MicroFrac | Visualization and modelling of fracture at the microscale

Summary
In recent years, large spills from oil pipelines and tankers, leaks from nuclear reactors and the constant need for lighter and
stronger materials in the transportation industry illustrate the need for materials with improved fracture resistance. Recent
reports also suggest that the costs of fracture in Europe reach 4% of Europe’s gross domestic product which mean about
500 billion Euros. These facts show how fracture of structural materials can have detrimental effects in terms of health and
safety, the environment, and the economy. One key elements that prevents better fracture predictions is a lack of information
on fracture at the microscale. Indeed, fracture takes place by the formation and growth of microvoids and how these voids
grow is still unknown and prevents the development of accurate fracture models. This proposal aims at providing a
significant contribution towards our understanding of fracture at the microscale through a combination of state-of-the-art
experiments and models.

Microvoids will be introduced in metallic single crystals and their growth will be followed in-situ at high resolution. The effects
of void size and crystal orientation will be investigated and the results will be used to validate dislocation dynamics and
crystal plasticity models. The outcomes of the project will be new experimental evidence of fracture at the microscale and the
creation of an improved crystal plasticity model that can take into account size effects to better predict metal fracture.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/659575
Start date: 01-07-2015
End date: 30-06-2016
Total budget - Public funding: 85 060,80 Euro - 85 060,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

In recent years, large spills from oil pipelines and tankers, leaks from nuclear reactors and the constant need for lighter and
stronger materials in the transportation industry illustrate the need for materials with improved fracture resistance. Recent
reports also suggest that the costs of fracture in Europe reach 4% of Europe’s gross domestic product which mean about
500 billion Euros. These facts show how fracture of structural materials can have detrimental effects in terms of health and
safety, the environment, and the economy. One key elements that prevents better fracture predictions is a lack of information
on fracture at the microscale. Indeed, fracture takes place by the formation and growth of microvoids and how these voids
grow is still unknown and prevents the development of accurate fracture models. This proposal aims at providing a
significant contribution towards our understanding of fracture at the microscale through a combination of state-of-the-art
experiments and models.

Microvoids will be introduced in metallic single crystals and their growth will be followed in-situ at high resolution. The effects
of void size and crystal orientation will be investigated and the results will be used to validate dislocation dynamics and
crystal plasticity models. The outcomes of the project will be new experimental evidence of fracture at the microscale and the
creation of an improved crystal plasticity model that can take into account size effects to better predict metal fracture.

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

MSCA-IF-2014-EF

Update Date

28-04-2024
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Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.1. EXCELLENT SCIENCE
H2020-EU.1.3. EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
H2020-EU.1.3.2. Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
MSCA-IF-2014-EF Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF)