Group description

The research areas of I2M Material Processes Interaction (MPI) department focus on processes of implementing, shaping and assembling materials, highlighting interactions between the process and the material.

The objective is to understand the physical and physico-chemical mechanisms involved in manufacturing processes using approaches that are both experimental and numerical supplemented by the physico-chemical and mechanical characterisation of the materials produced. A multi-disciplinary system is essential, where all phenomena and their combinations are studied using a multiscale approach.

Our complementary skills (materials, processes, implementation) are an undeniable asset in the Department because the most of applications are meeting current to industrial challenges.

The activities of the three Groups are as follows :

GT1 - Material Implementation Processes works in modelling couplings, especially between heat transfers and mass transfers, metallurgical (or chemical) states and mechanical states for manufacturing additive processes (SLM), processes for preparing metal matrix composites (MMC by liquid and solid route, winding process), composite recycling and welding (TIG, laser and FSW).

GT2 - Material removal processes works about problems associated with understanding and modelling the mechanisms involved in removing material with a cutting tool, applied to monolithic materials or multi-materials.

GT3 - Mechanics of Compacted Pharmaceutical Powders works on issues related to pharmaceutical powders and their transformation by compression via different individual stages in pharmaceutical process engineering.

The GT1 is based on studying interactions between a material (metal or organic) and a process. The processes we study are initiated by thermal phenomena (welding by material fusion or producing composite materials via liquids, additive manufacturing by SLM) and/or mechanical phenomena (friction stir welding or producing composite materials via solids, winding process).

In the course of our work, we have developed models to help understand interaction mechanisms, modelled microstructural changes, developed predictive models and numerical simulation of the processes, and dealt with problems in an industrial context.

The activities of the group focus on understanding the physical phenomena inherent in processes and the pairing of these phenomena, in order to correlate the

operating parameters of the process, microstructures and characteristics. We are interested in modelling couplings, especially between heat transfers (with liquid/solid changes of state) and mass transfers (diffusion phenomena), metallurgical states (segregations, metallurgical transformations, resin polymerisation) and mechanical states (residual stresses, preform deformation).

The processes for manufacturing MMC and the winding process generate phenomena combined with mass transfers (moving liquid metal, diffusion of material), heat and deformations of the preform on different scales.

In the case of welding processes, the metallurgical transformations (or chemical) and microstructural evolutions depend on thermal evolutions and mechanical phenomena.

The quality of the parts produced by the SLM additive manufacturing process depends on several factors: laser-material interactions, porosity rate, interstitial contamination, operating parameters, powder quality, ...