DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGIES

PRODUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF MECHANICAL STRUCTURES / TECHNOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

This division provides services of development and/or improving production technologies as well as technology transfer services in order to improve the quality of existing products or develop new ones. In this division, non-standard problems are tackled and therefore the requirements are set each time by the user. To solve such problems, the appropriate scientific methodology is followed and the respective international standards and regulations are applied (e.g. determination of characteristic values of mechanical properties, if required). Also, certified testing equipment and analysis tools are used as described in the sections of the standard services. For the provision of the above services, the accumulated knowledge and technology from research programs is utilized. Some of the technology areas are:

• Computational simulation of welding to predict residual stresses in the material and distortion of the structural component, as well as experimental validation.
• Metal plate forming procedures using machining techniques or heat sources (e.g. Laser)
• Computational simulation of heat treatments and coating processes of materials for the improvement of their technological properties (e.g. improved resistance to abrasion, corrosion, etc.). The aim of this computational simulation is to predict the potential deterioration of the material properties after the treatment.
• Technologies for the repair and maintenance of structural components and evaluation of their impact in the structural integrity.
• Development of systems for the in-situ monitoring and calculation of structural integrity.
• Reverse and/or alternative design of structural components.
• Procedures for the unpainting of mechanical structures using environmentally friendly processes (e.g. Laser).
• Development/transfer of production technologies of structural components.