TKI Top Sector HTSM grant for Francesco Maresca

Dr. Francesco Maresca, tenure-track assistant professor in ENTEG, has been awarded an M2i TKI Top Sector HTSM grant for his proposal "Multi-Wear: Multi-scale modelling of adhesive wear in zinc coated steels". The grant of 0.5M EUR is for a PhD position and consists of 50% in-cash cofund from Tata Steel and 50% TKI subsidy via M2i.

Multi-Wear: Multi-scale modelling of adhesive wear in zinc coated steels
Steel plays a key role in society, and its importance remains essential for the energy transition, since its sustainability will be enabled by recycling and greener, hydrogen-based iron-ore reduction. Protection of steels against corrosion is crucial for its durability, and it is obtained by coating steels with zinc. However, zinc has poor mechanical properties which make it prone to wear, a process whereby scratches and partial detachment of the zinc coating occurs. This phenomenon leads to unacceptable steel surface finish e.g. for car industry, and hence to increased production waste. To enable “first-time-right” production and reduce the production waste, research is needed to improve the mechanical behavior of steel coatings. In this project, we develop an integrated multi-scale approach that enables to predict wear by controlling the key input parameters that influence this phenomenon, namely the zinc coating crystallographic texture, the microstructure and the surface roughness. The local mechanisms controlling deformation and damage (twinning, plasticity, and fracture) will be incorporated in the modelling. The proposed approach will therefore provide guidelines for tailoring wear-resistant coating