NTNU is partner in FP7 €4.8M MintWeld consortium

NTNU is joining university and industry partners in MintWeld, a Framework Programme 7 research project, which will use computer modelling and simulation to build a detailed understanding of the welding process to reduce failures.

The €4.8 million project, involving 11 partners from seven countries, will be led by Leicester University in the UK.

Failure of welds can start from minute imperfections that lead on to major cracks. The eleven European collaborators will attempt to better understand the process behind these failures, from slight imperfection to catastrophic failure, using computer modelling and drawing on the know-how of the industrial partners.

This will be used to develop the technology for welding deep-sea gas and oil transport systems.

MintWeld consortium leader, Hong Dong of Leicester’s Engineering Department, said, “Welding is the most economical and effective way to join metals permanently, and it is a vital component of our manufacturing economy. It is estimated that over 50 per cent of global domestic and engineering products contain welded joints.” In Europe welding is central to the work of companies across the shipbuilding, pipeline, automotive, aerospace, defence and construction sectors.

“Failures in welded components, such as deep-sea oil and gas transport systems, can result in lost production valued in several billion Euros. This project will deliver an accurate, predictive, and cost-effective modelling tool that will find widespread application in the relevant European metals industry.”

The other institutions involved in the project with NTNU and Leicester are, University College Dublin, Ireland; University of Oxford, UK; Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden; Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands; the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; and the European steel companies Corus, The Welding Institute UK, Institute of Welding Poland, and Frenzak Sp. Poland.