Industry
Supporting collaboration between the public and private sector has been shown time and time again to yield excellent results. We spoke to FIMECC programme manager and Spinverse senior consultant Dr. Markku Heino about how the Finnish Metals and Engineering Competence Cluster (FIMECC) has been driving innovation and providing top-end solutions to critical industrial problems
Driving innovation in the metals and engineering sector
FIMECC was established in Finland in 2008 as a special public-private partnership in the area of metals and engineering. It was designed to carry out long-term cooperative research through target- oriented industry-led and precompetitive programmes in fields most crucial for the future. The results of these have been excellent,
providing breakthrough
innovations of global importance. Currently, FIMECC runs several different
Breakthrough Materials Programmes that aim to provide added value to innovation activities within several strategic areas. The FIMECC DEMAPP programme aims to improve understanding of wear, corrosion, friction and fatigue mechanisms in the demanding applications often involved in the process and energy industry, as well as developing novel breakthrough materials with improved performance in these extreme
conditions. Programme
participants include 26 companies, their supplier and customer companies as well as 11 selected high-level research groups from 5 different institutions.
Raex wear-resistant and ultra-high- strength steels One example of the work undertaken in FIMECC DEMAPP is the development of Raex wear-resistant and ultra-high- strength steels by steel manufacturer Ruukki. Using their own technological innovation of direct quenching, new abrasion resistant steel families have been created. Working together with the University of Oulu, Tampere University of Technology and Metso Corporation, the company has been able to optimise the chemical composition of these steels so that they significantly extend the lifespan of machinery in which they are used, reducing the cost and ecological footprints of the relevant components. Different thicknesses ranging from 2-80mm have been developed, with the lightweight products being used to
84 Insight Publishers | Projects
increase energy efficiency in the transportation industry, while the thicker grades are used mainly in buckets and mining machines.
Nickel-free corrosion resistant steels The high and fluctuating price of nickel has been affecting the steel industry in recent years, and there has also been a marked shift towards the use of ferritic stainless steel grades over austenitic stainless steels. Outokumpu, a global leader in the production of high performance stainless steel, has collaborated with the University of Oulu and Aalto University to push forward the state-of-the-art knowledge in high-chromium ferritic stainless steels. Ferritic stainless steel grades are moving into more demanding applications requiring higher chromium contents. The 21% chromium stainless steel grade (Outokumpu 4622) developed in this research has been shown to have both excellent corrosion
Photo: Ruukki
resistance and to be ideal for deep-drawing applications. This gives this novel stainless steel grade a broad range of potential uses, from outdoor wall panels, roofing and exhaust systems, to catering and household equipment.
Thermally conductive cast aluminium compounds In electronic and electro-technical applications - electronic housings, base stations, heat sinks, inverters etc. - the demand on heat removal properties is high. The thermal conductivity of the cast alloy must be high enough so that heat is dissipated at a high rate, otherwise component failures and disturbances in operation can occur. Alteams and Aalto University have worked in close cooperation to find possible ways, such as optimisation of alloy composition and heat and melt treatments, to improve the thermal conductivity of aluminium
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