endika

TRU-REPLACE “Trustful and eco-friendly replacement to hexavalent hard chrome“  European project was started on November 1^st.. The main goal of the project is to validate, improve and upgrade a REACH compliant alternative to the hexavalent hard chromium plating process currently employed for protecting critical parts in components, mainly from the aerospace and automotive industry.

In this scenario, the TRU-REPLACE project will implement Cr(VI)-free protective coatings based on electroless nickel composite multilayers. This approach enables the production of protective coatings exhibiting enhanced features compared to conventional monolayered coatings. Moreover, addition of reinforcing nano-materials into the multilayered structure boosts the performance of this materials rivalling to those obtained by traditional Cr(VI) plating.

The team of the TRU-REPLACE project gathers key-players in the development and application of electroless coatings and electrolytes along with experts in the functionalization of nano-materials, covering the whole value-chain for both applications. The TRUE-REPLACE project received the EUROSTARS-EUREKA seal with a total budget of 1.177.950€ in a 30 month long project.

The GREEN INSTRUCT Project Consortium celebrated its M37 meeting, last 22^nd and 23^rd October, hosted by STRESS, in Naples and the nearby city of Benevento. Representatives from all partners of the consortium attended, with Juanan Alduncin representing CIDETEC.

The activities done by the different working groups were reviewed in the work sessions held at Naples. A new demonstrator of the internal building panel developed in the Project was recently installed in the experimental site owned by STRESS in BENEVENTO, where all members of the consortium moved after the technical meeting, to pay a visit. The demonstrator is intended to be monitorized  for eight months, in order to evaluate their performance against a conventional wall.

The main goal of GREEN INSTRUCT is the design and development of a prefabricated modular structural building block, with reduced weight, improved acoustic and thermal performance and multiple functionalities, These properties will make it superior to conventional precast reinforced concrete. It also takes advantage of the re-use of materials coming from the construction or demolition wastes.

In the frame of the project, CIDETEC addresses the development of the thermal and acoustic insulating elements, based on polyurethane foams.

The seminar on “Inspection of surface cleaning of parts during the production process” organised by Neurtek and CIDETEC Surface Engineering attracted sixty industry professionals at the premises of CIDETEC, where they had the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in this field from a range of experts.

The cleaning process is designed to dispose of all waste generated on the surface of the part during its manufacture or handling in order to ensure better quality and economic efficiency.

During the workshop the specialists described the tools that are used to control the dipping (surface tension by air bubble) and surface film contamination by fluorescence and also to verify the wettability by means of the contact angle in the actual production area. Practical examples of this were shown and the attendees were offered the possibility of bringing their own items for demonstrations.

The day included demonstrations with different teams provided by Neurtek and concluded with a visit to the CIDETEC Surface Engineering premises.

 The HARVEST project M12 meeting took place in Athens (Greece) at National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (NCSR “Demokritos”) Congress Center on September 5 and 6, 2019.

During the two-day meeting, the attendees reviewed the achievements made on the different work packages, progressed on the work plan for the next few months and debated several issues of the project. Representatives of CIDETEC Surface Engineering presented the work developed in the last 6 months on new polymeric resin formulations with self-sensing and self-repairing capabilities, containing different amounts of carbon nanoparticles.

 The consortium’s next M18 meeting will be held in Belgium.

Eurocorr , the EFC’s annual conference focused in corrosion science was held in Seville (Spain) on September 9-13. Eurocorr has been, once again, the meeting point of the corrosion science community in which the latest advances in the field were shown by the most leading corrosion scientists worldwide.

During the metallic coating session, CIDETEC Surface Engineering researcher Asier Salicio Paz delivered the talk entitled “Microstructure, mechanical properties and tribo-corrosion behavior of electroless Ni-P functional multilayers”. Moreover, CIDETEC contributed with 2 posters related to its research in the tribo-corrosion behavior of metallic coatings and the corrosion performance of decorative chrome plated respectively.

Eurocorr 2019 has been a very successful event in which CIDETEC had the opportunity to show its latest developments in the field of corrosion protection and advance metallic coatings. It has also been a great opportunity for strengthening its relationship with leading corrosion scientist as well as with scientific associations and industry representatives attending  the event.

The CIDETEC Surface Engineering contribution:

Oral presentation: “Microstructure, mechanical properties and tribo-corrosion behavior of electroless Ni-P functional multilayers”, by Asier Salicio Paz.

Poster 1: “Understanding the different corrosion mechanism of micro-porous nickel-chromium coatings due to the presence of cupric ions in a chloride based electrolyte”.

Poster 2: “Tribocorrosion study of Ni/B electrodeposits with low B content: a mechanistic approach”.

During the event, Dr Eva García-Lecina, Director of CIDETEC Surface Engineering, had the opportunity to attend the EFC’s General Assembly Meeting.

CIDETEC Surface Engineering attended EUROCORR 2019