Steel continues to be the most used material in the world by value and play an essential role in all aspects of society, from construction to transport, energy generation to food production. The long-term sustainability of UK steel making requires lower energy production and the development of high value steel products. The ability to measure the microstructure of steel in a non-contact, non-destructive fashion can lead to dramatic improvement in the understanding of the material and its behaviour during processing and in-service. Improved control during processing will increase efficiency in production of complex steel microstructures and allow new generation alloys to be made. Through our previous EPSRC and industry funded research we have created a new electromagnetic (EM) measurement system, EMspecTM, that can monitor the microstructure of strip steel during hot processing. This system is now providing information related to the condition (transformed phase fraction) of the microstructure over 100% of the strip length. The scene is now set to make the next major step forward with the information that new in-line microstructure measurement systems can offer - proposed real-time in-line microstructural engineering, or 'RIME' technology. Our ambition is to enable real-time microstructure engineering during processing via dynamic control of cooling strategies or heat treatment using EM sensor feedback, in particular to engineer microstructures that were previously either impossible to achieve in full scale production or could not be reliably achieved. This will require detailed knowledge of the full temperature - magnetic - microstructure parameter space and sensors that are capable of operating in elevated temperature environments (such as heat treatment facilities), which are not currently available outside the laboratory. In addition application to a wide range of product lines, from strip to plate or sections requires integration of through thickness cooling models and EM signal-depth interpretation all mapped for varying temperature and phase fraction. In this project we will develop new sensors that can operate at high temperature; both laboratory systems to determine full magnetic properties with temperature for model and commercial steels, essential information that is currently unavailable in the literature, and robust deployable sensors for trials in industrial conditions; and systems designed to interrogate for through thickness data. We will develop a demonstration facility, consisting of a furnace, run out table with cooling sprays and EMspecTM system, to allow dynamic feedback control of cooling schedules from EM sensor signals to engineer specific microstructures. Alongside the hardware and demonstration activities we will also develop modelling capabilities, both for sensor design and signal interpretation: our current models are used to relate sensor signals to microstructure (phase fraction and grain size at room temperature) with incorporation of temperature effects planned in this project. A number of case studies have been identified to trial the new technologies including advanced high strength strip steels (AHSS) for light-weighting of vehicles, high strength - high toughness pipeline steels for demanding environments, high strength, more uniform, constructional steels and tailoring microstructure in rod.

Hydrogen is the lightest of the elements and has some remarkable properties and uses. Its isotopes will provide the nuclear fusion fuel for humanity in the next half century. Even now, it is probably the cleanest available fuel for motor cars and its extraction from sea water using solar power and subsequent transport around the globe is mooted as a potential solutions to our energy crisis. Because of its atomic size, hydrogen is not easy to contain as it diffuses readily through the lattice of solid materials, frequently by quantum mechanical tunnelling. The problem has a darker side; hydrogen has been known for over a hundred years to cause catastrophic failure in high strength steels. All welders know to keep their manual metal arc electrodes dry to avoid the generation of hydrogen from the decomposition of water during welding. The alloys resulting from our experiments and modelling will impact directly on the fuel efficiency of the next generation of automobiles, the service lifetimes of wind turbines and pipelines and lead to the development of new valve gear, and hydrogen handling and transport systems. We expect this to lead to improved profitability of our project partners and the sustainability of UK industry. The project will develop new design procedures for ultra-high strength steels that resist embrittlement due to the presence of hydrogen for use in the above applications . This will be achieved through a series of advances in materials characterisation, testing and modelling. New experimental techniques will be developed to identify the structure of defects in engineering alloys and how they trap hydrogen. Understanding this trapping process is a key step in understanding how and why hydrogen embrittles steels. A range of modelling techniques from the atomistic through to the continuum will be developed and employed to provide detailed information about the embrittling mechanisms and how these depend on the steel microstructure. This will allow microstructures to be identified that are resistant to hydrogen embrittlement. This information will be employed to guide the development of new procedures for the design of alloys and heat treatments that result in steels that are resistant to attack by hydrogen. These techniques will be validated by processing a range of new alloys designed using our new methodology and examining their mechanical performance in the presence of hydrogen.

