Investigating formability of future steel grades using rapid alloy prototyping

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Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) are widely used in the automotive industry, offering both high strength and lightweight properties. These steels play a key role in reducing vehicle emissions and increasing the range of electric vehicles which will become more prominent on the roads as we head towards 2040 and the banning of conventional petrol/diesel vehicles.This project aspires to increase the formability of AHSS to benefit the design and manufacturing process, and to ultimately increase the range of products which can be produced. The aim of the project is to investigate the manufacturability of steels using rapid alloy prototyping, to produce small amounts of novel compositions. Small samples will be investigated in the laboratory utilising novel techniques, including nanoindentation to mechanically characterise the steels at processing temperatures, allowing development of processing methods and to give indications as to which alloys would be viable for manufacturing. This data, collected in conjunction with heat treatments and hot and cold rolling, is intended to develop manufacturability guidelines for upscaling new alloys to commercial production. The Research Engineer will: - Investigate potential new steel compositions seeking to improve the mechanical properties of steel, whilst exploring the implications of processability using novel techniques to characterise microstructures, residual stresses and mechanical properties during cooling of the steels on the run-out table, as well as during the coiling process.- Investigate stresses generated during welding of these novel steels, to understand how residual elements have on effect on residual stresses generated during the rapid heating and cooling of the welding process.