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Thermal Mechanical Physical Simulation Lab inaugurated at IIT BHU
The lab focuses on the physical simulation of processes that are related to mechanical engineering, material science, ceramics, civil engineering and metallurgy.
The Thermal Mechanical Physical Simulation Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi (IITBHU) was inaugurated by institute’s director Prof Pramod Kumar Jain.
The lab focuses on the physical simulation of processes that are related to mechanical engineering, material science, ceramics, civil engineering and metallurgy.
In his speech, IIT-BHU director Prof Jain laid emphasis on the importance of physical simulations with respect to industries and basic research. The lab is equipped with the latest features that are Induction heating for non-conductive specimens and a cryo-quench for subzero temperature.
He further highlighted that the data generated from the lab will enable to develop and validate the mean field and finite element method (FEM) based models. The lab opens a new avenue for multiple collaboration from industries and will work in synergy with industries to solve problems.
During interaction with faculty members, assistant professor Surya D Yadav from Metallurgical Engineering Department said that the lab would play an important role in research programs supporting new materials and alloy development and the ongoing quest in material engineering to make components lighter, stronger and less expensive. Physical simulation data is an important link between industrial material processing and computational models. This lab would be an advanced research tool and can be used to characterise new materials and to discover means to optimise the processing of such materials.
The equipment facilitates performance of tests in the areas of thermo-mechanical treatment of steel, effect of thermo-mechanical loading on the microstructure and properties of materials and facilitates carrying out physical simulation of processes such as: Alloy development, Welding, Hot Rolling, Continuous Casting, Recrystallisation, HAZ Cycles, Diffusion Bonding, Forging, Extrusion, Additive Manufacturing, Continuous Strip Annealing, Heat Treating etc. It is a fully integrated equipment with high-speed heating system, closed loop servo hydraulic system for mechanical testing along with the digital computer control and high-speed data acquisition. Specimens can be heated at rates up to a maximum 10,000 °C/s by resistance heating or can be held at constant temperature. It is capable of exerting up to 20 tonnes of static force in compression or 10 tonnes in tension, with stroke rates up to 2 m/s.
This equipment enables the performance of tests in various areas, including the thermo-mechanical treatment of steel, the effects of thermo-mechanical loading on material microstructure and properties, and the conduction of physical simulations for processes such as alloy development, welding, hot rolling, continuous casting, recrystallisation, heat affected zone (HAZ) cycles, diffusion bonding, forging, extrusion, additive manufacturing, continuous strip annealing, heat treating, and more. It is a fully integrated system featuring a high-speed heating system, a closed-loop servo-hydraulic system for mechanical testing, digital computer control, and high-speed data acquisition. Specimens can be heated at rates of up to 10,000 °C/s using resistance heating or maintained at a constant temperature. The equipment is capable of applying up to 20 tonnes of static compression force or 10 tonnes of tension force, with stroke rates of up to 2 m/s.