IMMPETUS (Institute for Microstructural and Mechanical Process Engineering: The University of Sheffield) was founded in 1997 to undertake truly integrated interdisciplinary research across the disciplines of systems, mechanical and metallurgical engineering, addressing key issues in the metals processing industry. Over the last ten years the unique inter-disciplinary research produced by IMMPETUS has secured national and international acclaim for its systems driven approach to process and property optimisation of a wide range of metals process routes. Using systems engineering we target and optimise experiments to develop basic physical metallurgy in specific areas where knowledge is incomplete, to inform model elicitation, testing and validation. For the complex industrial processes we investigate, there is insufficient basic knowledge to construct true through-process physically based models. In order to cover the intractable factors not adequately described by the existing physically based models, we use hybrid models that merge discrete data, knowledge-based and physically-based models in a unique manner to give unprecedented precision in predictive model capability. All the modelling is verified through the use of a world class array of experimental techniques. The proposal comprises 12 projects which have been constructed in conjunction with our industrial collaborators in order to answer the following questions: 1. How do we formulate a 'generic' framework for 'through-process' modelling to achieve 'right first-time' production of metals?2. Which of the metallurgical and thermomechanical variables affect the microstructure and therefore the final properties of metals, but are not yet fully described by existing models?3. How do causalities (deterministic behaviours) as well as uncertainties (heterogeneities, random behaviours) influence the processing and affect the final properties of metals?4. What are the specific modelling strategies 'best' suited for answering 1, 2, and 3 above?5. Using the elicited models in 4, can we identify the achievable properties for a given process route, and what to do if a particular property is not achievable?6. Using 5, how do we optimise the process route?The programme of work is presented as four themes, all of which are inter-dependent and interwoven. PHYSICAL SYSTEMS will be aimed at developing basic physical metallurgical understanding where knowledge is inadequate, in areas including microstructural heterogeneities, and process conditions that are dynamic and non-linear. In MODELLING SYSTEMS, the physical metallurgy, mechanical engineering and systems engineering will be fully integrated, both through the development of new modelling approaches, and the coupling of existing state-of-the-art modelling that in itself produces new methodologies. PROCESS SIMULATION will involve the upscaling of focused laboratory experiments to accurately and completely simulate the relevant industrial process routes and validate them through appropriate mill trials. SYSTEMS OPTIMISATION will act as a powerful vehicle for integrating these themes and via a careful tuning of model structures/parameters will be core to our technology transfer to our will target specific industrial sponsors and to the wider academic community.

