Solutions for critical raw materials under extreme conditions

Resume : With emerge of Additive Manufacturing for extreme condition applications (like aerospace), the needs of high temperature thermophysical properties come to front. In the present talk, the thermophysical properties (thermal expansion, heat capacity and thermal conductivity) of Ti6Al4V fabricated by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Electron Beam Melting (EBM) will be presented. The thermal expansion and conductivity of AM parts showed strong deviation form the expected values compere to a conventionally processed Ti6Al4V. Moreover, a new phase appeared after heat treatment and was recognizes with the tetragonal structure and composition of Al3V0.333Ti0.666. The effect of the processing and microstructure on the thermophysical properties will be discussed.

Resume : Different applications were developed and characterized using Micro Arc Oxidation technology : On Aluminum, its alloys and aluminum matrix composites allowing replacement of High performance alloys such as Titanium, Super Duplex and Nickel alloys in wide range of industries such as Water Desalination, Heat Exchangers, Oil &Gas. On Magnesium allowing replacement of Carbon Fiber and heavier metals, with improved corrosion resistance in light weight applications for sports, aerospace and military. On Titanium allowing enhanced cell integration, improved corrosion resistance and bio-compatibility in dental and medical implants. Together with The Israel Institute of Metals, several projects have been completed and still on-going, including development of unique process for MAO coating on aluminized steel. In these presentation we will present some of the achievements during our research from the last few years.

Resume : Securing sufficient resources and ensuring undistorted access to raw materials for the EU has become a growing challenge in recent years. This is why, in 2008, the European Commission launched the Raw Materials Initiative ? an integrated strategy aimed at ensuring a sustainable supply of raw materials. One of the priority actions of the Initiative was to define a list of Critical Raw Materials (CRM) for the EU, i.e. raw materials associated with high risk of supply disruption and, at the same time, with high economic importance to the EU in industrial applications. The first EU list of 14 CRM was established in 2011 and is updated every three years to reflect market and technological developments. The list is defined based on the raw materials which reach or exceed the thresholds for Economic Importance and Supply Risk parameters. In the 2014 exercise, 20 CRM were identified as critical. The third criticality assessment is currently ongoing with a view to publishing a new list in 2017. The third list will be based on a refined methodology to better address the aspects of trade, substitution, recycling, etc. The presentation will cover different facets of the EU criticality assessment for raw materials, i.a. substitution and recycling, as well as the relevant actions at EU level, including the actions under the Horizon 2020 and the Circular Economy Action Plan.

Resume : The EIT Raw Materials is a large network created to boost innovation in the whole raw materials value chain in Europe. It is the largest worldwide gathering of industries, universities and research centres with interests in various aspect of raw materials. Our vision is a European Union where raw materials are a major strength, and where the union?s industrial strength is based on a cost-efficient, secure, sustainable supply and use of raw materials. We envisage a European society which is conscious of the importance and value of raw materials. The EIT RawMaterials foresees an extensive systemic change, along with innovation in technologies, education, and society. The presence of the EIT Raw Materials at EMRS conference aims at increasing the awareness about the current activities and opportunities targeting the substitution of critical metals and minerals in applications where materials are subject to extreme conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, wear). Selected examples of projects in the current portfolio will be showcased. For example, projects aiming at scaling up innovative technologies to reduce the content of tungsten or cobalt will be showcased, In these cases, nano-alloying is seen as enabler to widen exiting material properties to meet require-ments needed in many industrial applications. Other projects are aiming at building an extensive network of research infrastructures and competence networks in specific areas, integrating laboratory-scale capabilities, industrial-scale pilot units as well as materials computation and modelling capacity.

Resume : VERAM aims to provide an umbrella and coordination function for the raw materials related research and innovation activities across the relevant ETPs and their national technology platforms (while maintaining the flexibility and individual visions of each ETP network) as well as related other stakeholders across the raw materials value chain in order to increase synergies and facilitate uptake of research results and innovation across the sectors and their value chains. The project will encourage capacity building as well as transfer of knowledge and innovation capability. It will coordinate the network of people involved in the different Horizon 2020 and other projects and initiatives and will provide a platform for identifying gaps and complementarities and bridge these. We will also advise the European Commission and national governments of future research needs and tools to stimulate innovation and assist in overcoming the fragmentation in the implementation of the EIP on RM SIP. We will look for mutually beneficial information exchange, encourage cross-fertilization between actions undertaken by different raw material industries and will speed-up exploitation of breakthrough innovations. The final result of the activities will be a common long term 2050 vision and roadmap for the relevant and/or critical raw materials, including metals, industrial minerals and aggregates, wood and other biotic materials.

Resume : Raw materials (RM) are crucial ingredients of any product of our daily life and of highly advanced technologies. Hence, availability of RM to produce goods is of common interest to most societies regardless if their economy is based on production or on service. Yet, in general the ore grade is getting lower while the mineralogy becomes more complex, the need for by-products increases, the mines have to dig deeper and the social acceptance for mining is challenging to achieve. In addition, more and more major mining companies take over the business and many actions are concentrated in very few countries. Thus, RM availability and reliable supply are on constant risk. A good understanding e.g. of the natural availability of RM, of the global markets and its developments, of state-of-the-art and beyond technologies for RM production and of future developments on technologies and future needs are key information to assist and analyze the risk scenarios from various perspectives. Based on those information recommendations are deviated to gain sustainable supply addressing three equally balanced aspects: economic viability, social and ecological soundness. Though the counterbalance of increased efforts of societies to decouple their economic growth from material consumption the higher RM needs caused globally by the growing population and to develop countries as well as an increasing demand for special products will continue to depend on RM from both primary and secondary sources.

Resume : The availability of certain raw materials is crucial to Europe?s economy. The COST Action CA15102, Solutions for Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Under Extreme Conditions (www.crm-extreme.eu), focuses on the substitution of CRMs in high value alloys and metal-matrix composites used under extreme conditions of temperature, loading, friction, wear, corrosion, in the energy, transportation and machinery manufacturing industries. It is evident that a strategy for closing the loop and minimizing the demand for virgin materials has to be developed for those materials which exhibit potential shortage. The authors elucidate the availability, critical nature, and analysis of production value chains and downstream processes for critical elements, with a focus on Niobium (Nb). Due to its properties, Nb belongs to the group of refractory metals. Its reserves are virtually inexhaustible, but the element is classified as a critical raw material due to the high concentration of production and occurrence in Brazil. An end-of-life recycling rate of approximately 50% has been reported for Nb. However, according to other sources the recycling rate is much lower. This discrepancy may be caused due to the ?nonfunctional? recycling of the major fraction of Nb. In this case, nonfunctional recycling means that Nb is diluted in vast amounts of iron, where the unique Nb characteristics do not provide any functional advantage. A decrease in the demand for virgin Nb ore could be realized by improved scrap management in a way that Nb alloys could again be used for Nb alloys.

Resume : Friction stir welding (FSW), since its introduction, shown a great potential for welding Al, Mg, Cu alloys and dissimilar materials. There are several advantages – it is a solid-state welding process that does not require consumable material and shielding gas. Therefore, it is well suited for critical raw material (CRM) savings, typically found in 5356 (4.5-5.5 % Mg) and 4043 (4.5-6 % Si) welding wires and rods used in GMAW and GTAW arc welding processes. FSW also has drawbacks, such as a lower flexibility in base material size, shape and position. It is prone to different defects, one of them being being the tunneling. The aim of this work is to study the effect of tunneling on mechanical properties of FSW welds. Made in AA5052 plates 3 and 8 mm thick. For FSW, the tool made of hot work tool steel was devised, with a larger reservoir compared to the pin volume and welding parameters that are aimed at tunnelling induction. Different sizes, numbers and shapes of tunnel defect were produced. It was found that in a thinner plate, a higher joint effectiveness can be obtained. Also, a higher joint effectiveness can be obtained with smaller tunnel, even multiple tunnels that protrude less in the plate thickness. These values are of the same order of magnitude (50 – 80 %) as those obtainable with GMAW and GTAW welding processes. However, such welds can be effectivelly applied only in static loading conditions.

Resume : Mangalloy (also called “manganese steel or “Hadfield steel”) is a steel alloy containing an average of around 13% manganese. It is known for its high impact strength and resistance to abrasion once in its work-hardened state. Mangalloy is made by alloying steel containing 0.8 to 1.25% carbon, with 11 to 15% manganese. It is a unique non-magnetic steel with extreme anti-wear properties. The material is very resistant to abrasion and is capable to achieve up to three times its surface hardness while undergoing impact conditions, without experiencing any increase in brittleness which is usually associated with hardness. This allows mangalloy to retain its toughness. Both hardness and ductility reach their highest points around 12%, depending on other alloying agents. Due to these outstanding features, it can be considered as an adequate material for common crossings and switches in railways. Additionally, a thorough analysis of critical materials included until now in the component list of these alloys has been performed, with the aim of finding substitutes at least for one important element, as is the case of silicon, and eventually phosphorus. Silicon belongs to the same group and is thus closely related to germanium, tin, and lead. Its resemblance to the group 4 elements, titanium, zirconium, hafnium, and thorium is less marked, and decreases with increasing atomic weight of the elements in question. Finally, a new design that has been patented, that copes for deviations and safety to avoid accidents in crossings of railways, will be examined and discussed.

Resume : The effort to reduce the global environmental footprint has raised the interest in carbon free power production. Clean energy technologies are competing with relatively low-cost alternatives, such as fossil fuel-based energy power. Therefore, the costs of clean energy sources must decrease to compete on the market. A key component to reducing the costs is to increase the efficiencies, which is primarily done by increasing the operational temperatures. A promising clean energy production technology is the so-called concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, which have the potential of reaching low long-term costs. One of the goals set in the EU-project NEXTOWER, is to develop and manufacture a low-alloyed stainless steel that can operate up to no less than 800°C in liquid lead. Commercial alumina (Al2O3) forming Ferritic FeCrAl steels, such as Kanthal APMTTM and Kanthal AlkrothalTM, are well know for their superior corrosion resistance at high temperatures and have shown excellent resistance in liquid lead. However, ferritic alloys with high Cr-content are susceptible to embrittlement due to spinodal decomposition. This phenomenon can be avoided by lowering the Cr- and Al-contents to roughly 10 wt% and 4 wt%, respectively. A family of Fe-10-4Al alloys has recently been developed by KTH and Kanthal, and this paper will present the results from exposing these new alloys to liquid lead at 750°C and 800°C for up to 2000 hours.

Resume : The outstanding mechanical and tribological properties of WC-Co cemented carbides are the main reason for their extensive use on the machinery and manufactory industries. Such behavior of cemented carbides is due to the combination of the mechanical properties of each constitutive phase, i.e., high fracture toughness given by the metallic Co binder and high hardness and wear resistance, given by the WC ceramic phase. However, W and Co are considered critical raw materials, due to economic and environmental reasons. Thus, a great effort is done nowadays to develop new alloys with partial or total substitution of either the carbide or the metallic binder phase that constitute them. In this regard, the present study aims to understand the role of the metallic binder on the mechanical response of cemented carbides. To do so, micropillars of 2 µm in diameter and an aspect ratio around 3.5, milled in three cemented carbide grades with different metallic binder, were uniaxially compressed in-situ. Imaging by Scanning Electron Microscopy was done before and after compression, in order to detect deformation/failure mechanisms. Glide within the binder near the WC/WC and WC/Binder was observed, as major plasticity and failure mechanisms. Plastic deformation of the carbide and the binder phases, being more significant for the grade with partial substitution of Co. From stress-strain curves, early yielding phenomena was detected for the constrained metallic binder, evidencing the effect of the constraint degree for each alloy.

Resume : Many of currently used technical materials cannot be imagined without the use of critical raw materials. They require chromium (e.g. in stainless and tool steels), tungsten and cobalt (tool materials, heat resistant alloys), niobium (steels and modern biomaterials). Therefore there is a need to find substitutes to help the European economy. A promising solution can be the application of intermetallics. Intermetallics are materials offering wide variety of interesting properties, such as high hardness and wear resistance or high chemical resistance. In this paper, the overview of possible substitute materials among intermetallics is presented. Intermetallics based on aluminides and silicides are shown as corrosion resistant materials, composites of composed of ceramics in intermetallic matrix as possible tool materials. The manufacturing processes are being developed to minimize the disadvantages of these materials, mainly the room-temperature brittleness.

Resume : By improving and optimizing line pipe steels the costs for transportation of natural gas can be reduced, since smaller wall thicknesses and higher operating pressures become feasible. Widely used base materials for these pipelines are thermomechanically treated Nb microalloyed steels, e.g. an X-80 steel grade which exhibits excellent mechanical properties such as high strength, ductility and weldability. These properties are determined by the microstructure of these steels evolving during thermomechanical processing. The in-situ evolution of the grain sizes can be monitored by novel experimental techniques such as high temperature laser scanning confocal microscopy (HT-LSCM) and laser ultrasonics technique (LUT). The experimental findings of both techniques - HT-LSCM and LUT - complement each other. After converting the HT-LSCM measurements to volume weighted average grain sizes, these results are compared to experimental data from LUT. As long as normal grain growth prevails, both techniques deliver similar values for the time-dependent average grain size. By both HT-LSCM and LUT measurements it is observed that the mean grain size strongly increases when increasing temperature from 1050°C to 1250°C. It is shown by HT-LSCM measurements that the distribution of grain sizes becomes broader and multimodal with increasing temperature due to abnormal grain growth.

Resume : Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) is an advanced engineering material produced from unalloyed or low-alloyed (Cu, Ni, Mn, Mo) ductile iron by austempering heat treatment, through which a unique microstructure - ausferrite, consisted of a mixture of ausferritic ferrite and carbon enriched retained austenite, is obtained. Due to the microstructure obtained, the ADI have a wide range of mechanical properties: a remarkable combination of high strength, ductility, and toughness, combined with good wear and fatigue resistance. Depending on the stability (carbon content), retained austenite could transform to martensite in wear contact zone by SATRAM (Stress Assisted Transformation) or SITRAM (Strain Induced Transformation) effect. Thus, better wear properties could be obtained. In previous studies it was founded that SATRAM effect occurs in a ADI during contact abrasive wear only if a appropriate conditions are fulfilled, namely: presence of metastable, low carbon-enriched, retained austenite; and local pressure on the metal matrix is sufficient, i.e. the SATRAM was detected only for ADI-400 (1.64%C) at loads of 1.3 and 2 kg and at the coarsest abrasive grain size (P240). Consequently, wear resistance is increased with maintained ductility and toughness of material. Finally, to conclude, microstructure transformation of ADI material give rise to possibilities of replacing Cr carbidic irons in some applications.

Resume : Iron aluminides were developed as an alternative to stainless steels after World War II. The main intended impact was to save strategic elements (chromium or nickel). The result of these investigations was development of registered alloys as Pyroferal (Czechoslovak Republic), Thugal (Soviet Union) or Thermagal (France). The investigation of these type alloys continued in the nineties thanks to technological progress. In this time iron aluminides seems to be promising material with very good corrosive and environment resistivity. The mechanical properties of binary iron aluminides (Fe-Al) are average at higher temperatures but strengthening effect of alloying elements is significant. The aim of the article is to show influence of non-critical additives (such as C, Ti, Zr) and also “slightly criticals” elements as e.g. Ce, Nb on high temperature creep properties of alloys.

Resume : The most important characteristics common to all Cr-containing alloys, including stainless steels (SSs), is that they contain a sufficient amount of this element (at least 10.5 wt%) that strongly increases corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and/or heat resistance. Cr forms an adherent, insoluble, ultrathin film that protects the underlying metal by the attacks of the corrosive agents, mainly in acids and/or chlorides containing environments. An amount of 12 wt% for SSs in contact with electrolytic solutions and an amount of 20 wt% for SSs exposed to high temperature conditions are necessary to guarantee a good durability of these materials. In new alloys designing, it is necessary to consider that Cr cannot be totally eliminated from SSs, but only a reduction is possible, substituting it with elements like Al, Si and Mo. All these elements are ferrite stabilizers, therefore if the new alloys need to maintain an austenitic structure, for mechanical characteristic reasons, the amount of Ni has to be increased, determining an increase of the final material costs. In any case, a comparison with the performances of the 300-series SSs is necessary to validate the suggested solutions for saving the consumption of Cr. The substitution of Cr with Si and Al, used together in new alloys or separately, is particularly promising for corrosion resistance at high temperatures: such elements produce protective layers formed by their relative oxides (SiO2, Al2O3). On the other hand, for alloys destined to operate in electrolytic solutions, it will be better to not add Al or, if added, to not exceed 1 wt%, while the additions of Si and Mo (2-3 wt%) are beneficial both in acid and in chlorides contaminated environments. Si is in general an interesting substitute for Cr, but it is important to observe that this element is a critical raw material like Cr. Particularly interesting, on obtaining new alloys, is the possibility to add micro-amounts of noble metals, like Ru, which produce the transition from active to passive state of stainless alloys in acid solutions. Other strategies are addressed to increase the durability of SSs and thus to save the use of Cr in these alloys, even without reducing the amount of this element. A possibility is to passivate SSs to improve their corrosion performances or to submit them to plasma nitriding or other ion implantation technologies to form a sort of “coating” on the metal, whose composition is different from the bulk, giving excellent properties to the material in terms of wear and corrosion resistance. These strategies could be critical when joints, welds and, in general, assembly among parts are necessary. To save Cr in SSs represents today a huge challenge, in particular when these materials are submitted to extreme field conditions.

Resume : The Action aims to set up a network of expertise to define the state of knowledge and gaps in multi-scale modelling, synthesis, characterization, engineering design and recycling, that could find viable alternatives to CRMs and promote the industrial exploitation of substituted materials. The Action envisions a fully Sustainable Value Chain approach for: Machinery manufacturing industry Alternatives for Co and W in WC/Co cemented carbide wear resistant tool materials (Hard Metals and Cutting Tools) Alternatives for chromium- and tungsten-alloyed tool steels Energy Industry Reduction of Cr and Y in high-strength steel alloys Alternatives for Cr and other CRMs by hard, wear and corrosion resistant surface coatings Transportation Industry Alternatives for Nb in high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel (Automotive) Alternatives for high-temperature Ni-based superalloys (Aerospace) A four-year Action oriented to strengthen collaboration between active researchers working in the different areas of investigation involving CRMs, is the most suitable initiative to seed the initial catalytic nucleus of growth for EU excellence in strategic CRMs substitution.

Resume : Catalytic converters are devices that control the exhaust emissions of an internal combustion engine by converting the exhaust toxic gasses into less toxic substances. Since 1994, when the European Directive 94/12/EEC (on ambient air quality) was laid down, all the motors produced or imported in EU have been obliged to be fitted with catalytic converters that reduce emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides below the legislative levels. Today, the mostly used automotive catalytic converters are the “three-way converters” (TWC), which are comprised of platinum group metals (PGMs) namely, Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd) and Rhodium (Rh). Among these metals, Pt is the most active catalyst and is used both as an oxidation and as a reduction catalyst; Pd is used as an oxidation catalyst and Rh, as a reduction one. Analytical assaying of typical 1ton broken spent catalytic honeycomb consignments of spent ceramic automotive catalytic converters has been performed in this work. The results indicated an average Platinum Group concentration of 2608 ppm of PGMs in the ceramic substrate. The honeycomb weight per spent catalysts found to be 0.737g, thus the average PGM content of spent three-way-catalysts is 1.92gr. The mass ratio of the three precious metals found to be: 2.8/6.1/1.1 Pt/Pd/Rh. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis have been performed in order to detect the rare earth content and the poisoning substances existing in spent catalytic converters honeycomb. The main rare earths elements found to be Ce and La in the form of oxides (total content 3.8%), whilst the main poisoning substances found to be oxides of Na, P, Ca, Cr, Fe, Zn, Ba along with C and S (total poisoning substances content 11,25%). The analytical determination of the various substances content existing in spent automotive catalyst honeycomb is essential for designing hydrometallurgical techniques for effective and economical viable hydrometallurgical metals recovery processes.

Resume : Alternative raw materials, especially secondary raw materials offer potential source to develop substitutes. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) belongs to the fastest growing waste stream in the world, amount of WEEE is being expected to reach about 50 Mt by 2018. WEEE contains in average about 2.2 % (by weight) of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), 4.6 % of mineral fraction, 9.2 % of residues from grinding, 44.7 % of ferrous metals, 7.5 % of nonferrous metals, 18.3 % of plastics, 12.2 % of glass, and 1.3 % of other type of materials1. Copper is one of the most important metals recovered from PCBs. Direct material processing instead of longer recovery of separate elements is a potential way of reducing energy consumption and time needed in reutilization of the recycled materials. We have investigated recovering Cu in electroless plating on silica, but the technology is applicable for various substrates, e.g. alumina, carbon nanofibers and plastics. In this process, Cu dissolved by an acid treatment from waste PCB is deposited on a powder substrate to form a pure copper layer on the particle surfaces. This method can also be utilized in conductive solutions e.g. with wear resistance requirements, and can offer potential substitute.

Resume : When new material systems are being investigated, a wide range of possible compositions needs to be synthesized and characterized. Thin film combinatorial libraries can offer an efficient way to reduce the lead time, since a wide range of material compositions can be deposited onto a single substrate, providing a fast and efficient screening method for the development and for the characterization of new and complex materials systems. Within the CoCooN group at UGent, we have developed dedicated sputter deposition tools for the deposition of thin film combinatorial material libraries (fig. 1). Up to 8 sample with a diameter of max. 150mm can be loaded. During deposition, the samples are exposed to a deposition flux from up to 6 different sputter targets. By placing a shaped shadow masks in front of the sputtering targets, the deposition flux and hence the composition profile of the film that is deposited onto the substrate can be modulated. This allows to deposit complete binary and ternary compositional libraries and sections of quaternary or higher order materials libraries in one single deposition run. Placing a (dotted) shadow mask on top of the substrate results in over 200 individual samples with each of them a unique composition as shown in figure 2. For a successful combinatorial workflow, the combinatorial deposition of compositional libraries needs to be combined with fast and efficient characterization techniques. Therefore, dedicated setups for X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and electrical probing have been developed (fig. 3), to characterize crystallinity, composition, optical and electrical properties of the materials in the deposited library. The use of motorized mapping stages allows us to map a full wafer with over 200 individual samples in an automated way. Reference [1] illustrates the potential of the combinatorial approach for exploring the binary Ag-Te system. Within the context of critical raw materials, we believe that in particular for material substitution, combinatorial thin film libraries can be an important tool for speeding up material screening. 1 Devulder W. et al. ACS Comb. Sci. 17 (2015) 340.

Resume : The recovery and recycling of metals from waste streams is a cost effective and environmentally beneficial route to valuable materials. Therefore, it is considered to be a necessity in the effort to bring a balance in the European import/export flow of raw materials. While some metals are being efficiently recycled, such as aluminium, there is little or no recycling of elements that are considered critical raw materials, e.g. platinum, indium, gallium and hafnium. At the end of their life the products containing these elements; mobile phones, televisions and computers, are ending up in landfills or being incinerated and the elements are being lost. Aqueous wastewaters, especially from mining processes, comprise of large volumes of water with dissolved metals and their ions [C. Mack, B. Wilhelmi, et al. Biosorption of precious metals Biotechnol. Adv., 25 (2007), pp. 264?271]. The nuclear industry, electroplating and metal processing operations also produce wastewaters containing Cr, Ni, Cd, Zn, Cu, U and precious metals [B. Volesky Detoxification of metal-bearing effluents: biosorption for the next century Hydrometallury, 59 (2001), pp. 203?216], while hospital wastewaters can contain Pt from cancer therapy or Gd from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) contrast agents [K. Lenz, G. Koellensperger, S. Hann, N. Weissenbacher, S.N. Mahnik, M. Fuerhacker Fate of cancerostatic platinum compounds in biological wastewater treatment of hospital effluents Chemosphere, 69 (2007), pp. 1765?1774]. The precious metals of those streams can be recovered by various methods. The conventional metal removal technologies include chemical precipitation and filtration, oxidation or reduction, electrochemical treatment, reverse osmosis and ion exchange, but they present significant disadvantages such us high cost, requirement of hazardous chemicals and need for high metal concentrations. Therefore, it is believed that biosorption will slowly replace all the aforementioned strategies, since cheap, biomass-derived materials can be used as adsorbents, with great values of adsorption capacity. Another very important characteristic of the biosorbents is that they can desorb metallic ions completely with appropriate eluent. Afterwards, the same sorbents can be reused several times. In this work, several biosorbents have been tested as potential absorbents for valuable metals. More specifically, Cannabis sativa L derivatives, wastes of agricultural processes, and functionalized chitosan, a natural polymer derived from crustaceans, were tested as cobalt adsorbents. ?emp-based materials in the form of fibers and shives was studied for the removal of Co(II) from aqueous systems. Raw hemp materials are agricultural by-products of high volume, low value and underutilized lignocellulosic biomaterials, containing high levels of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. However, adsorption capacity of crude agricultural by-products is low in general. Chemical modification has shown great promise in improving the adsorption and the cation exchange capacity of agricultural by-products. Citric acid is a low-cost material used extensively in the food industry. Wing [R.E. Wing, Corn fiber citrate: Preparation and ion-exchange properties, Ind. Crop. Prod., 5 (1996) 301-305] derivatized corn by-products with citric acid and observed considerable improvement in Cu(II) binding. When heated, citric acid will dehydrate to yield a reactive anhydride which can react with the sugar hydroxyl groups to form an ester linkage. The introduced free carboxyl groups of citric acid increase the net negative charge on the straw lignocellulosic fiber, thereby increasing its binding potential for cationic contaminants. The hemp materials were used either in raw form, or after chemical modification with sodium hydroxide and citric acid in order to remove any impurities and add extra carboxyl groups (which improve the adsorption), respectively. A series of adsorption experiments was carried out to determine the effect of (i) solution pH on Co(II) adsorption, (ii) the contact time (kinetics fitted to linear pseudo-first, -second order equations and Elovich model), and (iii) initial ion concentration (fitting to Langmuir, Freundlich and Langmuir-Freundlich equations). Furthermore, a complete characterization study (FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDAX, crystallinity, cellulose content) demonstrated the surface morphology of the prepared hemp-materials along with some possible adsorption interactions between them and ions. The regeneration of materials was confirmed running desorption experiments (effect of solution pH on desorption) finding also the optimum desorption contact time (kinetics fitted to non-linear pseudo-first and -second order equations). Ten sequential reuse cycles (at the optimum conditions found after adsorption and desorption experiments) revealed the reuse potential of the low-cost hemp-based materials. The optimum pH found after adsorption experiments was 5. The calculated maximum adsorption capacities of non-treated materials were 160 and 206 mg/g for HS and HF, respectively. After modification (sodium hydroxide, citric acid), the respective capacities were improved to 237 and 242 mg/g, respectively. But as it was observed, the change after modification for HS (to HST) was 48%, while for HF (to HFT) was very low (17%). FTIR spectroscopy showed that the main adsorption interactions were the electrostatic forces between deprotonated carboxyl (or hydroxyl) groups and Co(II). Desorption pH-effect experiments demonstrated the opposite pH conditions (2) as the optimum for desorption, while the whole desorption phenomenon was extremely fast (equilibrium after ~25 min). Adsorption-desorption cycles presented the potential of the prepared materials in reuse. The treated materials were more resistant, losing lower percentage of their adsorption capacity during cycles. A derivative between chitosan and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) was also prepared and studied as a biosorbent. The materials were characterized with various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Alongside solubility, hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis as well as cytotoxicity studies were concluded in this study. Finally, the adsorption capacity of the materials was studied for the ions of Co(II). The optimum pH found after adsorption experiments was 4. While increasing the initial concentration of the metal or the temperature, the adsorption capacity was also increased. The new biosorbent of CS-HMF had an impressive capacity of up to 310% of its weight.

Resume : The circular economy relies on the raw materials circulation in sustainable way to ensure the material supply security and decrease waste generation. There is several key enablers for circular economy; raw materials, knowledge for processing them, materials science, renewable energy, waste valorization, digitalization, smart circular design, sustainable manufacturing, loop closure strategies and technologies, supportive policy and legislation and mind-set/actions of the people towards circularity. In the following we have reviewed the circular material design strategies - enables and barriers of substitution of critical raw materials (CRMs) trough sustainable solutions. We concentrate on industrial land-filled waste and side-stream sources. Could they be considered as equal raw materials as primary or traditionally recycled raw materials for substituting some of the current CRMs? Furthermore land-filling wastes not only generate costs for companies, but also impact negatively to the public image of the company. In our case studies novel, however currently low technological readiness level (TRL) solutions are proposed for potential substitution of CRMs or expensive refractory metals (Nb, Mo, V). From a technical point of view new alumina-based materials are interesting for demanding applications at elevated temperatures.

Resume : Thermodynamically based modeling in combination with experimental investigations represents a versatile tool to understand the governing processes occurring in materials. The development of modern steels, superalloys and other technologically important materials depend on a profound understanding of the function of alloying elements and in particular in their role in the phase transformations. Models based on the relevant physical principles are a precondition to improve the understanding of microstructure-property relationships. Based on in-situ experiments the evolving microstructures can be subjected to a controlled thermo-mechanical treatment [1-2]. The experimental results will be interpreted by means of thermodynamically based modeling in order to gain new insights about the underlying physics when designing new materials, see e.g. [3]. Future research will be focused on the possible replacement of certain critical raw materials like tungsten, molybdenum, chromium and/or cobalt in tool steels or niobium in microalloyed steels.

Resume : Intermetallics are possible candidates for the substitution of CRM-containing materials in high-temperature applications as well as for the tools and parts loaded by mechanical wear. However, their disadvantage is low room-temperature ductility. This work brings the overview of the technologies, which can minimize this problem by refining the structure of the materials. The presented processes are mechanical alloying in combination with Spark Plasma Sintering and Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. The mechanisms and advantages of these processes are shown on the examples of aluminide-based materials.

Resume : Nowadays, permanent magnets (PMs) have a wide set of applications in many industrial and technological fields, as large motors, generators, metallic elements separators. Currently, most of the PMs contain rare-earth (RE) elements, whose availability has become to decrease, and, as a consequence, their price has risen significantly, making these elements become critical on the European market. Developing PMs without RE has become a very challenging task, in both scientific and technological field. Recently, many efforts are being performed towards the massive computational screening of new high-performance RE-free PMs. They rely on the search for new stable structures using a genetic/evolutionary algorithm, by means of using ab-initio methods. Although very accurate, the ab-initio calculations are computationally very demanding, thus, the exploration of structural phase is limited. In our study, we?re developing new classical force field potentials to model the atomic interaction in the target structures, with the aim of performing Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Our goal is to devise a scheme combining both DFT calculations and Molecular Dynamics, in order to speed up the search of new materials with preserving its accuracy. We aim also to use these potentials to study some thermodynamic or structural properties of the new materials found by screening.

Resume : The paper presents the influence of activation flux and shielding gas on tungsten inert gas (abbr. TIG) welding of stainless steel. In the introduction part, duplex stainless steel was analysed. A-TIG process was explained and the possibility of welding stainless steels using A-TIG process to maximize productivity and the cost-effectiveness of welded structures was presented. In the experimental part duplex stainless steel in thickness of 7 mm has been welded in butt joint. The influence of activation flux chemical composition upon the weld penetration has been investigated prior the welding. The welding process was performed by robot with TIG equipment. With selected welding technology preparation of plates and filler material (containing Cr, Ni and Mn) have been avoided. Specimens sectioned from the produced welds have been subjected to tensile strength test, microstructure analysis and corrosion resistance analysis. A comparative study has determined ideal set of welding parameters for welding this type of stainless steels without edge preparation and addition of filler material containing critical raw materials as Cr, Ni and Mn.

Resume : High entropy alloys (HEA) represent a relatively new concept in material design. HEA are characterised by a high number of alloying elements, in unusually high proportion. Due to their specific particularities, high entropy alloys tend to form predominant solid solution structures that develop potentially high chemical, physical and mechanical properties, especially at elevated temperatures. High entropy alloys are usually compared with the superalloy family of materials. Among other elements Co is considered to be one of the main ingredients in superalloys. Co is considered a critical element and its substitution is difficult due to its unique ability to form high temperature stable structures with high mechanical and corrosion/oxidation resistance. Present paper is studying Co-less high entropy alloys with high potential in severe environment applications. The high entropy alloys based on Al-Cr-Fe-Mn-Ni system were prepared by induction melting and casting under protective atmosphere. The as-cast specimens were heat treated at various temperatures to determine the structure and property behaviour. Samples taken before and after heat treatment were investigated for chemical, physical, structural and mechanical characteristics. Sigma phase composition and heat treatment parameters had major influence over the resulted alloy structure and properties.

Resume : Hot isostatic pressing - HIP, is a thermo-mechanical process, comprising of simultaneous use of the hydrostatic pressure of gas (Ar) and elevated temperatures (>1000°C). The HIP procedure causes hardening of the material and increase of density. The HIP is of great importance for superalloy castings due to the almost complete elimination of micro-porosity by a combination of plastic deformation, creep and diffusion. However, during the HIP a carbide free zone and a contaminated surface layer are formed. This leads to loss of critical row materials (CRM) alloying elements (Al, Ti, Cr, Co, V, Mo) from the surface, and loss of material due to removal of contamination layer. The contaminated layer and carbide free zone has been studied on differently grinded (P240, P1000 and polished) samples made of superalloy IN100. The maximum thickness of the contaminated layer occurs for the sample prepared with grinding paper P240 and it is 1,728 µm, while the lowest layer thickness was 0,888 µm, in case of polished samples. The contaminated layer is consisted of oxides, carbides and nitrides formed due to the diffusion of chemical elements from metal matrix and their reaction with impurities in HIP atmosphere. Hence, a carbide free zone is formed with depth of 100, 78 and 48 µm for samples prepared with grinding paper P240, P1000, and polished samples, respectively. Finally, to conclude, in order to minimize loss of CRM alloying elements during HIP a smoother part surface is preferable.

Resume : Rare Earth Elements (REE), key role in high technology and clean energy devices has converted them into very strategically important metals (Permanent Magnets (PM)). Many rechargeable batteries and highly efficient electric engines and generators contain REE compounds in their components. For example, they are used in hard disk drives, hybrid electric vehicles, wind mills or in everyday consumer products that content batteries such as mobile phones and lap-tops, industrial equipment? Worldwide, due to the growing use of these products and technologies, it is forecast that REE world demand will soon exceed the supply. In Europe, the dependence on Chinese exports makes us extremely dependent and vulnerable, turning REE in one of the materials at highest supply risk. Therefore, recovering of REE from RE-containing waste streams may constitute an important RE secondary source. Nevertheless, existing recycling processes are based on hazardous solutions or processes which require very high energy consumption. The REE4EU project, funded in the frame of Horizon 2020 TOPIC SPIRE-07-2015 under Grant Agreement n° 680507, has the objective of developing a new recycling process for the recycling of REE and other valuable metals such as nickel from spent Ni metal hydride (NiMH) batteries using ionic liquids. 14 partners from 7 European countries are involved, representing the full value chain including RE metal producers, PM manufacturer, SME process engineering companies and LCA experts, large electronics and battery recycling companies (LCM, VAC, ELKEM, IDENER, A3I-INOVERTIS, SNAM, STENA), SME technology transfer, innovation specialists as well as chemical and end-user associations (PNO, CEFIC and AVERE). Together with 4 top research institutes (SINTEF the coordinator, TECNALIA, UPS? laboratoire de Génie chimique and CEA) on high temperature electrolysis, ionic liquids and RE recycling. The project will develop, validate and demonstrate in 2 industrially relevant Pilots an innovative Rare Earth Alloys (REA) production route from PM, and NiMH battery waste. The targeted integrated solution is based on recently developed lab-proven technologies for direct high temperature electrolysis of REA production combined with an innovative and proven Ionic Liquid (IL) Extraction or tailored hydrometallurgical pre-treatment to demonstrate dramatic improvements in cost and environmental performance compared to state of the art technologies. ILs could be a very promising alternative for the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly recycling processes, due to the fact that they can be fine-tuned to dissolve-extract selectively the desired metal or compound even at low temperatures (?100ºC), non- volatility, non- toxicity or that they can be recycled. Our Objective will be to prove technical and economic viability on in-process PM waste (swarf), end-of-life PM waste (EoL), and NiMH battery waste, develop urgently required market data on EoL RE availability and a triple value-chain business case for a new European Rare Earth Alloys (REA) production sector from secondary raw material. The proposed approach will determine the improvements in cost and environmental performance compared to state of the art technologies. This includes reduction of process steps and waste generation and 50% energy savings. This will create new jobs, increase Europe?s independence from imports and last but not least, provide valuable raw materials for fast growing European green-technology industries such as electrical/hybrid vehicles and wind turbines.

Resume : Among the critical raw materials (CRMs) used in tools for mechanical machining, tungsten and cobalt are massively used, as most of these tools are made of cemented carbide WC-Co. In a strategy to reduce the consumption of these CMRs, hard coatings can be deposited on the tool surface, so to increase their lifetime and optimize their performance. High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) is considered as a very useful film deposition technique allowing the realization of dense, hard and smooth coatings at high deposition rates. Indeed, the high power density reached in the short pulses applied to the cathode material promotes the establishment of highly-ionized plasma, helping the deposition of high quality films. We deposited titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) films by means of the HiPIMS technique by changing the pulse duration at fixed voltage and average power, thus tuning the single pulse power. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was conducted to study the evolution of the microstructural properties of the deposited films when changing the pulse duration, while scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) gave information about the influence of pulse length on film morphology. The film properties were then correlated to the film hardness obtained by means of nanoindentation measurements.

Resume : Tungsten is one of 14 materials identified by the European Commission as ?critical?. The aim of the work is to demonstrate application of DC plasma for production of spherical metal powders which is based on the use of waste materials, i.e. post-processed residues like chips, industrial scraps. The proposed recycling process utilizes features of some metals which undergo reversible chemical reaction with oxygen. In contrast to metallic tungsten its trioxide is brittle and can be easily mechanically fragmented down to very fine powder. The resulting irregular powder of the desired particle size distribution can be turned into metal by simple thermal treatment becoming feedstock for next step ? the plasma spheroidization process. The target spherical powder of desired particle size distribution can fabricated by proper handling of tungsten trioxide (grinding, sieving, granulation) and selection of speroidization parameters of reaction column equipped with FST 7MB plasma torch. The effects of electrical parameters of the plasma arc (current, voltage), grain size of the starting powders, flow rate of the plasma gas and gas transporting the powder to the plasma stream on the final size and morphology after spheroidization process have been investigated. The influence of hydrogen concentration in the plasma gas and flow of the carrier gas on the spheroidization degree, purity, chemical composition and powder specific surface area are shown.

Resume : In this paper the influence of the heat treatment on the structural and optical properties of oxide single-layer and multilayer transparent thin film structures of oxide/metal/oxide and oxide/polymer/oxide type are studied. The single-layer oxides and respective multilayer structures have been deposited on glass substrates by successive DC magnetron sputtering using metallic targets in reactive (for the oxide films) or inert (for the metallic interlayer films) atmosphere. Good quality transparent conducting thin film oxide/metal/oxide structures have been obtained, with resistivity  10-4 ·m and transmittance  75%. The wetting surface properties in function of time exposure at UV radiation (254 nm) have been also studied before and after heat treatments.

Resume : Sustainability for critical raw materials in the framework of COST Action CA15102 CRM-EXTREME is overviewed. Main criteria of criticality ? economic importance and supply risk are specified for CRMs covered by CRM-EXTREME action. The most relevant environmental and economic impacts in the value chains are presented.

Resume : The rapid technological development has caused the replace of old cathode ray tube equipment (CRT) with the most innovative liquid crystal displays (LCD) for several applications as personal computer monitors, laptops, tablet PCs, mobile phones, televisions. Considering their average lifetime, generally between 3 and 8 years, huge amount of these equipment inevitably reaches the end-of-life state and becomes a waste to manage. The WEEE Directive of 2012 included the end-of-life LCD in the Category 3, relative to IT and telecommunication equipment, with targets of 80% for the recovery and 70% for re-use and recycling to reach until August 2018. The interest for this kind of waste is due to the content of several materials, with different recovery potentials, that makes it a possible source of secondary raw material in the perspective of a circular economy. More in detail, the main components of a typical LCD include: the panel, the frame and the electric and electronic parts, combined with the backlighting system that causes the classification of this WEEE as hazardous waste for the possible presence of fluorescent lamps with a mercury content. Considering the LCD body, metals and plastic are the most significant materials with percentages of about 50% and 20%, respectively, followed by glass and printed circuit boards, lamps, cables and other components. Nevertheless, particular attention should be given to the panel that includes an indium tin oxide film (ITO), an optoelectronic material with specific characteristics of transparency to visible light, electric conduction and thermal reflection. The mixture of 90% of In2O3 and 10% of SnO2 is attached on a glass surface and represents a potential secondary indium resource. Indeed, this metal was included in the critical raw material list of 2014 by the European Commission, on the basis of supply risk and the possible impact connected with its mining. Currently, the whole indium on the market comes from a primary production, in particular as by-product of zinc mining and China is the largest supplier. The relevance of this metal is further confirmed by the European Substitutability index of 0.82 (in a 0-1 range), that estimates the difficulty in substituting the material, scored and weighted across all applications. Currently, the main mineral of interest for indium extraction is the sphalerite, where metal is present with variable concentration between 1 and 100 mg/kg, therefore, the potential value of end-of-life LCD panel, with an average content of 150-200 mg/kg, is evident. Nowadays, the LCD panel is disposed in landfilling sites for municipal waste, or stocked at the WEEE treatment plants, because no commercial recycling process is available yet. This critical issue pushed the research towards the development of high efficiency indium recovery treatments to combine with the usual recycling of traditional fractions (plastic, glass, cables, etc.) for a complete waste valorization. In this regard, literature reports several approaches, mainly classified as pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical, that ensure an efficient indium dissolution with relatively low energy consumption. Additional applications include new and novel technologies, as biometallurgical, electrochemical, supercritical and vacuum metallurgical treatments, often suitable only for small scale applications. Nowadays, the actual challenge is the processes implementation in real plants, giving priority to environmental aspects. In this perspective, the combination between traditional hydrometallurgy and the still little explored biohydrometallurgy could offer the combination of cost-efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Resume : The lasers are used for different surface treatments on various materials. One of them is laser color marking, which enables a production of colored marks on the surfaces of metals. With color marks a holographic images can also be produced with which a genuine products can be distinguished. Laser color markings can be done on various materials, but on titanium alloys a wide spectre of vivid colors can be made. The study presents the analysis of properties of laser treated surfaces that are exposed to aggressive environments, were possible high temperature oxide formation is expected and possible corrosion attacks. In this study, different samples were prepared with laser light of varied power intensity and marking speed. The samples were prepared on Ti Grade 5 foils, cut in round discs for further testing. Corrosion, spectroscopic and metallographic analysis were conducted. Corrosion testing showed different effects of laser power and velocity on the properties of laser treated surfaces. It was shown that high intensity and slowest velocity damaged the surfaces by forming oxides that are less stable in corrosive environment. The exposure environment was simulation road conditions. Spectroscopic investigations including SEM/EDS and Raman analysis have showed the differences in structure of surface layer formed after laser treatment. Similarly, microstructural investigations showed different effects on surface and sub surface layer of laser treated samples.

Resume : Graphite is an industrially important material used in steel industries, foundries, batteries, etc.. Furthermore, graphite-based composites reveal to be promising candidates for the manufacture of high-performance coatings against corrosion and for UV shielding. Natural graphite powders are mainly produced in China, which holds a 70% share of total world production, followed by Latin America with 20%. Europe production of natural graphite powders is less than 1% and therefore graphite was recently listed among the critical raw materials for EU. In this work, we describe an eco-friendly method for recovering graphite powders from anodes of end of life Li-ion batteries. Recovered graphite powders were used as starting material for the sustainable synthesis of graphene, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide. High purity graphene solution was obtained by mild sonication, in ecofriendly solvents, of recovered graphite powders, while graphene oxide was synthetized by modified Hummers’ methods starting from same recovered graphite powders. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was obtained by chemical reduction by means of glucose and by thermal treatment in a reducing atmosphere of H2 and Ar at temperatures in the range of 400-900 °C. The proposed synthesis methodologies have been validated applying them to commercial graphite powders. Graphene and graphene oxide films were deposited on fused silica, silicon and yttria stabilized zirconia substrates by spin coating and drop casting techniques, starting from water dispersion of exfoliated graphite and water solution graphene oxide. Thermogravimetical analysis (TGA/DTA), UV-Vis-NIR and FTIR spectrophotometry, XRD, Raman and electron microscope (FE-SEM) measurements were used to investigate solutions, powders and films characteristics.

Resume : ITO is a unique material with optical and electrical properties that at present make it the material of choice in displays, touch screens, solar cells and optoelectronic devices. ITO is also used in displays for avionics where rugged durability is needed. ITO main constituent (about 78 wt%) is In, a by-product of Zn metal, which is subjected to large price oscillations and has been listed recently among the critical raw materials (CRMs) for EU. Although it has been debated1 if In should be considered really a critical raw material for EU, due to the fact that its main application is in displays which are mainly produced in Japan, the research on ITO substitutes is still very active and several alternative transparent conductors have been proposed, some of them almost reaching ITO performances. In this work we survey our studies on the optical and electrical performances of In-free transparent conductors fabricated by radio frequency sputtering such as aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO), ultrathin metal films and metal-oxide multilayers. 1Indium in displays: substitute or not?, Dario della Sala, Maria Luisa Grilli, CRM Innovation Network for Substitution of Critical Raw Materials, 1st Strategic Workshop and Network Launch Event, 15th April 2013.

Resume : Multicomponent alloys containing several components in equal atomic proportions have been manufactured by mechanical alloying and induction melting. The present paper reports synthesis of equiatomic VCrNiCoFeCu multicomponent alloys. Microstructure and properties of alloys are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microhardness and corrosion measurements respectively.

Resume : In this paper, the influence of friction stir processing (FSP) was evaluated as a way of increasing mechanical properties and a way of replacing the magnesium content in aluminium alloys. FSP was performed on AA5754 H111 aluminium alloy, containing 3 % Mg, by using various types of tools and different welding speeds rotational speeds and tilt angles. Wear test was performed against SiC abrasive papers. SiC was used to simulate extreme abrasive wear conditions. The wear test was done on untreated AA5754 specimens, processed AA5754 specimens and untreated AA5083 H111 specimens, the latter containing 4.5 % Mg. Base material microhardness was 60 HV1 and 80 HV1 for AA5754 and AA5083 alloys respecively. To find the effect of FSP on AA5754 alloy, microstructures were studied, mainly grain size in the stir zone. It was found, that an elevated welding and rotational speed, without tilt angle and the tool without a reservoir resulted in an increase in hardness of the AA5754 to 70 HV1, but with the occurrence of tunneling defect and the wear rate of 79.3 mg. Lower FSP parameters and a tilted tool with a reservoir resulted in microhardness of 68 HV1 and wear rate of 68.2 mg without tunneling. These wear values are lower than those obtained with unmodified Al-alloys: AA5754 97.2 mg and AA5083 86.3 mg. An increased wear resistance can be attributed to the combined effect of grain boundary strengthening mechanism and solid solution strengthening, versus only the latter in untreated alloys.

Resume : Stainless steels (SS) are widely used in nuclear power plants (NPP) because of their excellent corrosion resistance due to their protection by an oxide layer being an intermediate boundary with contact media. Therefore, SSs are structural materials for critical components to be used in contact with reactor cooler, saturated and superheated steam. Particularly for nuclear industry applications, such materials have to resist neutron radiation, elevated temperatures, mechanical stress and thermal expansion, being tough and having thermal conductivity and chemical and corrosion resistance. The general exploitation period of energy plants is 30-40 years, but the modern tendencies are further prolongation of their lifetime. To attain the challenge, it is required the constructional materials and respective components have an improved corrosion resistance. Since Cr is considered as a critical raw material, in the present work experimental attempts were undertaken to compensate the lowering of its content in SSs by application of protective coatings. The investigations were performed on 08X18H10T austenitic steel (equivalent to AISI 321 or 1.4541), since it is the main constructional material in “Kozloduy” NPP in Bulgaria. Compositional, metallographic and electrochemical studies were conducted to clarify the characteristics of the oxide layer formed under plant operation. Finally, an aluminosilicate sol-gel coating was obtained and studied in comparison to the native oxide layer.

Resume : Nowadays, many technological applications such as information storage or a number of green energy applications like motors for hybrid and electric cars and direct-drive wind turbines rely on high quality permanent magnets [G. Scheunert et al., Applied Physics Reviews 3, 011301 (2016), O. Gutfleisch et al. Advanced Materials 23, 821-842 (2011)]. The increasing importance of permanent magnets in modern society has resulted in a renewed interest in the design of new magnet materials that are cheaper and contain less critical components like Rare Earths (RE). In some of these applications magnets must operate (usually providing a magnetic flux) under extreme conditions like high temperature and pressure. Unfortunately, the performance of a permanent magnet decreases a lot in such conditions. For example, the highest performance magnet at room temperature, Nd2Fe14B, exhibits a Curie temperature (Tc) around 312°C, so that above this temperature it becomes paramagnetic and does not generate any significant magnetic field. But even below Tc, critical properties as the maximum energy product (BH)max or coercivity HC (which is extremely important for motor applications) are reduced very rapidly as temperature approaches Tc. This problem is partially solved adding 4 at% Dy substitution for Nd in Nd2Fe14B magnet or using Sm-based magnets like SmCo5 (with Tc=723°C) or Sm2TM17, where TM stands for transition-metal element. Unfortunately, all these high-performance magnets contain large amounts of critical raw materials as RE elements. In this work, we discuss the critical raw material problem in high-performance permanent magnets under extreme conditions and we present a software implementation of a particular Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (AGA), which has been proposed for discovering new RE-free magnetic crystal phases in the context of the EU-H2020 NOVAMAG project. In particular, we make use of an AGA, implemented through USPEX [A. O. Lyakhov et al., Computer Physics Communications 184, 1172?1182 (2013)] and VASP [G. Kresse et al., Phys. Rev. B 47, 558 (1993)] codes, to predict new magnetic crystal phases, whereby those structures with better magnetic properties for a permanent magnet are selected and analyzed in more detail. Such a methodology has been preliminarily compared to well-known experimentally reported properties of several compounds, showing an excellent agreement [P. Nieves et al. Phys. Status Solidi C, 13, 942-950 (2016)]. In addition, we show recent results predicted by AGA in CoFe2X (where X=N and P). Such exploration led to some interesting unknown metastable structures which fulfill the initial requirements (negative enthalpy of formation ?HF< 0, high saturation magnetization µ0MS>1T and non-cubic lattice system) for permanent magnet development.

Resume : Iron-based metallic glasses are widely used for different industrial applications. Their exploitation leads to numerous structural transformations and change of their properties due to temperature variations. In our work we have studied several iron-based metallic glasses: Fe84B13.5Si3.5C2, Fe78B15Mo2Si5, Fe67B14Co18Si, and Fe40B16Ni40Mo4. The samples have been prepared by melt spinning method and are annealed in temperature interval of 25-700 °C. Based on thermal analysis are determined appropriate temperatures at which the samples were studied. Transformations in materials are investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Heating of alloys at low temperatures leads to thermal stabilization through a series of structural transformations including changes of their ferromagnetic properties. Partial crystallization of the alloys is observed after higher temperature annealing. Mixture of new crystal phases was observed depending on alloying elements. So, we were able to identify the impact of Mo, Co and Ni on structural transformations and properties of investigated samples.

Resume : The recovery of chromium from scrap, solid and liquid wastes only returns a small quantity of the chromium demand; however, its removal from the municipal by-product streams is also relevant for environmental concerns. For this reason, fate of Cr was monitored in two municipal solid waste plants (MSWPs) from different sources: leachates generated from mature (PP) and young landfill (MP) prisms, technological wastewater from sorting (SU) and composting unit (CU). Additionally, raw (RWW) and treated (TWW) wastewater together with the sewage sludge ash (SSA) was tested in terms of Cr occurrence. In MSWPs? samples Cr concentration ranges between 0.112 and 0.709 mg/l. The highest concentration was general noted in PPs, operated when the deposition of biodegradable wastes was permitted. In MPs, which meet the EU legislation requirements, the elevated presence of Cr was detected in a MSWP located in the countryside, where the higher share of the fine (ash) fraction, from the individual heating systems, was present. Cr concentration in RWW is negligible and less than 0.013mg/l, while in FA is equal to 67.5±13.3 mg/kg dry mass. Effective methods for Cr removal, including adsorption, redox-adsorption, precipitation, ion-exchange and membrane systems, are reported in literature. However, the subsequent separation and recovery can provide lower efficiencies, depending on the initial concentration of Cr, the process adopted, the chemical used and the presence of other competitive species in the wastewater. Handling small, highly Cr-concentrated daily flows can be an easier way to recover Cr from wastewaters; nevertheless, the economic feasibility of these methods and their efficiency remains to be assessed.

Resume : Ultrafine-grained materials have gained particular interests in the last years due to their mechanical high strength, combined with suitable ductility. Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) is one of Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) techniques used to produce bulk materials with fine-grained structure. An Al-Mg-Si-Pb alloy was processed by ECAP at room and cryogenic temperature for up to 4 passes via route Bc (that is by rotating the billet +90° at each pass). To study the corrosion response, electrochemical characterization in deareated solution of NaCl 0.1 M at pH 2 was carried out. The evolution of microstructures and mechanical properties were studied by means of TEM, XRD analyses, and nanoindentation hardness and local elastic modulus measurements. The results showed a microstructure refinement down to 500 nm at 4-ECAP passes for both room temperature and cryogenic treated ECAP conditions. On the other hand, ECAP cumulative shear strain indiced an increase of corrosion rate for samples at room temperature, while corrosion rate for cryogenic samples were in line with the typical response of the solutioned and as received (as-extruded) alloy.

Resume : The use of state-of-the-art simulation techniques to probe the mechanics of small contacts is ubiquitous and has become widespread in studying contact loading processes including nanoindentation, nanometric cutting, polishing, grinding and nanoimpact. The majority of such simulation based studies assumes the description of the impacting material (indenter or tool) as a perfect rigid, inelastic body. The scenario however changes at the nanoscale as the contact size approaches atomic dimensions and near-surface phenomena such as jump-to-contact leading to adhesive mass transport and wetting of the indenter become non-trivial. Here in this work, we prove that the active chemical interactions between two contacting asperities lead to significant deviations of atomic scale contact mechanics from classical continuum mechanics predictions and that this is not only due to the surface texture (atomic-scale surface roughness) and geometry of contacts but also due to the dynamically occurring chemical events between the atomic species. We performed a testbed study by simulating velocity-controlled, fixed displacement nanoindentation on single crystal tungsten using three indenters (i) a rigid diamond indenter (DI), (ii) a rigid indenter comprising the atoms of the same material as that of the substrate i.e. tungsten atoms (TI), and (iii) an imaginary, ideally smooth, spherical, rigid and purely repulsive indenter (RI). A common limitation of both TI and RI indenters compared to a DI indenter obtained from the load-displacement (P-h) plots was that it is not possible to accurately estimate the cohesive dynamics between the indenter and substrate atoms during the approach of the indenter to the substrate (jump-to-contact). We suggest that the choice of indenter in MD simulations (even if the indenter is considered rigid) should be made very carefully depending on the chemical nature of the substrate, since the classical mechanics based rigid body assumptions are not readily applicable at nanoscale due to the chemical nature of materials.

Resume : The influence of crystallographic orientation, contact size and surface roughness effects on incipient plasticity in tungsten have been investigated by nanoindentation with a range of indenter radii (150, 350, 800 and 2800 nm) into single crystal samples with (100) and (111) orientation. The results on the single crystals have been compared to those on a reference sample of polycrystalline tungsten tested under the same conditions. Surface roughness measurements showed the Ra » 2, 4, and 6 nm on the (100), (111) and polycrystalline samples respectively. A strong size effect was observed, with the stress for incipient plasticity increasing as the indenter radii decrease. The maximum shear stress approached the theoretical shear strength when W(100) was indented by the tip with smallest radius. The higher roughness and greater dislocation density on the W(111) sample contributed to pop-ins occurring at lower stresses. The results of a state-of-the-art molecular dynamics simulation of nanoindentation into W(100) and W(111) also showed the different behaviour with crystallographic orientation.

Resume : Metal matrix composites (MMCs) consist of the heterogeneous combination of two or more constituents. [1] The metal forms the matrix within which the other constituents are dispersed as fillers. Although the individual constituents maintain their distinct physical and chemical natures, the dispersion of materials to various extents and at different length scales can result in enhanced properties and performances compared to those exhibited separately by the constituents [2, 3]. Therefore, MMCs represent an important case study for meeting the demand of replacing critical raw materials in future technology. While showing promise for advanced technological applications in several fields, MMCs also raise fundamental challenges for the current understanding of structure-property relationships. In this respect, there is still considerable room for experimental and theoretical investigation [4]. Based on above-mentioned considerations, the present work addresses the fabrication of MMCs by mechanical processing. In particular, Cu-graphite powder mixtures have been subjected to mechanical processing by ball milling under inert atmosphere to induce mutual dispersion of the constituents [5]. Then, powder has been consolidated by spark plasma sintering, and the obtained pellets subjected to nanoindentation to investigate the variation of mechanical properties with milling time and graphite content. References [1] J.W. Kaczmar, K. Pietrzakb, W. Włosińskici, 2000, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 106, Pp 58–67. [2] F. Delogu, G. Gorrasi, A. Sorrentino, 2017, Progress in Materials Science, 86 Pp 75-126. [3] L.Y. Chen, J.Q. Xu, H. Choi, M. Pozuelo, X. Ma, S. Bhowmick, J. M. Yang, S. Mathaudhu, X. C. Li, 2015, Nature, 528 Pp. 539-549. [4] S. Garroni, S. Soru, S. Enzo, F. Delogu, 2014, Scripta Materialia, 88, Pp 9–12. [5] P. Balá¸, M. Achimovičová, M. Balá¸, P. Billik, Z. Cherkezova-Zheleva, J. M. Criado, F. Delogu, E. Dutková, E. Gaffet, F. J. Gotor, R. Kumar, I. Mitov, T. Rojac, M. Senna, A. Streletskiikl, K. Wieczorek-Ciurowam, 2013, Chemical Society Reviews, 42 Pp 7571-7637.

Resume : Currently, white emission from LED and CFL lighting devices is obtained from the down-conversion (total or partial) of the emitted quasi-monochromatic light through suitable phosphors with large emission in the visible spectrum. At the moment the commercial devices largely utilizes rare earth based materials as phosphors. In LED technology Cerium doped Yttrium aluminum garnet (Ce:YAG) is the most utilized phosphor, excitable in the blue (450nm) region. In CFL systems phosphate/oxide mix, containing rare earths elements as lanthanum, Europium and Yttrium are utilized as phosphors. Such large use of Critical raw materials is going to increase in lighting applications. Actually it is foreseen that the LED plus CFL market will rise from 48 Euro billions in 2011 to 91 euro billions in 2020, increasing the market share from 65% to the 90 % of the whole lighting sector. The lighting sector has a fundamental role in the total energy consumption, accounting for more than 10% of the overall share. In this view the recycling of such devices is mandatory. In this work we will present the performance of new phosphors for white LED totally obtained from wasted devices. The new Ce:YAG will be obtained with green chemical approach from recycled powder containing a mixture of several rare earths elements in oxide and oxalate structure. Optical characterization will be presented and the strength and weakness of the new phosphors will be discussed.

Resume : Al-Mg alloys are widely used structural non-heat treated aluminium alloys due to their good weldability. The most widely used welding processes are GMAW and GTAW, however, their application is usually accompanied by consumable material. Consumable wires and rods, that are most common are of the 5356 and 4043 types. However, both contain critical raw materials (CRMs), in form of 4.5-5.5 % Mg and 4.5-6 % Si. In this paper, an attempt was made to replace GMAW and GTAW processes of AA5052 plates, 5 mm thick with friction stir welding (FSW), without consumable material, making considerable savings in CRMs. Two types of tools, having square pins and reservoir to pin volume ratio of 0.5 and 0.9 were used. Rotational speed of 925 min-1 was used, as well as three welding speeds: 17, 46 and 91 mm/min. Weld strengths, microstructures and weld face roughness parameters were determined. It was found that higher mechanical properties were obtained with lower welding speeds and with the tool with reservoir to pin ratio of 0.5. The highest ultimate tensile strength was 3 % higher, while the yield strength was 25 % higher compared to the base material, considerably higher than the values obtainable with GMAW and GTAW processes. Also, the same tool resulted in more uniform weld hardness values, due to a wider central part of the stir zone, but also in a higher roughness parameters. However, the flexibility of the FSW process and welding speeds are considerably lower than in arc welding.

Resume : Perforated plates represent a convenient way of improving armor protection of military vehicles. However, the additional weight makes the automotive components more stressed, decreasing the vehicle mobility and reliability. Therefore, the weight of the add-on armour should be as low as possible. Perforated plates induce bending stresses in the penetrating core of the projectile, which enables the basic plate to stop the resulting fragments. The most common material used for perforated plates is armor steel, most of which contain considerable amounts of critical raw materials (CRMs), such as chromium (up to 2 %) and molybdenium (up to 1 %). By replacing the steel with unalloyed heat treated ductile iron (austempered ductile iron – ADI material), considerable savings could be achieved. In this paper, two types of ADI materials were used as a basis for perforated plates 7 mm thick, placed at 400 mm rom the basic 13 mm plate, one austempered at 275oC and the other at 400oC, with UTS of 1472 and 914, elongation of 1 and 2 %, impact energy 23 and 44 and HV10 of 498 and 300, respectively. It was shown that a full protection against 12.7 mm M8 armour piercing ammunition can be obtained with ADI material austempered at 275oC, providing one cracked bulge on the basic plate and four smooth bulges with frequent penetrating core fracture. On the other hand, ADI material austempered at 400oC did not cause core fracture and the basic plate was penetrated twice of five fired projectiles.

Resume : This paper present an analysis of abundance and scarcity distribution of elements on Earth, Sun and Universe in connexion of their number of neutrons and binding energy per nucleon. The understanding of elements formation and their specific properties related to their electronic and nucleonic structure will may lead to understand if future solutions are possible or not for the replacement of certain elements or materials for specific applications.

Resume : The rolling of B2-based iron aluminides is problematic and usually not successful process. Even the hot rolling leads to significant intergranular cracking. That’s why the applied alloys developed in past decades, as Pyroferal, were just cast. Quite recently two technological steps were applied: the ultrasound forced mold during vacuum casting, and mainly the use of a bandage as in a special hot-rolling procedure preventing thermal shocks. Those procedures improve structure of the rolled material significantly. The ultrasound forcing of the melt during solidification improves the mold filling, prevents formation of shrinkage cavities in the cast piece and refine grain size, which is related mainly to enhanced nucleation. The rolling of the bandaged material prevents cracking caused by the thermal shock by a direct contact between hot material and cold rolls and it suppresses partially also the cooling effect of the surrounding atmosphere. The process is illustrated using alloy Fe-40Al-Zr-B, which contained 24.4 % Al, 0.02 % C, 0.17 % Mn, 0.17 % Zr and 0.011 % B (the aluminum content corresponded almost exactly to 40 at. %).

Resume : Complex study of alloys based on FeAl aluminide was leading in the fifties of the last century to the proposal of. The composition of the binary Fe-Al alloy was modified by C and Si. So called Pyroferal© alloy (44.6-46.5 at.% Al and 3.4-4.0 at.% C) was prepared in Czech republic in the fifties of last century.This alloy with excellent corrosion and heat resistant properties was used to replace the high chromium and nickel alloyed cast iron. The investigations performed recently on Fe-40 at.%Al type alloys with carbon contents 1.9-3.8 at.% and aluminium up to 43 at.% were designed to explain in more detail the origin of the structure and mechanical properties of the mentioned material. It is the purpose of this contribution describes the effect of Al and C on the structure of iron aluminides with the composition close to Pyroferal© . The appearing and morphology of carbide Al4C3 and of graphite is described in the as cast and annealed state.

Resume : Achieving the 20% energy savings by 2020 is an objective of the European Energy Strategy 2020. In this context special attention should be given to increase the energy efficiency. Chemical and thermal energy storage using Phase Change Materials is a key technology in improving the use of concentrated solar power plants. A set of innovative PCM-microencapsulated materials have been tested and monitored from the chemical, mechanical and physical point of view and efficient laboratory and pilot scale process for micro-encapsulation will be proposed. New microencapsulation processes have been proposed to encapsulate inorganic salts based on KNO3-NaNO3 as Phase Change Materials (PCM) system using ZnO and SiO2 nanostructured ceramic materials shells, using soft chemical synthesis procedures: hydrothermal followed by direct spray drying and sol-gel colloidal procedures. Microcapsules obtained are expected to increase storage capacity with > 10% for a lifetime of 15-20 years due to encapsulation protection and operation temperature range for thermal energy storage 300-500 ºC. An important expected advantage is the reduction of corrsion produced by alkaline salts used as PCM reducing the use of high alloyed stainless steels in the construction of heat storage tanks. ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The research leading to these results are based on the financial support from NASR,ENERHIGH project, under the Competitive Operational Programme 2014-2020, Contract 93/09.09.2016.

Resume : The increasing growth of Li-ion batteries market for electric and hybrid vehicles is the main driving factor behind increasing in Co demand. About 30% of Co use is in Li-ion batteries. This kind of batteries have the advantages of a high energy density, are easily rechargeable and provide low losses, but among drawbacks is their safe disposal due to flammable components. It is therefore very important to find viable eco-friendly solutions for the recovery of Li-ion spent batteries, also because both cathode and anode contain critical and strategic elements such as Co and Li (cathode) and graphite (anode). In this work, commercial spent Sony 18650 batteries were fully discharged and opened in safety. The separation of electrolytic material from collector was obtained through cavitation induced by ultrasonic process. Sonication was carried out in a bath at room temperature for a few minutes using water as sonication medium.

Resume : Cavitation is characterized by the generation and the collapse of vapour structure in liquid, thus creating shock waves and microjets impacts, which finally damage a material. In this kind of extreme working conditions, some highly alloyed (Cr, Ni, Mo, V, Co) steels are usually used. For that reason, is of great importance to find a suitable alternative. As one of possibilities, a ADI (Austempered Ductile Iron) could be used, due to a wide range of mechanical properties (high strength, ductility, toughness, good wear and fatigue resistance) which could be produced by appropriate heat treatment. In this paper, a detailed study on the ADI material behaviour during cavitation was conducted. The ADI materials obtained by 1 hour austempering at 300 or 400°C, were exposed to intensive cavitation in water. It was founded, that cavitation damage for both ADI materials was initiated at graphite nodules as well as at pit rims formed by nodule separation. Crack development has a significant influence on cavitation erosion where crack development in ADI austempered at 400°C occurred at a later stage compared to ADI austempered at 300°C. Furthermore, in ADI austempered at 400°C a low carbon, retained, metastable reacted austenite transforms trough SATRAM effect into martensite hence promoting cavitation resistance. Finally, to conclude, microstructure transformation of ADI material give rise to possibilities of replacing alloyed steels in some cavitation sensitive applications.

Resume : EQUINOX H2020 funded project is reviving the research that had been made between 1950 and 1962,1 aiming at the production of Fe-Al based intermetallic materials that will be non-brittle at low to medium temperatures. A radical new, near net-shape production route is being applied that brings together state of the art intermetallic metallurgy and the innovative Kochanek process.2 Traditional intermetallic properties, like relatively low density, high melting point, good thermal conductivity, high temperature strength, high hardness, high corrosion and wear resistance will not be compromised. The EQUINOX strategy to overcome the brittleness of traditional Fe-Al intermetallics, is based on the manipulation of microstructure; specifically, a tailored fine grained microstructure is expected to reduce brittleness.3 This microstructure control will be achieved through the implementation of the Kochanek method. These unique intermetallic materials will be used for the production of complex 3D-geometry demonstrators, like brake disks, turbo-pump components, slurry pump elements, excavator bumpers and cell stack end cones. A strategic target for the EQUINOX (CRM)-free intermetallic materials is to substitute stainless steel parts in high volume end consumer market. A straightforward positive repercussion will be the reduction of Europe’s dependency in CRMs, since stainless steel contains an average amount of 18% in Cr; EQUINOX project will allow saving at least 18.000 Tons of CRM per year. This brings EQUINOX project’s aims in close agreement with the European policy and strategy of raw materials.4 Acknowledgement: The research leading to these results has received funding from European Community’s HORIZON 2020  framework programme for research and innovation under Grant Agreement Ν◦ 689510.

Resume : Perforated plates, as an effective way of improving the ballistic protection of armoured vehicles, are currectly fabricated from armour steels that contain up to 2 % chromium and 1 % molybdenium. An alternative, austempered ductile iron (ADI) was proposed and successfully tested. However, although this material can be unalloyed, it contains a certain amount of critical raw materials (CRMs) in form of magnesium, which is used as a graphite spheroidisator (around 0,03 %). AVI or austempered vermicular iron contains a lower amount of magnesium, typically 0.01-0.015 % and can be viewed as an alternative to ductile iron. AVI contains grahite that is not fully spheroidized and is characterized by lower mechanical properties, most particularly ductility compared to ADI. In this work, AVI was used for 9 mm thick perforated plates placed at 400 mm from the basic 13 mm steel armor plate. Austempered was done at 300 and 350oC, resulting in the following mechanical properties: UTS of 1350 and 1090, YS of 1310 and 1020, elongation of 1.3 and 1.7, impact energy of 26 and 30 J and hardness of 430 and 370 HV. It was shown that the harder and less ductile AVI austempered at 300oC combined with the basic plate protects from 12.7 mm M8 ammunition from 100 m. No penetrations occurred providing a full ballistic protection. However, in armour system with AVI austempered at 350oC, two out of five shots penetrated probably due to a lower hardness compared to the previous AVI material.

Resume : Critical raw materials (CRMs) have a crucial importance for European Union economy. One of the most important materials is WC/Co used predominantly for fabrication of machining tool inserts. The main reason for such a wide application is in its unique combination of properties: hardness (800 – 2200 HV50), fracture toughness (5-25 MPam1/2) and flexural strength of up to 2000 MPa. Several aternatives are proposed: ceramics reinforced with whiskers, nanoceramics and combined ceramics reinforced both with whiskers and nanoceramic particles, particularly in increase in fracture toughness. Reinforcing the Al2O3 with SiC whiskers (Ø0.2-1 µm, l=5-50 µm) results in an increase in fracture toughness from of up to 10 MPam1/2, while in material based on Al2O3 – ZrO2, SiC whiskers can increase the fracure toughness up to 13.2 MPam1/2. The application of SiC nanoparticles can result in fracture toughness of 4.8 MPam1/2. Both whiskers and nanoparticle reinforced Al2O3 can achieve flexural strength of 800-1000 MPa, which is more than twice the value obtained with Al2O3. Finally, the most recent advance is the combined SiC whiskers and SiC or TiC nanoparticle reinforced Al2O3, with fexural strength of 700-800 MPa and fracture toughness of 6-7 MPam1/2. Therefore, it can be concluded, that the present state of technology can be used for a partial replacement of WC/Co with Al2O3 based composite materials, particularly for less stressed machining inserts.

Resume : The project CRM-EXTREME aims to find solutions to the CRMs used under extreme condition. The scientific work of the project is organised in four working groups (WGs) for a full material-life-cycle-methodology for substitution including primary processing, thermo-mechanical processing, weldability/joinability, durability, recycling and sustainability. The WG 2 aims to design a novel microstructure with reduced or without CRMs and design of related processing techniques with thermodynamic and kinetic models and experimental approach considering the full material life-cycle. Leveraging the recourse to advanced computational multiscale modelling and combinatorial characterization methods to screen a large number of candidate solutions in a parametric/combinatorial fashion in close contact with experimental development to enable a faster and economically viable effort. Material production, microstructure evolution characterization, (in-situ) property characterization, weldability/joinability, durability under extreme conditions, wear performance, corrosion performance, and temperature performance will be considered. Furthermore, the optimization of the upper full material life-cycle issues, such as usage, life-time, and recycling is shortened through multiscale modelling methods together with experimental validation methods.

Resume : The project CRM-EXTREME aims to find solutions to the CRMs used under extreme condition. The scientific work of the project is organised in four working groups (WGs) for a full material-life-cycle-methodology for substitution including primary processing, thermo-mechanical processing, weldability/joinability, durability, recycling and sustainability. The WG 3 aims to develop the production routes for the newly designed substitute materials and to verify the production in industrial scale. As the so called “valley of death” is being a major concern for the EC policy makers, the industrial oriented development of technologies is becoming a key feature in different calls and projects. Furthermore WG3 will evaluate the industrial relevance of cutting edge solutions checking the properties important for cost efficient industrial production. In order to do so the WG will work for the definition of Technologies of Interest (ToI) by the Action. These technologies will be selected in accordance to their innovation, interest within industries and the market implementation potential. Each ToI will be provided a “mini roadmap” with its relating industrial experts advices and the EC TRL checkpoints. The goal is to assist promoting the ToI in an industrial relevant manner with increased interest of industries. Hopefully, these ToI will be a topic which the Action will focus for its importance and collaborate around it out of interest, existing funded projects and applications for future ones.

Resume : Yttrium as a Rare Earth element (REE) remains critical for electronic, lighting and ceramic industries. Moreover, yttrium oxide is a main player for superconductors and lasers manufacturers. In most cases recyclabilty of end-of-life REE-containing materials is very low (below 1%). Therefore, in order to satisfy an increasing demand of yttrium, the new approaches and technologies are needed.

Resume : Being one of the most critical raw material for the European Union, cobalt recycling efficiency remains very low comparing to other critical raw materials, and is estimated at 32%. The cobalt demand is related to modern applications as super-alloys and rechargeable batteries manufacturing. At the same time, post-consumer recycling remains a challenge for the European economies. Therefore, an efficient recyclability of end-of-life cobalt-bearing materials is a top agenda for research of methods and technologies of cobalt recycling. The final materials and products made of recycled cobalt may include various cobalt-contaning chemicals, alloys and powders.

Resume : One strategy to overcome the challenges related to critical raw materials (CRMs) is substitution of CRMs. However, the bright scientific idea, proof of concept or laboratory demonstration need to cross the valley of death in order to become stated as ‘a substitute’ instead of ‘a potential substitute’. Most PhD students and Post Docs specialize​ within a given thematic area; for example on specific materials or on substitution in a certain condition. This specialization could limit ability to generate innovations and profitable business models if there are not enough tools and skills to transform new knowledge and research results into an appealing value proposition towards customers and to a business opportunity for the current markets. In the study the framework is proposed for developing substitution related cross-sectorial skills and tools. These are applied for training business related understanding and activities e.g. team working, management, value proposition and business models especially within RTOs and industries. The proposed itinerary and tools can radically improve the path from scientific proof of concept into innovation and lean start up or industrial market launch. The developed methodology is tested by pilot group having several topics within the area of substitution under extreme conditions.

Resume : The work aims to focus about the critical raw material in the economical aspect. The analysis try to give first of all a general picture of the topic, not only define what are the critical raw material but also analysing the social, economic and environmental problem behind that. We decided to outlining the research in two areas: Energy and Transportation. For both of these topics we try to understand the economic trends, in which way the market will change in the future and especially in which way the critical raw materials are involved. Thanks to the trends, we have analysed just some aspect of the general sectors: We take in consideration for the Energy the study of the Wind turbine and the Solar Panel, For the Transportation we focused on the increasing

Resume : EXTREME (www.network-extreme.eu) is a network of European partners that has been built through a project funded by the KIC EIT Raw Materials (https://eitrawmaterials.eu/). The network is made of 9 partners among research and technology organizations, universities and companies, aiming to support the substitution or reduction of critical raw materials for the EU used under severe conditions of temperature, wear, friction, loading, corrosion, etc. in several fields, like manufacturing, machining, transport, energy, and construction. The partners own high-level expertise and advanced equipment and infrastructures (www.network-extreme.eu/facilities), focused to the development of new common actions, support of Education activities, and providing services to industries and companies working in the related fields. The network can supply a wide range of services (www.network-extreme.eu/services), from the design and development of alternative materials and products, to their characterization and testing in operational conditions, recovery and recycling, lifecycle assessment (LCA), training of technical staff, and hosting students.

Resume : Addressing food security and climate change challenges has to be done in an integrated manner. To increase food production and to reduce emissions intensity, thus contributing to mitigate climate change, food systems have to be more efficient in the use of resources. Smart Agriculture takes into account the four dimensions of food security, availability, accessibility, utilization and stability. It is well known that, the increase in world population will strengthen the population-food imbalance. The emphasis on reduction of food losses make a point on production, on farmers, on increasing productivity and income ensuring food security. It also has much to do with raising and stabilizing incomes of small farmers. The use of solar drying for agricultural, marine or meat products is very important for preservation. Since traditional sun drying is a relatively slow process and a reduction in the product quality takes place due to insect infestation, enzymatic reactions, microorganism growth and mycotoxin development, solar drying is the best alternative as a solution of all the drawbacks of natural drying and artificial mechanical drying. The technical directions in the development of solar drying systems for agricultural products are compact collector design with high efficiency and low cost. In this study, using low cost solar selective absorbers produced by Selektif Teknoloji on low carbon steel, solar dryers with high efficiency will be presented. The system is based on air heating flat plate solar collectors. Air collectors prepared with glazed and unglazed high efficiency selective absorber will be compared in terms of cost and energy efficiency.

Resume : The aluminium and its alloys are very important material in automotive, transportation and construction due its lightness, resistance agains corrosion and good plasticity. In Poland aluminium is only recycled metal and ingnots are casting in several foundries. In automotive industry aluminium tubes are used to the air-conditioning construction. In the work the structure and properties of different aluminium alloys used to the production of air-conditioning equipment are presented. Two kinds of aluminium tubes ribbed inside are presented. The comparison of usefulness to production of air-conditioning elements of tubes with the ribbons elongated to the tube axis and tubes with the screw ribbons inside were discussed.

Resume : Magnetron sputtering is a mature technique for the deposition of thin films, both at laboratory and industrial level. Conceptually, the technique is quite simple and the process can be summarized in a few lines. It is a Physical Vapour Deposition [1] technique in vacuum, based on a magnetically enhanced glow discharge which allows to deposit thin films. Between a cathode or target, and anode a glow discharge is ignited. The ions in the plasma are accelerated towards the target, and sputter the target material. In this way, a vapour is formed which condenses on the substrate as a thin film or coating. The technique permits to deposit metals, complex alloys, and by the addition of a reactive gas compounds such as nitrides, oxides and sulphides. Behind this apparent simplicity however a complex interplay between different physical and chemical processes is hidden. A guided tour, from target to substrate, reveals the many processes that affect the desired high quality coating for a given application. Starting at the target, sputtering is of course the first process which comes into sight. Well-developed models to calculate the sputter yield, i.e. the number of atoms sputtered per incoming ion, exist in literature, but to calculate the deposition rate from these models, process specific parameters, such as the discharge voltage [2], and the gas pressure need to be known. As even the target roughness [3] can affect the deposition rate, a combination by modelling [4] and dedicated experiments are needed to predict the deposition rate. Another “target” process is the ion-induced electron emission which provides the necessary electrons to sustain the discharge [5]. The electronic properties of the target top layer define not only the discharge voltage, but also the negative ion yield [6]. The presence of these latter species can define the film texture of oxides deposited in reactive mode [7]. Hence, the description of the target condition as a function of the reactive gas flow is one of the key research topics in Ghent. Modelling [8] guides the experimental research, but is also used to predict the process behaviour [9]. This research line is now further explored for HIPIMS, or high power impulse magnetron sputtering. The initial film growth is defined by the ratio between the diffusion rate of the adatoms on the growing film, and the deposition flux [10]. It is therefore not surprising that the microstructure, and film texture are intimately related to the available energy per arriving atom (EPA) [11]. Plasma diagnostics, and modelling of the energy flux towards the growing film, in combination with the determination of the deposition rate permits to quantify in this way structure zone models. The latter “models” give an overview of characterized thin film properties as function of the deposition conditions. By conversion of the deposition parameters into growth parameters such as EPA, it is possible to overcome the difficulty to relate experimental results in different deposition set-ups. With the above support by plasma diagnostics, modelling and thin film characterisation, several material systems are investigated. The current research mainly focuses on the compositional influence on the film growth. Examples of studied oxides are yttrium stabilized zirconia [12], doped MgO [13], and doped CeO2 [14]. The behaviour of both fibre and biaxially textured thin films as a function of the chemical composition is explored. The same strategy is applied to high-entropy alloys which are equimolar mixtures of 5 or 6 different metals [15]. Not only fundamental driven research is performed in this context. A new research line on embedded sensors in composites, and the industrial collaboration illustrate the application driven research which closes the tour from target to substrate.

Resume : Electro-Chemical Machining (ECM) is the generic term for a variety of electro-chemical processes. ECM is used to machine work pieces from metal and metal alloys irrespective of their hardness, strength or thermal properties, through the anodic dissolution, in aerospace, automotive, construction, medical equipment, micro-systems and power supply industries. The Electro Chemical Machining is extremely suitable for machining of materials used in extreme conditions. General overview of the Electro-Chemical Machining and its application for different materials used in extreme conditions is presented.

Resume : Nanostructured metal oxides are important classes of materials that display semiconducting, electronic, magnetic behaviour simultaneously with other important thermal, abrasion and corrosion resistance. Generally these materials are complex multicomponent systems, and their characteristics are achieved via manipulation of the defect chemistry based on doping effects and surface manipulation. Due to their unique characteristics, they have been a subject of significant interest in electronics, sensors and energy systems. A common attribute among these applications is the desire to fabricate these materials in the form of thin films or as thick film multilayers so as to harness their capabilities within devices. Numerous applications now exist which utilize such devices including RF/microwave systems, power electronics, sensors, batteries and fuel cells. Materials of interest include as examples doped titania, zirconia, zinc oxide, ferrites, manganites and titanates. Wide ranging future opportunities are foreseen utilizing these materials, especially those related to harsh environment applications. The role of doping elements in controlling the materials structure and properties is analysed and the possibility to synthesize oxides with reduced CRMs content is also discussed. Acknowledgments: COST Action “Solutions for Critical Raw Materials under Extreme Conditions”, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), H2020 Grant Agreement TWINNING 692216 "The virtual Center for sustainable development of Advanced Materials operating under extreme conditions"- Acronym SUPERMAT and H2020 SFERA II CSP Facilities Project.

Resume : Perforated plates for ballistic protection contain perforations aimed at creating sufficient number of edges, aimed at inducing bending stresses in the hard but brittle projectile core. The multi hit capability of the perforated and basic plate setup can be increased by the increase in perforated plate thickness, so that it becomes a more effective obstacle to the passage of the projectile. In this paper, an attempt was made to replace the more traditional steel with ADI material (austempered ductile iron). This can be attractive for a number of reasons: it is cheaper to cast and machine, its density is some 10 % lower, no critical raw materials (CRMs) are present (armor steels contain up to 2 % chrmium and up to 1 % molybdenium, while perforations stop the crack propagation (ADI is less ductile). In this paper, two types of ADI materials were used for perforated plates 9 mm thick. These plates were placed in front of the 13 mm basic armor plate. One ADI material was austempered at 275oC and the other at 400oC, having UTS of 1472 and 914, elongation of 1 and 2 %, impact energy 23 and 44 and HV10 of 498 and 300, respectively. ADI material austempered at 275oC combined with the basic plate provided five smooth bulges on the basic plate, all with fracture occurrence, meeting the ballistic protection criterion. ADI material austempered at 400oC resulted in one hole normal, one cracked bulge, two smooth bulges with core fracture and one smooth bulge.

Resume : Currently are proposed circular design trends having positive impact on material circularity such as modular design, building services around the products and collaborative consumptions. Additionally, some other trends are identified to have a negative impact on material circularity such as ‘increasing complexity of materials’. Secondary materials are currently neither identified a single design trend for circularity nor fully utilized in added value solutions especially in extreme conditions. Additionally, there is currently high motivation towards zero waste production; towards this target we need concreted concepts and actions. Secondary materials can be landfilled, side streams, residues, or materials of end-of-life or in-use products. The variety of secondary materials is wide and fully accepted definition of secondary materials does not exist. We have investigated selected secondary materials processing potential for higher added value materials, and propose few potential design concepts based on secondary materials utilization. There are potential new material reserves waiting for substituting some of the current CRMs in extreme conditions.

Resume : Al-Zn-Mg alloys are renown for their high mechanical properties. Therefore, they are mainly used in aerospace applications and as for dies. Their high mechanical properties are achieved by precipitation hardening obtained by heat treatment. However, that also means arc welding is difficult, since the precipitates completely desintegrate at temperatures of approximately 4000oC and are being replaced by a cast microstructure of a much lower strength. When the welding is necessarry (usually gas tungsten arc welding - GTAW), consumables of AA5356 type are used containing 4.5-5.5 % Mg. In this paper, friction stir welding (FSW) was applied on AA7075 T652 alloy, without consumable material, making savings in critical raw materials (CRMs). Two rotational speeds were used, 750 and 850 min-1, and two welding speeds 60 and 80 mm/min. The tool has a reservoir and a whorl pin. Weld instrumented Charpy impact strengths and microstructures were determined. It was found that the most uniform impact energy values were determined in the specimen welded with the tool operating at 750 min-1 and 80 mm/min. In this specimen, 5,53; 5,24 and 5,38 J/cm2, for specimens taken from the nugget, retreating and advancing side, respectively. On the other hand, in the specimen welded with 850 min-1 and 80 mm/min, 4,06; 4,79 and 4,06 J/cm2 were obtained. The crucial parameter is the rotation speed, hich when lower, results in a more convenient microstructure stregthened by the grain boundary mechanism.

Resume : According to the WEEE European directives, efforts must be undertaken to reuse or safely dispose liquid crystal displays (LCD) waste, however no practical process was reported yet, although it is possible to recover glass, plastic and precious metals, in particular indium. Indium is one of the elements included by the European Commission in the list of 20 raw materials critical for economic importance and high supply risk (European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/ growth/tools-databases/eip-raw-materials/en/system/files/ged/79%20report-b_en.pdf [1]). The work aims to valorize LCD scraps after indium recovery with low cost applications both economically and environmentally speaking. Applications have been explored by many researchers, although most focused only on the use of glass powder waste LCD to design concrete. This work deals the use of LCD scraps as it is after cross-current leaching of indium with H2SO4. The experimental work consists of scraps characterization, washing procedure optimization to remove residual acid, mortar production, performance testing, and life cycle assessment (LCA). The results show that LCD scraps exhibit little or no pozzolanic activity. This delay on reactivity can be ascribed to organic residues that prevent the pozzolanic reaction and/or to a lower fineness than that typical of binders or fillers. For this reason the actual investigation focuses to exploit the waste as partial replacement of traditional aggregates.

Resume : TECNALIA RESEARCH & INNOVATION (www.tecnalia.com) is a private, independent, non-profit applied research center of international excellence. Legally a Foundation, Tecnalia is the leading private and independent research and technology organization in Spain and one of the largest in Europe, employing 1,400 people. Materials for Energy and Environment (M4EE) department of Tecnalia retains expertise in the development of ionic liquid (IL) based processes. M4EE is working in the field of ?IL Technology? for different applications such as energy storage, recycling, biomass, electrodepostion, lubricants. The ?IL Technology? group focusses on the designing, synthesizing, physic-chemical characterizing of various ILs and Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) and their industrial applications in order to replace traditional (non-ecofriendly, energy-intensive, and expensive) industrial processes. We have experience in different projects which involves ionic liquid technology. For example; metal & metal alloy plating (FP6 ? IONMET), metal extraction from different industrial wastes [such as batteries (FP7 ? COLABATS, H2020-SPIRE ? REE4EU), permanent magnets (H2020-SPIRE - REE4EU), autocatalysts, tailings, WEEE (H2020-SC5 - PLATIRUS), and Cu valorisation (Basque Programme - LISOL)], and energy storage (Spanish National Programme - LIQUION). In this presentation, few examples of industrial applications of ?critical metals recycling? will be considered. Moreover, our achievements & problems involved in those applications, disposal of waste, what are needed to be potentially developed in future, will be highlighted.

Resume : The use of hybrid cars means that the higher amount of rare earths elements (REEs) for the car battery production is needed. NiMH batteries contain approximately 3kg of REEs, 11kg of Ni and 1.5kg of Co. Leaching with HCl and solvent extraction using Cyanex 923 have been applied to recover rare earth elements. Process has been developed for car NiMH batteries, which can be dismantled manually or mechanically. Depending on the way of dismantling, three different materials can be obtained (cathode plates, anode plates or mixed material). Developed technologies have been designed to recover metals either from cathodic and anodic material or from mixed (cathodic and anodic) material. Hydrochloric acid (8M) is used as a leaching medium and leaching temperature is 30°C. The extraction system consists of the solvating extractant trialkylphospine oxide mixture Cyanex 923 and tributyl phosphate diluted (TBP) in kerosene. Pre-main extraction process (8% Cyanex 923, 10% TBP, 82% kerosene) is used to remove iron and zinc from cathode and mixed material leachates. Zinc and iron are extracted in four extraction stages followed by three scrubbing stages to remove co-extracted metals and four stripping stages to remove extracted iron and zinc (~99%). REEs are separated from nickel, potassium, and magnesium in four main extraction stages (70% Cyanex 923, 10% TBP, 10% kerosene, 10% 1-Decanol). Loaded organic is stripped with NaNO3 and HNO3 to remove manganese and cobalt (95%). REEs are recovered by using 1M HCl from the organic after previous stripping with 1M NaNO3. Proposed technologies have been tested in a counter-current system using pilot plant scale mixer-settlers.

