Computer-Aided Design Of Revolutionary Superalloys (CADORS)

an EU Horizon 2020 collaboration between the University of Nantes and the University of Cambridge

CADORS: An Introduction

Prof. Franck Tancret*

New metallic materials (alloys): why and what for?

 

Transportation industry:

aeronautical, railway and car industries,

ship building

Source: image courtesy of pixtawan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Source: http://www.photo-libre.fr

Examples:

  • ⇒ Lighter aluminium alloys for fuselage and structural parts
  • ⇒ Titanium alloys for structural parts and “cold” parts of engines
  • ⇒ High strength steels for landing gears and structural car parts
  • ⇒ Nickel-based superalloys in “hot” areas of aeroengines
  • ⇒ Energy-absorbing steels for car crash resistance
  • ⇒ ...

 

Energy industry:

nuclear or coal-fired (ultra-) supercritical power plants,

oil and gas industry, chemical engineering
Source: http://www.photo-libre.fr
Source: http://www.photo-libre.fr

Examples:

  • ⇒ Temperature resistant steels and nickel alloys for power plant
  • ⇒ Oxidation and/or metal dusting resistant Fe-Ni-Cr alloys for chemical engineering
  • ⇒ Corrosion and/or hydrogen embrittlement resistant alloys for oil and gas industry
  • ⇒ ...

New metallic materials (alloys): how?

 

  • The traditional way: trial-and-error
    • Fabricate a new alloy and test it
    • It does not work? Modify its composition, fabricate it, and test it
    • etc...

⇒ Very long, very expensive

⇒ Good alloys, but not optimised alloys (i.e. not the best possible)

 

  • Our way: computational alloy design
    • Predict the properties of any alloy as a function of composition
    • Optimise composition to design alloys with tailored properties = combinatorial metallurgy to design “made-to-measure” alloys

⇒ Faster = accelerated alloy design

⇒ Less expensive

⇒ The best possible alloys for given applications

⇒ A positive impact on European society and economy

 

To find out more, click here!

Interested in scientific details of the CADORS project? Click here!

* Contact:

Franck Tancret
Université de Nantes
Polytech Nantes
Institut des Matériaux de Nantes – Jean Rouxel (IMN)
BP 50609
44306 Nantes Cedex 3
France
+33 (0)2 40 68 31 97
franck.tancret@univ-nantes.fr
www.univ-nantes.fr