrial trials (Task C2) has been shown to be excellent.
The corrosion resistance of the tubes has been improved through an electroplating process.
Manufacture and exploitation plans for the technology have been finalized.
Water Jet Cutting Nozzles.
Boron carbide coatings up to 150µm thick have been put onto copper-graphite mandrels.
A design for the shaped mandrels has been selected and coated successfully.
The optimum HIP parameters have been determined for bonding to the stainless steel sleeve without damage to the boron carbide coating.
The sleeve has been modified to successfully HIP bond the cone area.
The formation of the brittle reaction layer between the sleeve and the boron carbide has been prevented by a diffusion barrier coating.
A system for removing the mandrel after HIP bonding has been developed.
Water Jet Cutting Nozzles with ultra-hard bores were produced.
However the testing results for these prototype nozzles were disappointing and this unexpected problem has delayed this part of the project.
Therefore:
- A process for HIP bonding with a tungsten carbide sleeve has been developed;
- Nozzles with these sleeves were produced and tested in industrial trials;
- Full analysis of the tested nozzles has been performed;
- Again the testing results for these boron carbide lined nozzles were poor but it was clear that the technology could be adapted to refurbish worn nozzles.
Therefore:
- A process for refurbishing worn nozzles was developed.
Refurbished nozzles were produced and tested in industrial trials.
A full analysis of the tested nozzles has been performed and process improvements determined.
Abrasive water jet cutting (AWJC) is a new technology with large potential markets across many industrial sectors. It is capable of cutting a wide range of materials from sheet to thick sections. Manufacturing applications span general metals engineering, the natural stone industries, ceramic tile cutting, and the cutting of high performance materials such as superalloys hardened steels, composites, and advanced ceramics, which are difficult to cut by conventional processes. AWJC is an environmentally friendly technology, the cutting process generating no dust or fumes and minimal cutting waste. As a cold cutting technique it is one of the only cutting processes which can safely be used where there is the danger of fire or explosion. There are large potential applications in the mining industry, and in environmentally sensitive areas such as the decommissioning of offshore structures, spent nuclear power stations, and munitions. However, although its uses are growing, the much wider application of AWJC depends on the ability to increase cutting speeds, reduce operating costs, and improve the reliability and control of the process. This proposal addresses this need and seeks to develop a new technology for producing nozzles of significantly higher performance to overcome these problems. Furthermore, these nozzles will also provide the industry with greater flexibility of application by allowing harder abrasives to be utilised. This will open new possibilities for increasing cutting efficiency and extending the range of materials which can be costeffectively cut. The technological breakthrough facilitating this step increase in nozzle performance relies on the utilisation of an innovative combination of existing technologies. This provides the ability to engineer the nozzle to achieve a thick ultra hard coating of boron carbide in the bore combined with a tough tool steel nozzle body. This has so far not been achieved by any conventional manufacturing or coating process. The development will also provide a generic technology for other industrial applications, such as wire guide tubes for bobbin winding operations in the electronics industry. It is anticipated that a successful outcome will bring about, in the five years after the project, economic benefits in excess of 6MECU to the Partners, and 40 MECU to European industry as a whole. The pan European SME Partnership, whose members occupy key positions throughout the supply chain, is strategically placed to successfully exploit the new technology and leapfrog the current US monopoly in nozzle manufacture.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering composites
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry inorganic compounds
- engineering and technology environmental engineering mining and mineral processing
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- engineering and technology materials engineering ceramics
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
NE29 8SD Tyne and Wear
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.