Resume : Strategic and economic components are the main factors influencing on tungsten-bearing materials recycling. Tungsten alloys and cemented carbides are key materials for tungsten industry and, therefore, are of importance for further recycling. Here, hydrometallurgical process is mainly used for tungsten extraction, while molten zinc process is used for tungsten-containing hardmetal recycling.

Resume : Aluminium alloy sheets can be used in different applications for example in the aerospace, military and transportation product manufacturing. An estimation of the environmental footprints related to the production of aluminium alloy plates is presented in this study. We took into account cradle to gate product's life cycle impacts. The models have been generated in Gabi environment and based on Gabi database. Process energy, water and electricity allocation was estimated based on already established production of 5083 alloy plates. The impact assessment was carried out for the impact categories defined in EN 15804, using characterisation factors CML. The LCA of production phase of 5083 alloy plates suggests that the biggest contributor in all accessed environmental parameters is aluminium. The same goes for innovative Qc5 alloy plates with the exception of ozone depletion, where zinc is predominant contributor. Similar findings were confirmed for abiotic resources depletion (elements) parameter values.

Resume : Recovery of rare earth elements (REES) from end of life products have been significantly explored. On the other hand the secondary wastes such as mine tailings are also potential source of rare earth elements, but the intensive investigation is needed applying more environmentally approaches. Utilization of mine tailing as the secondary sources of rare earth elements was investigated within Enviree project. Tailings obtained from closed and operating mines in Europe were used for the study. Mineralogical treatment using flotation and magnetic separation was performed to pre-concentrate the metals. Two samples with different impurity content was obtained. The first sample contained 2.5% of P2O5 and 10 000 ppm of REEs mixture (La+Ce+Pr). The second sample, based on hematite, chalcopyrite, ferberite, scheelite, arsenopyrite, contained 500ppm of REEs mixture (La+Ce+Pr) and Fe, Cu, Ca, As and W as the impurities. Leaching by several mineral acids was performed. Selective separation of REEs from the present impurities was conducted using solvent extraction. The investigations dealt with finding the right extraction system, proper diluents, as well optimizing parameters, such as temperature, organic to aqueous ratios, contact time etc., which are crucial for the development of the process. Extractants tested were D2EHPA, Cyanex 272, Cyanex 923, TBP and Cyanex 572. Kerosene, aromatic compounds and long chain alcohols (decanol) were tested to find a suitable diluent for the system. McCabe-Thiele diagrams were used as modelling tools to design the optimal conditions for metal recovery from both sources. Technologies for the selective separation of REEs from two tailings with different metal composition and concentration will be presented.

Resume : The knowledge of mechanical dynamic behaviour of materials under extreme conditions of high strain rates and high temperature allows the development of reliable material models and their use in several industrial sector such as energy, automotive, transportation and machine manufacturing. The mechanical characterization requires the use of adequate technologies able to describe the behaviour of these materials in such severe conditions of loads and temperature. In fact, the accuracy of the mechanical assessment and the design of products made of high value alloys and metal-matrix composites subjected to rapid loading and high temperature strongly depends on the precision of the material's constitutive law in reproducing the real behaviour of such materials. As a consequence the mechanical characterization is one of the fruitful ways in order to find viable alternatives to CRMs and promote the industrial exploitation of substituted materials. The optimisation of such alternative materials should then pass through high strain rate testing phase that are obtained by imposing an acting pulse by means of special dynamic testing apparatus. These apparatuses generate a stress wave pulse well controlled in amplitude and duration which is propagated without dispersion and uncontrolled reflections to load and deform until fracture a specimen and to allow the record analysis by using the well proofed uniaxial elastic waves propagation theory. The methodology proposed for this characterization is the Split Hopkinson-Kolsky Bar technique, that is the scientifically most recognized methodology for the precision measurements of pulses parameters, allow the characterization of the material dynamic properties. This contribution wish to present a precision measurement methodology of the material stress-strain curves carried out by means of a modified Hopkinson bar used in the DynaMat Laboratory. The results at high strain rate with high temperature of austenitic stainless steels as well as high-chromium tempered martensitic reduced activation steel Eurofer97 will be presented.

Resume : Tungsten and Molybdenum are highly strategic refractory metals. In general, world Tungsten and Molybdenum resources are geographically widespread and can be found in Europe, but only in a small percentage of the global production. Given this, these metals are mainly imported from China (W and Mo), Chile (Mo) but also from USA, Canada, etc. World Tungsten and Molybdenum supply is dominated by production in China and EU has always been an importer of Tungsten and Molybdenum, due to a lack of internal supply and to demand from the industry. Since primary resources (ores) are limited ate EU level, the main resources for these metals are likely to be secondary resources (industrial waste, urban mines), which may threaten the availability of these metals in the long run, unless the supply value chain of these metals is improved in the coming years. The global mass flow methodology allows to better evaluate the critical aspects of the value chain of each refractory metal in order to increase the material efficiency and to enhance its long-term availability by defining an efficient supply strategy.  Mass flow of Tungsten and Molybdenum in Europe has been performed from primary to production, secondary resources and recycling to end-use sectors and end of life. The analysis has shown that the consumption of Tungsten continues increasing due to the increment of carbides tool production with the expansion of markets in developing countries and due to the low potential for substitution, since in some applications, substitution would result in increased cost or a loss in product. Regarding Molybdenum, there are no current supply problems; however it has been forecasted that, in 2024, there will be a considerable increase of Molybdenum demand in Europe due to the increase of the number of sectors expected to generate future demand for Molybdenum such as the steel industry, automotive, hydrodesulphurization, chemical and power generation. As in the case of Tungsten, there is no potential substitution for Molybdenum in its major application in steels and cast irons. The analysis performed provides a global vision for Tungsten and Molybdenum to define consistent and efficient strategies that ensure a secure supply of refractory metals in Europe based on the design of new value chains, eco-desing of end-use specific key products, new policy efforts and innovations pathways.

Resume : Lithium availability as raw material is under strong debate [1-3], and probably, the new scenario of high-capacity batteries and the electric car transition, will increase its demand and dependence to a point of criticality in a 5 years scenario for EU. Nuclear Fusion energy production, is a forefront technology, well stated since more than 50 years ago, and close to its final phase. Main technical prototypes are based in PbLi eutectic as coolant and liquid metal breeder. With different fusion programs in progress, one of the main concerns is the design of the breeding blanket, the ultimate responsible for the production of the essential but otherwise very scarce tritium. In several designs lithium-lead-based liquid metal blankets stand out as promising candidates [4]. It is therefore obvious that lithium availability and criticality will be influenced in a next future due to its utilization in highly demanding engineering scenarios. There is a need and challenge for the Critical Raw Materials community to evaluate and study in detail the full value chain of lithium metal in the energy sector, including Nuclear Fusion as a key sector. [1] REPORT ON CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS FOR THE EU. Ref. Ares(2015)1819503 - 29/04/2015 [2] Chung, D.;Elgqvist, E.;& Santhanagopalan, S. (2015). Automotive Lithium‐ion Battery (LIB) Supply Chain and US Competitiveness Considerations; NREL/PR-‐6A50-‐63354. Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC). [3] EV Volumes. (2017). http://www.ev-volumes.com/country/total-world-plug-in-vehicle-volumes/. EV Volumes.com. Frost & Sullivan. (2014). Analysis of the Global Lithium-ion Battery Market: Growth Opportunities and Market Outlook; Developing Applications Lead the Charge. Frost & Sullivan ND02-27. IEA. (2016). Global EV Outlook 2016. Beyond One Million Electric Cars. International Energy Agency. [4] L. Morgan and J. Pasley, Fusion Eng. Des. 88 (2013) 107–112; G. Federici et al. Fusion Eng. Des. 109-111 B (2016) 1464–1474.

Resume : New sintering techniques make it possible to obtain materials with special properties that are impossible to obtain by conventional sintering techniques. This issue is especially important for ceramic materials, working under extreme conditions because they are sintered at high temperatures. By following the tendency to limit critical materials in manufacturing processes, the use of W, Si, B, Co, Cr should be limited. One of the cheapest and most available materials is aluminum oxide, which shows differences in phase composition, grain size, hardness, strain and fracture strength of the same type of sintered powder. The alumina was sintered using the conventional free sintering process, 2.45 GHz microwave sintering, SPS, high pressure-high temperature method. Phase composition by X-ray diffraction of the alumina for materials sintered using various methods, will be presented. For the conventional method of sintering compacts are composed of α-Al2O3 and θ-Al2O3, for compacts from SPS, the microwave method and HP-HT additionally of χ-Al2O3 and γ-Al2O3. Mechanical and physical properties of the obtained materials were compared between the methods of sintering. On the basis of images from scanning electron microscope quantitative analysis was performed to determine the degree of grain growth of alumina after sintering. The new properties of alumina compacts obtained by sintering nanopowders, with TiB2 additive, graphene and solid lubricants additive will be presented.

Resume : The main objective of the project FASTRAM is the up-scaling of FAST sintering techniques for the production of sustainable hard materials, for the substitution of existing hard metals (WC-Co) in the targeted applications (mining sector). The coordinator of the project is TECNALIA. The developers of the Technologies are VTT and TECNALIA, the manufacturers of the parts EXOTE and AMES and the final user is METSO. FASTRAM project is targeting commercial serial production in 2-3 years after the project ends. Tungsten carbide cobalt hard metals (WC-Co) are dominating in applications where high wear resistance is needed. The research challenge is to achieve the same or even better functionality with substituting materials. It is not possible to achieve alternatives with the combination of properties of WC-Co with conventional sintering techniques and alloying. FAST sintering processes developed by TECNALIA and VTT (ERS and RCHP respectively) at Lab Scale are a very promising routes to obtain substitutes for WC-Co. These technologies have a very short sintering time and it affects significantly the properties of the obtained materials. This work presents the main characteristics of the processes, previous results obtained at lab scale and future activities to be performed.

Resume : Critical row materials which are also tungsten and cobalt have a high economic importance to the EU combined with a high risk associated with their supply. The WC-Co hardmetals which are commonly used in industrial applications contain both of these critical materials. Modification of WC-Co hardmetals towards the partial substitution of tungsten carbide (WC) by addition of TiC phase was the main goal of this work. This requires the change in technology of new materials by varying the pressure and temperature of sintering. The addition of various amounts of TiC phase in the range from 5wt.% to 20wt.% substituting WC phase was applied in WC-Co hardmetals with from 9 to 11 wt.% of bonding cobalt phase. Self-Propagating High Temperature Synthesis (SHS) was used to produce TiC powder. The tested WC-Co hardmetals with addition of TiC phase were consolidated using Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) method at the temperature of 1300?C and at the pressure of 150 MPa. Following physical and mechanical properties were measured: apparent density ?, Young?s modulus E, friction coefficient µ, Vickers hardness HV, fracture toughness KIC. The fracture toughness has been determined from single-edge notched beam (SENB) method with the sharpened notch tip and indentation fracture toughness for comparison. The amount of the TiC phase affected the mechanical and physical properties: Vickers hardness from 12.5 to 14.0 GPa, Young?s modulus from 460 to 550 GPa, apparent density from 9,6 to 13.1 g/cm3, friction coefficient from 0.45 to 0.24, fracture toughness from 11,0 to 16.8 MPam1/2 with their highest values recorded for 10wt.% TiC. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray and electron diffraction phase analysis were used to examine the WC-Co hardmetal with addition of the TiC phase. For comparison, WC-Co hardmetals before modification were tested.

Resume : The aim of this contribution is to give an overview of some of the problems and challenges when trying to substitute the Cobalt binder in cemented carbides with alternative Fe and Ni based binders. Since the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances, REACH, and the U.S. National Toxicology Program, NTP has classified cobalt as very toxic for the human health. This work started within the KIC Raw Materials, COFFREE programme. Integrated Computational Materials Engineering, (ICME), has been applied to shorten the research development time from idea to product. Furthermore, new laboratory wear test has been developed mimicking the extreme working conditions the cemented carbide used in metal cutting insert or a rock drill insert must survive. The controlled wear situation in a laboratory wear test allows for a better understanding of the mechanisms causing the wear which is usually not possible in a field test. In addition, it contributes to a faster development cycle and at a lower cost if the test itself clearly can mimic the field wear situation. Still, there is a long way to go and much more research and work needed before these materials can clearly substitute for Cobalt. Keywords: COFFREE, andstone, graniteAlternative binder, rock drilling, metal cutting,

Resume : Metal additive manufacturing by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process enables to produce new designs and complicated shapes which cannot be produced by any other manufacturing methods. SLM process is especially suitable for producing metal based cellular lattice structures. Cellular lattice structures have attracted a lot of attention during recent years, for allowing design freedom beyond the capacity of solid materials. Recently, a new and novel type of 3D periodic interpenetrating phase composites with enhanced mechanical properties were introduced. Such composites consist of a matrix reinforced with a single, continuous, structure, possessing the geometry (or architecture) of triply periodic surfaces. However, there is a lack of information available about obtaining such architected interpenetrating phase composites from metals or, especially, cermets and ceramics. The present study focuses on combining SLM and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) methods to manufacture multicomponent parts used for wear resistant applications. It is achieved in two steps. First of all, functionally graded porous lattice structure out of stainless steel is building with SLM. The functionally graded lattice structure is achieved by variation of unit cell size inside the total lattice volume. The porous lattice is filled with WC-Co powder and consolidated by SPS. Spark plasma sintering allows to obtain 99.9% density. Such functionally graded architecture materials could allow drastic reduction of critical raw materials – tungsten and cobalt in wear parts. This can be achieved by tailored mesostructured of the part, where wear resistance has been added only to the areas where it is required. Mechanical and wear performance of obtained functionally graded interpenetrating phase composites were estimated.

Resume : More than 80% of cutting tool inserts are made of cemented carbide (WC-Co), for its wear resistance, toughness and ability to machine complex forms. Both W and Co are included in the EU critical raw material (CRM) list, so it is fundamental to reduce or optimize their use in machining tools. An expedient to save such critical materials is to increase the tool lifetime through the use of surface coatings, also enhancing the tool performance by increasing machining speed and allowing machining of harder materials, thus improving production efficiency. CRMs-free coatings deposited through magnetron sputtering coating technologies delivering high ionization degree of the depositing species are considered here, for extreme conditions like high speed machining, cryogenic-cooled processes, and aeronautical applications. In particular, ZrN single-layer and TiAlN/ZrN bilayer coatings deposited by DC dual and high power pulsed magnetron sputtering, were investigated to improve the mechanical performance of high speed cutting tools. The mechanical performance characteristics of the coated cutting tools, such as the surface hardness, adhesion and wear were studied. The cutting tools coated by the bilayer films showed higher wear resistance and longer use life than those coated by single-layer films.

