A major trend internationally in design of lightweight structures in many high performance products is away from mono material solutions. Instead, one tries to achieve optimal sustainable solutions by combining the best properties of different materials. This integration is done directly in the production process (production integrated assembly), allowing integration of features and functionalities without a following assembly step.
The main goal with this project is to study the technological challenges faced in the development of new multi material-based solutions and components, particularly for use in various aggressive environments, in order to realize specific new product ideas of the industrial partners.
The main objectives of R&D activities are:
- Develop a methodology for multi material-based product development, ie optimal choice of materials, design solutions and manufacturing processes and
- Establish an understanding of mechanisms for aging/degradation in relevant materials for environments and operating conditions in question.
Important activities are:
- material selection, design and production processes for multi-material solutions
- integration of metallic parts in reinforced plastic composite products in injection moulding process
- integration of seals in products through over moulding in two component injection moulding process
- mechanisms for ageing, degradation and deterioration of properties in selected corrosive environments
Most of the ideas we will work with in this project either focuses on integration of metal parts in a plastic composite product directly in the injection molding process or integration of o-ring replacements in products through over-molding in a two-component injection molding process to avoid retrofitting of seals. Another challenge is that a mono-material product is often mounted (joined) with products in other materials. Differences in material properties (mechanical, thermal, chemical compatibility, etc.) lead to design challenges which we will address.
A common feature with products in focus is that they will be mounted/used in aggressive environments with varying degree of water contact. This may cause deterioration in properties over time. Being able to document product life time is an important aspect that must be address in order to be able to get new products and solutions accepted in an often conservative market.
The project is partially financed by the Norwegian Research Council through the BIA IPN program. The consortium consist of the industrial partners Raufoss Water & Gas (project owner), Kongsberg Automotive, HV Plast, Prevent System, and the research institutions SINTEF Material and Chemistry (project leaderEinar Louis Hinrichsen ) and SINTEF Raufoss Manufacturing (contact person Tomovic Stanka Petrovic).