Project description
AI-driven thermal mapping of energy dissipation
In critical industries such as aerospace and energy, structural failure poses significant safety and economic risks. Designing safer, lighter components requires an understanding of how materials dissipate energy during deformation, a process that is currently difficult to track accurately. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the HEATMaP project will address this by using high-resolution infrared thermography and AI-driven analysis to map heat generation at a microscopic scale. By linking thermal data to material structures, the project aims to create the first open-access database and software for material characterisation. HEATMaP’s goal is to help reduce design costs and foster innovation, enabling the development of more durable, sustainable materials for next-generation engineering.
Objective
The design of safer, lighter and more durable components is critical in aerospace, automotive and energy sectors, where structural failure entails high economic and societal costs. Meeting these demands requires advanced methods to understand how materials dissipate or store energy during plastic deformation, as this process governs mechanical performance, durability and resource efficiency. HEATMaP (Heat Evolution Analysis via Thermography for Mapping of Plasticity) addresses this challenge by investigating the Taylor–Quinney coefficient (TQC), a key indicator of how plastic work is partitioned between heat and stored energy. Despite its importance, TQC remains poorly understood, particularly under cyclic and non-adiabatic conditions. Conventional methods lack the resolution to capture the localised processes that govern heat dissipation, leaving a major gap in predicting material behaviour.
HEATMaP combines high-resolution infrared thermography (IRT) with microscopy and modelling to resolve heat generation at the mesoscale. By employing ultra-thin mini-specimens and developing AI-based post-processing, the project will deliver unprecedented thermal resolution linked to dislocation substructures. Outcomes include the first systematic open-access database of TQC evolution across alloys and loading modes, and an open-source software tool for thermography-based characterisation.
The fellowship ensures strong two-way knowledge transfer: the host contributes expertise in mesoscale plasticity modelling, while the researcher brings advanced experience in fatigue testing, IRT and digital image correlation. This synergy guarantees scientific advances, industrial innovation and career training. HEATMaP is timely. By reducing characterisation costs, promoting IRT-based standards and enabling better material design, the project will support progress towards sustainable energy and engineering.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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MK43 0AL Cranfield - Bedfordshire
United Kingdom
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