The scientific and technological approach

As regards the main parts of the project (software integration, technological packages and demonstrator components), the most reliable scientific and technological approaches will be employed case by case. The key-role will be represented by demonstrator components. These are industrial production components, such as cylinder heads and transmission cases, which have already been identified by the automotive companies involved in the project. The components will be produced stage by stage, using the available software integration and optimisation tools developed during the project. They will constitute the main "tool" for monitoring the evolution, the reliability and the industrial significance of the IDEAL project, as well as for progressively developing the project results. Integration and optimisation will be conducted with the support of technology packages specifically needed for each demonstrator. In other words, these packages will be developed by means of the application of state-of-the-art scientific tools to aluminium components. In other words, these packages will be developed by means of the application of state-of-the-art scientific tools which are particularly relevant to the aluminium components industry.

For instance, micromodelling and quality mapping equations and criteria will be based on a measurement, which is equivalent to the quality control and insurance instruments typically used in foundries. This guarantees that the expected results will firstly be validated and then valued by the users. The stress analysis package, tested by means of residual stress measurements, will be suitable for interfacing with most known design codes. Both from an experimental and a simulation point of view, the LHIP treatment on aluminium cast cylinder heads will be set up, with tests reproducing in-service conditions.

Optimisation of design and processes is of very recent interest to the scientific community. Current applications are mostly within the aeronautic and military fields. For mass products such as castings, efforts have mostly been considered to be too demanding and for this reason, the latest in algorithmic and parallel approaches will be used.