Launchpad, January - February 2003
For a full list of proposed, active and closed projects see here
By joining Group Sponsored R&D Projects, TWI Industrial Members gain access to substantial programmes at low cost, with the opportunity to steer work undertaken into areas of specific interest. The following GSPs have been, or are about to be, launched. If you are interested, please contact the project leader at TWI.
Friction stir welding of thin aluminium sheet fabrications
Launched: November 2002
Cost per sponsor: £18 000
Project leader: Chris Dawes
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is well established for making butt joints in aluminium alloys in material thicknesses from 1.3 to 15mm and plates up to 50mm thick have been welded experimentally. In contrast, the welding of thin sheets in thicknesses of 1mm and below has not been systematically explored. However, production welding of thin sheets, especially involving lap joints could provide significant cost savings and improved weld quality and new design opportunities for numerous industries, such as aerospace, automotive and electronic packaging. Consequently this project is aimed at perfecting the FSW process for thin aluminium sheets and generating the necessary data for production use; and it will also pave the way for the future development of portable, hand-positioned, FSW machines for production and repair work, by establishing the physical values required.
Girth welding of supermartensitic stainless steel pipes
Launched: December 2002
Cost per sponsor: £15 000 pa, two payments
Project leader: Paul Woollin
The following programme of work on supermartensitic steels is proposed to examine the hydrogen sensitivity of parent and girth welded supermartensitic stainless steels:
- risk of fabrication hydrogen cracking, including realistic simulation of the effects of reeling
- the effect of hydrogen on fracture toughness
- the risk of hydrogen embrittlement stress cracking under cathodic protection
Evaluation of low stress non-distortion welding
Launched: December 02
Cost per sponsor: £15 000 pa, two payments
Project leader: Dan Bertaso
A major problem in welds in thin materials made using the conventional arc welding processes is the control of buckling distortion. Remedial measures applied either prior to or after welding can account for up to 25% of manufacturing labour cost. Low stress non-distortion (LSND) welding is a method for in-process control of welding stress and distortion. This is a non-intrusive method, the crux of which is the application of a cooling medium in close proximity to the welding arc. The aim of the project is to demonstrate the capability of the LSND process for a range of materials, joint types and applications.
Development of non-destructive techniques for the detection of defects in friction stir welds
To be launched: February 2003
Cost per sponsor: £20 000 pa, two payments
Project leader: Aamir Khalid
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is increasingly used in industry for structurally demanding applications and gives cost and performance benefits. There is an increasing need for reliable detection techniques suitable for the range of flaws that can occur in order to maintain the quality and performance of the manufactured components and to expand the range of applications. This project will evaluate current state-of-the-art NDT techniques and then further develop them for the detection of flaws associated with the FSW process. Inspection methods and procedures suitable for automation and integration into FSW production will also be developed.
Assessment of adhesives and encapsulants for joining implantable devices. Joint TWI/Queen Mary College IRC Project
Launched: May 2002
Cost per sponsors: £10 000 pa, two payments
Project Leader: Mehdi Tavakoli
Effective bonding and sealing of dissimilar materials and low surface energy substrates (eg polyolefins) for assembly of multi-component systems in disposable and implantable medical devices are major challenges facing manufacturers. The new generation of polymeric adhesives and encapsulants offers exceptional opportunities for rapid and precision bonding and hermetic sealing (<10-9 mbar l/sec) for components which have to survive sterilisation processes and service environments. TWI and Queen Mary College (IRC in Biomedical Materials) are proposing a project to exploit these opportunities by adaptation of adhesives and encapsulants and development of novel processing techniques for generic and specific medical device products. The proposed work will provide major cost savings in device assembly and manufacturing by reduced product development times and faster production rates.
