The wider development of flax fibres for garment or technical textiles requiring load bearing capacity suffers from the high price of the textile flax fibres which are in a continuously increasing demand by the global garment textile industry. With such high prices, it is therefore difficult for high volume markets such as automotive to include flax fibre in their products. These considerations are particularly relevant in a context of climate change, with a steady decrease in textile flax fibre yields. They instead look at cheaper alternative resources which can possess similar or even higher mechanical potential than textile flax fibres. This is the challenging objective of the TREC project. To reach this target, oilseed flax fibres usually considered as wastes or low added value by-products or low added value applications (burnt for generation of heat, isolation fibres, paper) are targeted in the TREC project. Winter oil-seed flax cultivars will be grown with a dual scale objective (seeds and fibres) to maximise both yields. The TREC project will also focus on the enhancement of the oil-seed flax fibre tensile properties by investigating the conditions at which the structural defects (kink-bands), present in any flax or oil-seed flax fibre after their extraction, can be reduced in size and their effect attenuated. A multiscale approach, from the individual fibre up to textile preparation processes at a production scale, will be considered to increase the understanding of kink-band defect generation as well as the possibility to reduce their size and their deleterious effect. By enhancing the tensile property of these fibres, this will open up new applications and markets for industrial manufacturers using load bearing natural fibres for their products. A new value chain is expected to emerge from this project in a sector in high expectation of high mechanical properties natural fibres.

In recent years, aluminium–lithium (Al–Li) alloys have gained importance as structural materials for aerospace components. Addition of Li to aluminium increases the elastic modulus of the material and also decreases the density. This unique combination resulting in high specific strength and modulus for airframe structures allows increasing the fuel efficiency of aerovehicles and helps to protect environment. The friction stir welding (FSW) technology is being targeted by modern aerospace industry for high performance structural applications. Of particular interest is FSW of high strength aluminium alloys for aerospace applications, where cost and weight savings are possible by replacing riveted joints with friction stir welds. This advantage makes FSW promising for industrial application since these alloys allow a considerable lightening of structures. However FSW technology requires a through understanding of this technique and the evaluation of consequent welds mechanical properties is needed in order to use the FSW process for production of components in aerospace applications. With this aim, EADS and Alcan have studied and developed FSW process for Al-Li alloys. Its main advantage is its capability to weld successfully some metallic alloys like Al-Li which cannot be welded by traditional fusion welding processes. However, the effects of this complex thermal and thermo-mechanical process on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of Al-Li friction stir welds have yet to be determined. This project, based on industrial applications, is undertaken to characterize corrosion (intragranular, intergranular or exfoliation) and stress corrosion mechanisms susceptible to occur on Al-Li alloy 2050 friction stir welds in order to predict their lifetime under these type of conditions. The 2050 alloy, provided by Alcan, is a third generation Al-Li alloy expected to be used for aerospace components in the future. The aims of this project are: 1. to study Al-Li alloy 2050 friction stir welds metallurgy; 2. to determine the influence of metallurgy, environment and internal stresses on corrosion and stress corrosion damages of Al-Li 2050 alloy; 3. also to characterize the Al-Li alloy 2050 friction stir welds behaviour under corrosion conditions; 4. to evaluate initiation and growth of corrosion defects taking into account pertinent parameters and to be able to purpose propagation rules in a reduced time 5. to predict the evolution of internal stresses distribution during adapted mechanical tests taking into account environment, samples geometry and loading; 6. to evaluate the effects of FSW process on welds mechanical properties; 7. to reduce corrosion damage optimizing Al-Li alloy 2050 friction stir welds microstructures in order to increase their corrosion resistance. Finally this project, based on experimental tests and simulation works, should contribute to the introduction of Al-Li alloy 2050 friction stir welds into aeronautic structures.

OntoCommons lays the foundation for interoperable and standardised data documentation across all materials and manufacturing domains, thereby facilitating data sharing and pushing data-driven innovation to bring out a truly Digital Single Market and new business models for European industry to meet the opportunities of digitalisation and sustainability challenges. This will be achieved by coordinating a wide range of EU stakeholders for the development of an Ontology Commons EcoSystem (OCES) that comprises a set of ontologies and tools following specific standardisation rules. OCES provides a sustainable approach to harmonised data documentation through ontologies, making the data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable), and implementing practical and user-friendly mechanisms of intra- and cross-domain interoperability focusing on materials and manufacturing sectors. Demonstration cases with strong industrial involvement covering a wide range of NMBP application domains and stakeholders’ fee

Because of the aging of the population, the rising incidence of diseases, the needs for replacement or repair of bone tissues are growing steadily. In France, approximately 40,000 artificial knees and 150,000 hip prostheses are implanted each year. 10% required return, causing a second surgery. In this context, the number of implants, which contributes to health expenditure in France, is increasing (5% / year). By replacing a defective joint, the aim is to help the patients to quickly recover its autonomy / mobility and in a long-lasting way. Since the first hydroxyapatite coated HIPs were implanted in the mid-1980s, the clinical use of such implants has aroused many interests over the last decades. The current concerns are the capacity of the clinicians to have bioactive, antibacterial, mechanically stable coatings and to process them on any type of substrate whatever its composition or shape with a high degree of accuracy. The project objective is to develop coatings based on multisubstituted nanostructured calcium phosphates with an adjusted morphology, excellent short and long terms biocompatibility, very good adhesion on prosthetic materials and bactericidal properties. The project therefore aims at : i)assessing the potential of two new thermal spray processes (suspension plasma spray and cold spray) to develop these "smart" calcium phosphates as coatings; ii) adapting the methods to treat implants of various sizes, of complex shapes, and made of metallic materials, polymeric or ceramic; iii) describing the physical, chemical and structural effects of coatings on osteoinductive properties; iv)developing new experimental and numerical approaches to determine their mechanical properties (adhesion and cohesion). The proposed PRCE project entitled ArchiCaP « Architectured substituted calcium phosphate coatings for bioactive bone implants »brings together three academic research groups and a small company – CIRIMAT of the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, LGP of Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Tarbes, and BioTis of the Université de Bordeaux and 2PS, SME dedicated to plasma sprayed coatings for orthopedic implants. The multidisciplinary consortium in materials science and engineering, biology and industrial systems will also rely on CRIOAC-GSO as well as on two international groups from Universities of Sherbrooke and Barcelona that are very well-known in the thermal spray field.