CRYSTAL project in a nutshell
CRYSTAL project aims to reduce the hydrogen embrittlement risk in high-strength steel parts for the automotive industry.
A range of laboratory, real plant and simulated life tests will be carried out to transfer to the steel and automotive industry experimental tools and novel testing methodologies to evaluate hydrogen embrittlement during steel production and life span of the components.
The project will make possible to determine the hydrogen content that directly affects the mechanical properties of steel, in order to design new steels and coatings less susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement and manufacture safer automotive components.
Boosting the applicability of advanced high-strength steels in safety related automotive parts
CRYSTAL RFCS project's main goal is to transfer to the steel and automotive industry experimental tools and methodologies to predict hydrogen embrittlement in the early materials or part production stages.
Would you like to find out more about CRYSTAL?
CRYSTAL is a Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) funded project aiming at reducing the hydrogen embrittlement risk in high-strength steel parts for the automotive industry.
Objectives
- 1
Correlate a quantitative measurement of hydrogen content in Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) sheet to part performance in vehicles
- 2
Early detect delayed fracture problems in automotive steels, associated to hydrogen embrittlement
- 3
Develop in-situ procedures and novel methodologies to determine the hydrogen content and evaluate hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of sheets
Hydrogen embrittlement
Hydrogen Embrittlement is a common serious problem in steels applied in lightweight car construction, leading to delayed fractures, such as cracks, before its estimated life span.
CRYSTAL project will tackle the industry need to better understand hydrogen embrittlement of AHSS in the automotive industry by combining semi-quantitative hydrogen measurements during AHSS processing and better-defined test methods leading to well-founded recommendations for material selection and car manufacture.
Consortium
Organisations from 5 different EU countries covering all the value chain, from steel manufacturers, research centres to car manufacturers.
CRYSTAL RFCS project brings together industrial partners, companies and research institutes to reduce the hydrogen embrittlement risk in high strength steel parts for the automotive industry.
