ENSTA Bretagne : recherche sur les structures acier de forte épaisseur

RESISTANCE project: characterizing stresses in thick-walled structural components

Research
Mechanical Sciences
In the shipbuilding and nuclear industries, manufacturers use steel structures that are tens of millimeters thick to enable them to withstand high pressures. Manufacturing processes (forming, welding, etc.) generate additional internal stresses called “residual stresses”, the knowledge of which is an important factor in optimizing their design and service life. However, measuring these residual stresses at the heart of structures is difficult due to their great thickness, and requires the development of new techniques.

New digital and experimental tools

It is for this reason that researchers from ENSTA Bretagne and Naval Group, working together in their joint Gustave Zédé laboratory, have launched the RESISTANCE project. This project will provide new experimental and digital tools for measuring and exploiting the stresses that occur during the manufacture of critical components. Ultimately, these methods will also provide a digital twin of these structures after they have been manufactured, making it easier to optimize their design and service life. 

Ultimately, these methods will also provide a digital twin of these structures after they have been manufactured, making it easier to optimize their design and service life. 

To achieve this, the project combines digital modeling and experiments carried out jointly by ENSTA Bretagne and Naval Group. The team has identified the need to combine different measurement methods, some of which are well known and in use, while others need to be mastered and improved. The project was launched in early January with the arrival of Pierre Faucheux as a post-doctoral student. We are currently looking for a PhD student to work on both the digital and experimental aspects of the project (job description available here). 

ENSTA Bretagne : projet de recherche Résistance sur la caractérisation des contraintes dans les composants structurels en acier de forte épaisseur

Project ID

RESISTANCE, an ANR ASTRID project supported by the “IRDL” (Dupuy de Lôme Research Institute) mechanics laboratory

“Support for Defense Research Projects and Innovation” (ASTRID) research projects, are implemented by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and funded by the Defense Innovation Agency (AID). These projects respond to the knowledge and innovation needs of the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA).

The RESISTANCE research project, selected as part of the ANR ASTRID 2023 call for projects, is led by ENSTA Bretagne’s “Behavior and Durability of Heterogeneous Materials” mechanics research team, in collaboration with Naval Group, at the Dupuy de Lôme Research Institute.