NEW METHODS TO INDUCE HARDER STEELS

The IRC network has found a user in Norway for new graphical tools which help to optimize the hardening of steel components. The Norwegian company is using the technology, developed in Romania, to improve both productivity and product quality.

Steel, which is largely composed of iron, is one of the most fundamental materials of modern life, being used in all sorts of structures and machinery, from power stations and bridges to automobiles and kitchen appliances. But steel is not a single material - in fact, many different types are available, with widely varying properties. They vary in the amounts of carbon and other chemical elements that are added, as well as in the treatments that are later applied to manufactured components. New methods to control the modification of steels have been developed in Romania and are now being used in Norway, thanks to the intervention of the IRC network.

One of the most important tasks for each Innovation Relay Centre is to be constantly on the look-out for new technologies developed in its own region which could be transferred and widely applied across Europe. Laurentiu Tachiciu, manager at IRRomania, routinely does this by sending targeted requests to clients the IRC has worked with in the past, as well as to potential new clients. In this way, Tachiciu became aware that Professor Virgiliu Fireteanu, Head of the Electromagnetic Processing of Materials and Numerical Models Laboratory at the Politechnica University of Bucharest (PUB), had developed a technical innovation to improve the hardening of steels by induction.

Heating to harden

Many components fabricated from steel are treated with heat after they have been formed, to increase their toughness and resistance to wear. One of the main methods is "induction hardening". The magnetic field of an electrical induction coil induces electric currents within the steel which generate the required heat.

The key parameters are electrical frequency, the surface density of the induced power, the heating time, the maximum tempearture attained, and the depth of the surface layer whose structure is being altered by the heating process - and the precise results obtained depend on the correlation between those factors. Professor Fireteanu's team has developed new computer-based "nomographs", which are graphical tools that express the relation between these key parameters in visual form. The new nomographs are easier to work with than classical ones, and can be used to optimize the level of hardening throughout the component being treated.hey allow costly and time-consuming preliminary tests to be avoided, offering very significant time savings and improvements in efficiency.

The IRC helps

On August 12 2002, Tachiciu visited Fireteanu at PUB to assess the technology and discuss the possibilities. Fortunately, PUB already had contacts with scientists in Norway, allowing the Norwegian company EFD Induction to be identified as people who might be able to make use of the nomographs. EFD are specialists in induction heating, providing equipment and services in this field to a wide range of clients.

It was at this stage  that the links within the IRC network were most helpful. IRC Romania passed all the details  of PUB's technology to IRC Norway, allowing  a first meeting to be set up between John Inge Asperheim, Project Engineer  at EFD Induction, Fireteanu, and Stein Karlsen of IRC Norway. With assistance from Karlsen, PUB and EFD Induction were able to sign a Technical Co-operation Agreement in Trondheim, Norway on November 11 2002. This gives EFD Induction access to the technology, which they are now applying and testing to improve their induction heating processes. In return, PUB will receive income for providing the technology.

Testimony to Success

For FED Induction, John Inge Asperheim says, "The main advantage of the new monographs is that they help us to dimension the equipment before final tests. This reduces the need for tests and gives the customer a better product". This technology transfer has also given EFD an important new contact, and a possible source of further technologies in the future. "The contact with Polytechnica University of Bucharest that IRC Romania provided has been very valuable for us, and will continue to be so in the future", Inge Asperheim adds. "It is very likely that we will have further projects with them".

Laurentiu Tachiciu of IRC Romania believes that "without the IRC's involvement, this link between industry and science would not have been made". And his client, Virgiliu Fireteanu, confirms this view. "Stein Karlsen from IRC Norway has shown me how the philosophy of the IRC network creates real transnational business opportunities. I am now completely convinced of the network's utility".

Once the IRC makes a contact it can lead to a successful collaboration on several projects over many years. IRC Romania is continuing to work with PUB, submitting further technology offers in this field which have already attracted interest from IRC Spain.

For further information

IRC Romania - http://www.imm.ro/

IRC Norway (SINTEF) - http://www.sintef.no/

Politechnica University of Bucharest - http://www.amotion.pub.ro/~epm/

EFD Induction A. S. - http://www.efd-induction.com/

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