Thermography opens a new paradigm because shifts actual manual inspections like those of Fluorescent Penetrant Inspection (FPI) into automated inspection and detection to avoid human errors. AUTHENTIC addresses the development and adoption of automated inductive active thermography to improve the probability of detection (POD) of surface defects generated or appearing in welded safety-critical engine components both for in-process control and for final inspection and quality acceptance. The high sensitivity of the technology enables the detection of cracks down to 200 μm. An improvement higher than 50% is expected on the detectable critical defect size, on POD basis. Automation will be implemented during the inspection process through an adequate robotic system and also during the defect detection, characterization and localization, thanks to the developed algorithms. Furthermore, a second sensory will be added to the main system in order to tackle geometrically complex cases where thermography might fail or give a partial result due to accessibility issues. The system developed will provide (i) faster inspections on full-scale components, (ii) elimination of human subjectivity from inspections, and (iii) healthier and cleaner working environment for technicians. The easier, faster and more accurate maintenance inspections will lead to safer aircrafts and to the extension of their lifetime contributing to a globally more innovative, sustainable and competitive EU aircraft industry. AUTHENTIC will cover from the complete definition of the NDT system based on process and inspection requirements to its implementation and validation through the inspection of a real component provided by GKN (topic leader). The achievements of project objectives will be supported by the multidisciplinary consortium formed by experts in thermography (LORTEK, ULEOEBEN and EDEVIS), simulation (ULEOBEN), automated inspection (EDEVIS), sensorics (HV) and welding metallurgy (LORTEK, HV).

<< Background >>Hackathon and ICT-based Innovative Methodologies in Higher Education project will establish a strong partnership network and a community of practice for ensuring digital readiness of the stakeholders within and beyond the partnership. In the current context of the 'current resilience demand', the project partners acknowledge the importance of the unique challenges and experiences of every institution during the pandemic and each partner’s expertise that let tackle the obstacles successfully. It is more important than ever that this expertise is shared and combined across different HEIs to maximise the learning gains and keep students enrolled despite any obstacles they might face. Responding to the ever-changing nature of the current situation and IT advancement, a strong network of experts and the community of practice established within the project aim to develop partnerships and resources that can be sustainably used by HEIs teachers in alignment with EU skills agenda, Digital Education Action Plan, European Education Area (EEA).<< Objectives >>The project addresses the imperatives to create more flexible and inclusive as well as secure technology enhanced open education that can be delivered in online, blended, and distance modes of teaching/learning. The project addresses the importance of supplementing teachers’ expertise in content knowledge with digital and pedagogical competences in order to ensure high quality, active, and transformative teaching/learning. It aims to enable teachers to implement and develop innovative practices in education in the digital era, promote and reward excellence in teaching and skills’ development, tackle, focus on and breach gaps and mismatches in teachers’ competences as well as develop a versatile approach to student learning in a way that will improve teacher and student active participation and satisfaction, efficient cooperation in teaching/learning settings.<< Implementation >>TBD<< Results >>TBD

REPTiS offers a sustainable and energy efficient solution for responsible extraction and processing of Titanium and other Primary Raw Materials from strategic partner countries to EU supply chains with a net zero-waste approach. The project will demonstrate the capability of Titanium extraction and processing as a Critical Raw Material in collaboration with strategic partnership country Ukraine in all stages of the value chain ranging from open pit ilmenite ore mining and carbon-free Ti powder production to full-scale deployment in the EU, thanks to the commitments of the industrial partners after the end of the project. Demonstrating an approach towards zero waste manufacturing by means of energy and resource efficiency, and by a validation using real parts from the industry, the project will go beyond the state-of-the-art in terms of maturity (from TRL 5 to 7) and hence contribute to the European Green Deal.

This project aims to develop a streamlined, one-step method for producing and applying high entropy oxide (HEO) coatings using solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) technology. This approach will bridge the gap between HEOs' remarkable laboratory properties and their practical applications, such as thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) for gas turbine engines. HEOs are a new class of ceramics where multiple metals, in equiatomic proportions, are randomly arranged on cationic sites within an oxygen anion lattice. The high configurational entropy of these multi-cation systems ensures excellent phase stability and advantageous thermo-physical properties. Research on processing HEOs via thermal spray for TBCs is currently limited due to difficulties in synthesizing high-quality HEO particles in sufficient quantities. Traditional methods produce nanoparticles that require further processing, which can be labor-intensive and may introduce impurities that affect the HEO properties. The SPPS method overcomes these challenges by using metal salt solutions as feedstock, which react in situ within the plasma to form and subsequently deposit metal oxides directly onto the substrate. This method simplifies the process and allows for greater control over the coating's microstructure, enhancing its properties. The project will take place at University West, Sweden, where SPPS expertise and infrastructure are available. A secondment at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Czech Republic, will provide advanced deposition and characterization facilities. Additionally, a non-academic placement at Treibacher Industries, Austria, will offer industry experience and resources for commercializing the project. The researcher will gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge equipment, engage in interdisciplinary collaboration, and acquire insights into both academic and industrial applications, significantly benefiting their future career prospects.

The industrialisation of Additive Manufacturing (AM) requires a holistic data management and integrated automation. INTEGRADDE aims to develop an end-to-end Digital Manufacturing solution, enabling a cybersecured bidirectional dataflow for a seamless integration across the entire AM chain. The goal is to develop a new manufacturing methodology capable of ensuring the manufacturability, reliability and quality of a target metal component from initial product design via Direct Energy Deposition (DED) technologies, implementing a zero-defect manufacturing approach ensuring robustness, stability and repeatibility of the process. To achieve this aim, INTEGRADDE addresses following key innovations: - Development of an intelligent data-driven AM pipeline. - Combination of automatic topology optimisation algorithms for design, multi-scale process modelling, automated hardware-independent process planning, online control and distributed NDT for the manufacturing of certified metal parts. - A self-adaptive control is adopted focused on the implementation of non-propagation of defects strategy. Moreover, Data Analytics will provide a continuous refinement by acquiring process knowledge to assist in the manufacturing of new metal components, improving right-first-time production by adopting a mass customization approach - Cybersecurity ensures data integrity along the AM workflow, providing a novel manufacturing methodology for the certification of metal AM parts. INTEGRADDE implements a twofold deployment approach for the pilot lines: both in application-driven at five industrial end-users (steel, tooling, aeronautics, and construction) and open-pilot networks at RTOs already owning AM infrastructure (AIMEN, IREPA, CEA, WEST). This will allow a continuous validation and deployment of specific developments towards industrialization, boosting definitive uptake of AM in EU metalworking sector.