The manufacturing and processing of metals to form components is one of the largest industrial sectors and accounts for 46% of all manufactured value, with an economic value to the EEA of Euro 1.3 trillion annually. Material security concerns the access to raw materials to ensure military and economic sufficiency. We will face major future challenges as key elements will be increasingly in short supply with consequent price volatility ("the ticking time bomb"). Equally, many materials rely on strategic elements for which supply is not guaranteed, with rare earth elements being the prime example (central to the performance of magnesium alloys). Metals production consumes about 5% of global energy use and is responsible for an annual emission of over 2Gton of CO2, so efficiency in manufacture can produce significant reductions in environmental impact. The recent report "Material Security: Ensuring resource availability for the UK economy" from the TSB noted "the importance of material security has increased due to limited short-term availability of some raw materials, widespread large increases in raw material prices, oligopolistic industry structures and dependence on a limited number of sometimes politically unstable countries as sources of key materials". Furthermore, "The issue of sustainability has attained unprecedented prominence on both national and international agendas, occupying the minds of businesses and governments as never before... Resource efficiency has a key role to play in mitigating wider issues such as depletion of resources, environmental impact and materials security, and it also contributes significantly to the low-carbon economy." Addressing resource efficiency in metals production and use requires that new metal alloys be developed specifically to reduce reliance on strategic and scarce elements, for recycling and for disruptive manufacturing technologies that minimise waste. The size of the problem is too large to be undertaken by the traditional matrix experiment. Rather, a wide range of state-of-the-art modelling, experimental and processing skills needs to be brought together to target resource efficiency in metallic systems. In the DARE approach we use basic science to come to an understanding of the role of strategically important elements, to design new alloys with greater resource efficiency and to optimise the processing route for the new alloys to give supply chain compression. Unique to the DARE approach is to bring manufacturing into the centre of the alloy design paradigm. The combined themes will tackle key metal alloys, including ultra-high strength, low alloy and nanostructured steel (e.g. for a resource efficient approach to vehicle light weighting to give reduced automotive emissions); titanium alloys and titanium aluminides (e.g. for aerospace applications) and Mg alloys (e.g. in automotive and military applications, for example, cast gear box casings). The research team and their ten industrial partners will deliver actual materials and implementation into industry, moving the resource efficiency agenda from the sphere of policy into the real economy. We will support the growth of the high-value UK speciality metals manufacturing industry by developing and exploiting the DARE approach to the design of alloys that improve the resource efficiency and flexibility with regard to fluctuating material availability of the UK manufacturing economy, addressing the EPSRC grand challenges in transitioning to a low-carbon society. This will help existing UK world-leading industries to expand and manufacture for the future.

SUSTAIN is an ambitious collaborative research project led by the National Steel Innovation Centre at Swansea University to transform the productivity, product diversity and environmental performance of the steel supply chain in the UK. Working with Warwick Manufacturing Group and the University of Sheffield, the SUSTAIN Manufacturing Hub will lead grand challenge research projects of carbon neutral steel and ironmaking and smart steel processing. Carbon neutral steel making will explore how we can transition the industry from using coal as its primary energy source to a mix of waste materials, renewable energy and hydrogen. Smart steel processing will examine how digital technology and sensors can be used to increase productivity and also explore how a transformation in the way in which steel is processed can add significant value and create new markets, in particular construction, whilst expanding the opportunities afforded by advanced steel products in the electrification of vehicular transport. The UK steel businesses cover different market sectors and are all engaged in this project committing >£13M in supporting funds. Tata Steel lead work on strip steel products used in automotive (inc electrical steels for generators and motors construction) and packaging applications. British Steel produce long products for key sectors such as rail transport and construction. Liberty Specialty produce unique steels for sectors such as aerospace and nuclear power, Sheffield Forgemasters manufacture products for power generation, defence and civil nuclear industries, and Celsa make section steels and reinforcement primarily for construction. This represents a key element of advanced materials that underpin a large proportion of the UK manufacturing sector. The increasing diversity and lower carbon intensity of UK made steel products together with greater productivity and efficiency will thus benefit the whole of UK manufacturing and create opportunities for manufacturing to make inroads into traditional areas for example by driving offsite manufactured construction alternatives to traditional low skill labour intensive routes. Steel is the world's most used and recyclable advanced material and this project aims to transform the way it is made. This includes approaches both to use and re-use it and harness opportunities to turn any waste product into a value added element for another industry. To illustrate, a steel plant produces enough waste heat to power around 300,000 homes. New materials can trap this heat allowing it to be transported to homes and offices and be used when required without the need for pipes. This then makes the manufacturing site an embedded component of the community and is clearly a model applicable to any other high energy manufacturing operation in other sectors. We will at each stage explore how our discoveries in transforming steel can be mapped onto other key foundation materials sectors such as glass, petrochemicals and cement. Implementation of the research findings will be facilitated via SUSTAIN's network of innovation spokes ensuring that high quality research translates to highly profitable and competitive processes.