Resume : Nowadays there are many galvanic processes? such as chrome plating? that are used in the production of mass produced metal components. This technology is considered evergrowing crucial and expensive in term of: environmental impact, waste handling, operators? safety and health, raw materials manipulations (allergies) so that many countries are will be limiting the use of these techniques by introducing Regulations because of the use of exavalent chromium (CrVI), chrome plating is considered one of the most polluting galvanic processes. At the moment the greatest consequences are : ? gas emissions (alkaline vapours and hazardous acids that are dangerous for the health and for the environment) ? waste water emissions and related sludge ( CrVI presence) ? injuries for the population and for the operators working on chrome processes, because of the use of toxic and carcinogenic agents Recently some innovative companies are testing new ?clean? coating processes in order to replace the traditional galvanic technology and to introduce on the market new products with better features . The new deal is represented by the replacement of galvanic processes by PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) and PaCVD (Plasma assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition); this treatments can afford thin coatings (1-10 microns) with very high physical and mechanical characteristics. This new technology can be used in different industrial fields ( Automotive, Aeronautic, Medical, Mechanics in general) in order to give special properties like wear resistance, anticorrosion, low friction, antistiking, bio and food compatibility and also colours requested by designers and fashion. The PVD technology is an innovative technique developed at an industrial level during the last 20 years that only now is considered valid and efficient for functional and decorative applications. It?s a clean technology without gas waste, that use plasma , vacuum and arc technology in order to produce ceramic layer with high performace. The aim of this call is to shows the PVD system coating, the behavior of different layer ( TiN, CrN, DLC?.) and some case history.

Resume : Due to shortage of natural resources worldwide, it is a need to develop innovative technologies, to save natural resources. On the other hand these new technologies should move forward materials engineering in order to develop better materials for extreme conditions. One way to develop new materials is use post processing chips of austenitic steels (i.e. 304 stainless steel: 18/10 Cr/Ni); other materials like Ni based alloys as well can be used in similar way. In this work, the results of the preliminary study on the High Velocity Oxy Fuel (HVOF) coatings developed from 304 stainless steel chips are shown. The study obeys development of the powder for HVOF technology, deposition of the coating, microstructure investigations of the coating produced from 304 stainless steel chips, porosity investigations, micro scratch test and micro hardness measurements. High temperature study as well was performed to evaluate corrosion behaviour.

Resume : Surface functionalisation and protection have been used since ancient times for improving specific properties such as lubrication, water repellence, brightness, etc. and lifetimes of objects and tools. Apart from functionalization of surfaces to achieve the required properties, the use of coatings is fundamental to guarantee substrate durability in harsh environments. Extreme working conditions of temperature, pressure, irradiation, wear and corrosion occur in several applications requiring very often bulk material protection. In this study, three main classes of coatings for extreme conditions are considered: i) coatings for high temperatures (thermal barrier coatings), ii) hard and superhard coatings for application in cutting tools, and iii) coatings against corrosion. The most suitable techniques used for the fabrication of the different coatings are reviewed. The fundamental role of critical elements in such coatings (Cr, Y, W, Co, etc.) is analysed and the possibility to use CRMs-free substitutes is also investigated. The role of multilayers and/or nanocomposites in tailoring coating performances is also discussed for thermal barrier and superhard coatings. Acknowledgments: COST Action ?Solutions for Critical Raw Materials under Extreme Conditions?, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) and H2020 Grant Agreement TWINNING 692216 "The virtual Center for sustainable development of Advanced Materials operating under extreme conditions"- Acronym SUPERMAT.

Resume : Nanostructured Functionally graded materials (FGM) can be designed for specific function and applications. One of the most important achievements of FGM coatings is reducing the critical raw materials (CRMs) used in extreme environments applications. Nanostructured films based on zirconates or pyrochlore structures (BaZrO3 -BZ, La2Zr2O7 ? LZ powders synthesised by hydrothermal procedure) have been obtained. The used substrates were silicon and Nimonic superalloy. For thin films deposition was used an unique electron beam installation (Torr Int., USA), endowed with 5 e-guns having 4 crucibles carousel and 5 separate high voltage power supplies with 10KW each used to obtain combinatorial coatings on 350 mm diameter on various substrates. There were obtained films of single (BZ or LZ) and multilayer layer (BZ/LZ). During deposition process the substrates were heated at 500 °C. The morphology, chemical composition, topography and thickness of the coatings were analyzed using High-Resolution Scanning El;ectron Microscopy (HR-SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Further investigation will assess the mechanical and thermal stability of the coatings.

Resume : Transparent conductive oxides are materials which are highly conductive and highly transparent to enable maximum transmission of visible light. Among transparent conductors, ITO has got superior optoelectronic properties which make it the selected material in many applications such as displays, touch screens and optoelectronic devices. However, ITO has got among disadvantages the high cost due to the high In content (78 wt%). In is in fact a high value element with great supply risk and therefore it was recently listed among critical raw materials by the EU. Recent studies [1,2] indicated that several In-free metal oxide-based materials have remarkable physical, electronic and optical properties and may compete with ITO performances. Among transparent conductive oxides, TiO2 has a wide range of advantages such as photocatalytic activity, chemical stability, photosensitivity and applicability to electronic devices, chemical sensors, photo catalysts, solar cells, and photo electrochemical cells. In this study, we focus on the growth of amorphous TiO2 thin films onto glass and p-Si substrates by radio frequency sputtering technique and compare their structural, optical morphological and their performance in Schottky diodes as a function of film thickness.

Resume : In the current work, the cobalt (Co) and silver (Ag) have been synthesized successfully in form of nano-sized particles with the arc discharge method. Physical features of these nano particles (NPs) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. XRD results reveal that crystalline lattices of Co and Ag NPs exhibit preferred orientation of (002) at 2? = 44.40 and (111) at 2? = 38.10, respectively. TEM analyses demonstrate that Co NPs have 4-5 nm diameter, while the Ag NPs posse ~8 nm diameter. Moreover, the transmittance was obtained as ~70% for Co thin film and as ~80% for Ag thin film. In addition, the Co NPs based film offers rougher surface in comparison with that of Ag NPs based film due to the smaller grains of Co NPs. These preliminary studies demonstrate that the arc discharge method can be effectively employed on process of metal NPs synthesis and design.

Resume : ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is a critical raw material mostly used as transparent electrode in many applications such as plastic electronics, flexible solar cells, screens, etc. The huge development of these technologies and the limited resources of Indium require the replacement or the reduction of the necessary quantity ITO for such kind of applications. We showed in our previous studies that the quantity of ITO can be divided by four if the ITO films (150 nm) are replaced by ITO (20 nm)/metal (7 nm)/ITO (20 nm) films by maintaining the same figures of merit of the electrodes as that one?s of single layer films. At present the research on founding alternative transparent conducting films for the replacement of ITO is mostly done by many experimental trials. Ellipsometry is a non-destructive, non-invasive non-contact, very precise, reproducible and very sensitive technique for study the ultra-thin films. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) provides a widely applicable method for determining accurate characterization of optical and electrical transport properties of thin films multilayers structures, in particularly when the multilayer of device structure, is of critical importance to their effective implementation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive study of the spectroscopic ellipsometric measurements of single oxide films and oxide/metal/oxide (Oxide = ITO, AZO, TiO2 and Bi2O3, Metal = Au) multi layers thin-film using a two-modulator generalized ellipsometer by continuing the study much further than usual given in literature and by also comparing the calculated the transmission coefficient from ellipsometry with the experimental values obtained from direct spectrophotometry measurements. This procedure allows to establish in a more accurate way the best dispersion model for each sample. The ellipsometric modelling, can hence give the possibility in the future to predict, by ellipsometric simulations, the proper device architecture in function of the preferred optical and electrical properties.

Resume : Indium tin oxide (ITO) has become synonymous for transparent electrodes: massively consumed for displays, smart windows, LED?s and related gadgets. In particular indium remains strongly dependent on its availability rendering it prone to financial speculation, geopolitical fluctuations, and its abundance. Here, we present an alternative transparent electrode consisting of a conductive polymer, namely, PEDOT: sulphate. We prepare thin films by oxidative Chemical Vapour Deposition (oCVD), a technique allowing control for at highest purity and highest morphological quality. The processing technique delivers ordered, highly conducting films and excellent scalability (as it requires only a minimal amount of manpower, and omits the need for expensive solvents or vacuum systems). As a result, processed films combine conductivities on par with ITO (4050 S cm-1) with transparency spanning the visible and the near infrared spectral regime (400-1800 nm). This delivers a stunning optical figure of merit of 10-2 ?-1 at 1800 nm (Haacke), where inorganic oxides are reflecting. Furthermore, the metal-like material sports a flat temperature-conductivity profile, retaining 81 % of its room-temperature value (3300 S cm-1 at 1.8 K). Also of note, PEDOT: sulphate offers all the mentioned advantages at a low density of ? ~ 1.5 g cm-3 indicating its use in light weight applications. Combined with its chemical composition and dependence on abundant elements only, it presents a potential contender crucially needed for future optoelectronics. (1,2) 1 D. Farka, H. Coskun, P. Bauer, D. Roth, B. Bruckner, P. Klapetek, N.S. Sariciftci, and P. Stadler, Monatshefte Fur Chemie 148, 871 (2017). 2 D. Farka, H. Coskun, J. Gasiorowski, C. Cobet, K. Hingerl, L.M. Uiberlacker, S. Hild, T. Greunz, D. Stifter, N.S. Sariciftci, R. Menon, W. Schoefberger, C.C. Mardare, A.W. Hassel, C. Schwarzinger, M.C. Scharber, and P. Stadler, Adv. Electron. Mater. (2017).

Resume : MOSFET scaling to the end of the roadmap will require the replacement of the strained Si channel (and the source/drain) with an alternate material offering a higher potential quasi-ballistic-carrier velocity and higher mobility than Si in combination with new device structures, such as fully-depleted semiconductor-on-insulator (FDSOI) and/or non-planar multi-gate devices, within the next few years. Ternary III-V compound semiconductors like InxGa1-xAs, having high electron mobility and moderate are excellent candidates for Si channel replacement in nMOSFET devices. An ultimate CMOS structure will need an ultra-thin body III-V channel-on insulator to attain reduced short channel effects and enhanced drive currents. In this work we present our recent results on the realization of III-V -on-insulator structures by H-assisted molecular beam epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of InxGa1-xAs (x=0-1) on a nanostructured high-k dielectric (HfO2) pattern. In the first part of the talk we will address the interaction of atomic H with the surface of the high-k dielectric HfO2 in ultra-high vaccuum, the characteristics of the nanostructured HfO2/GaAs substrates and the thermal stability of the resulting nanopatterns. The second part of the talk will be devoted to present several fundamental aspects of the epitaxial lateral overgrowth of GaAs and InGaAs on the nanostructured HfO2/GaAs substrates by MBE, with special emphasis on the impact of atomic H on the process window for III-V selective growth, the nucleation and growth front evolution, the relief of lattice mismatch in the open trenches and the structure and composition of the epilayers grown over the ultra thin HfO2 insulator. Financial support under grant TEC2016-78433 is greatly acknowledged.

Resume : In magnetic recording and spintronic applications, the most commonly used antiferromagnet is an IrMn alloy because of its corrosion resistance [1]. However, Iridium is a critical raw material and an alternative material needs to be developed. Antiferromagnetism has been studied both theoretically and experimentally over the last decades. Exchange and superexchange interactions have been theoretically predicted to describe the origin of antiferromagnetism and experimentally observed. Antiferromagnetic layers have been used to pin its neighbouring ferromagnetic layer in a spin-valve read sensor in a hard disk drive and in a magnetic random access memory for example. The magnetic memories are used in extreme conditions, such as in a bonnet of an automobile and in an aeroplane, due to their robustness against temperature and radiation. Recently, antiferromagnetic layers have also been found to induce a spin-polarised electrical current. In this report, recent efforts to replace a widely used Ir-based alloy, which is platinum group metal, with a Heusler alloy consists of common elements [2] are discussed. These new antiferromagnets are characterised by very sensitive electrical measurement technique recently developed to determine their Néel temperatures together with atomic structural analysis. The search for new antiferromagnetic films and their characterisation are useful for further miniaturisation and development of spintronic devices. We found correlations between the antiferromagnetic behaviour of the Heusler-alloy films with the X2YZ composition and their crystalline structures: the perfectly ordered L21 phase is necessary for Ru-based Heusler alloys [3], a disordered B2 phase with Y-Z mixing is required for Ni-based Heusler alloys [4], and a completely disordered phase with X-Y-Z mixing can still exhibit antiferromagnetic behaviour for Mn-based Heusler alloys. We developed a resistivity measurement to determine the antiferromagnetic properties of Heusler-alloy films, in particular the Néel temperature. We measured the temperature dependence of resistivity and found the gradient changes at these characteristic temperatures related to the changes in the magnetic ordering [4]. We confirmed the corrosion resistance of antiferromagnetic Heusler alloys and demonstrated the stability of prototype devices based on these alloys, fabricating giant magnetoresistive (GMR) junctions and finding that our HAs are corrosion resistant. This work has partially been supported by EU-FP7 (NMP3-SL-2013-604398) and UK-EPSRC (EP/M02458X/1). [1] A. Hirohata and K. Takanashi, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 47, 193001 (2014). [2] C. Felser and A. Hirohata, Heusler Alloys (Springer, Berlin, 2015). [3] J. Balluff et al. (in preparation). [4] T. Tsuchiya et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 49, 235001 (2016).

Resume : The demand of critical raw materials such as Silicon, Germanium, SiC, composites are being developed and widely used in aerospace, IR and X-rays optics due their inherent physical & mechanical properties. However, the use of these materials in the form of engineering products is associated with different machining processes. The machinability properties such as higher cutting force, higher cutting temperature, poor surface integrity and shorter tool life coupled with these materials poses many challenges to the researchers, and hence considered as difficult to cut materials. Recently, several efforts have been made to improve the machinability of these materials more effectively via use of hybrid machining processes. Single-point diamond turning is the most popular method for generating surfaces with micron accuracies. The Residual turning marks and the diffraction pattern caused in diamond turning hinder the performance in the optical systems. Magneto-rheological finishing is based on magneto-rheological fluid, which consists of magnetic particles, non-magnetic abrasives and some additives in water or other carrier to polish the materials. Magneto-rheological finishing has capability to improve roughness, eliminate the micro cracks generated and reduce residual stresses induced during diamond turning process. The hybrid combination of single-point diamond turning and magneto-rheological finishing creates a deterministic process for manufacturing highly finished surfaces. In this paper, an attempt has been made to improve the surface finish of diamond turned silicon with magneto-rheological finishing. Further the effects of process parameters of Single Point Diamond Turning and Magneto-Rheological finishing process on the final surface finish is investigated.

Resume : This article reported a novel method for preparing diamond/SiC composites by tape-casting and chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) process, and the advantages of this method were also discussed. The effects of diamond particle size and diamond content on microstructure and properties of composites were all investigated. The diamond particle was proved to be thermally stable under CVI conditions and the CVI diamond/SiC composites only contained diamond and CVI-SiC phases. The SEM and TEM results showed a strong interfacial bonding existed between diamond and CVI-SiC matrix. The flexural strength, fracture toughness, surface hardness, and TC of this composite could reached up to 431 MPa, 4.753 MPa m1/2, HRA 98.6 (high than HV 50 GPa), and 116 W/(m K), respectively.