Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Through-Process Modelling (TPM) is a recently-developed materials engineering design approach that can be used to enhance component performance by taking the manufacturing process into consideration. In this approach, advanced modelling tools are applied to investigate, through a ""virtual"" fabrication process, the entire manufacturing cycle with the results of one stage used as input to the next. TPM studies couple models of heat transfer, stress development, microstructure, and defect formation in order to predict the in-service performance of a fabricated component. The objective of the proposed NSERC-Strategic Project is to create a TPM toolset for the aluminum foundry industry to improve casting quality and performance. A critical component in tidal-based clean energy-generating systems - the hub that transfers load from the turbine's blades to the shaft of the generator - will be used as a demonstration part. The use of aluminum alloy castings in tidal turbines will ensure component performance goals are reached. In order to develop a TPM toolset that quantifies microstructure, processing defects, corrosion, and fatigue in a cast component exposed to a marine environment, a unique methodology will be employed that includes mathematical modelling, laboratory testing, and industrial plant trials. A partnership between The University of British Columbia, France's Ecole Nationale Superieure de Mecanique et d'Aerotechnique, CanmetMaterials, Custom Aluminum Foundry, Defence Research and Development Canada, and a consortium of 4 tidal turbine companies (Mavi Innovations, New Energy Corp., Alternative Hydro Solutions, and Blue Energy) has been established to conduct the required research. The results of this Strategic Project will enable innovation within the aluminum foundry industry, especially in the area of high-strength alloys that are plagued by high processing costs related to defects. This Strategic Project also directly addresses fundamental challenges related to the development of cost-effective tidal energy systems, and thus represents an opportunity for Canada to promote the use of aluminum alloy castings, an industrial base in which the country has great expertise, to the clean energy sector.