The IMKTT of EIROforum is organising an in-person workshop on component/material failures at the premises of the European Space Research & Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
Failures and related issues, be they mechanical, structural, manufacturing defects or electronic, are common problems for materials and components in several industries. Their occurrence generates additional costs for spare part purchases, labour person-hours and, eventually, production downtime. Forecast of the failure is also a key evaluation for regular maintenance, but too conservative forecasts can lead to too short in time substitution of components, which are instead suitable for longer life. The aerospace industry is a critical sector suffering from this problem, and where the reliability of components is key, particularly for space missions.
Beyond aerospace, similar failures are also experienced by the equipment of EIROforum facilities, for example, by devices subjected to cryogenic conditions or that withstand prolonged exposure to radiation. Fusion facilities encounter similar issues due to their extreme operating conditions.
The workshop will give an overview of the failures reported by the EIROforum facilities equipment from one side and, from the other side, will showcase the techniques available to probe the phenomena, for example, high-resolution imaging, often under operando conditions, which the analytical facilities such as neutron source-based (ILL), synchrotron radiation (ESRF) and FEL (European XFEL) provide.
Advanced characterisation can allow the failure phenomena to be mitigated. For example, it permits accurate manufacturing control of the material structures for representative samples or prototypes, and helps to validate and complement their monitoring to define maintenance procedures. Moreover, characterisation can help to meet the new challenges of material disassembly for recycling. The techniques available from the analytical research facilities are powerful tools to address the Sustainability Societal Challenge, as promoted by the European Union.
