From Nickel-base Superalloys to Austenitic Stainless Steels: Alloying, Design and Material Modelling for High-temperature Structural Integrity
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Linköpings universitet - Linköpings tekniska högskola Inst f ekon & industruell utv IEI |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 6 000 000 |
| Project duration | November 2025 - November 2029 |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Venture | Impact Innovation Metals & Minerals - Program-specific efforts Vinnova |
| Call | Impact Innovation: Research and development projects within Techological Action Areas in the Swedish Metals and Minerals program |
Purpose and goal
The objective is to facilitate the transition in material selection from nickel-based superalloys to austenitic stainless steels, ensuring the design requirements for the structural integrity of welded structures are met. Additionally, it aims to clarify the impact of microstructural changes caused by in-service load conditions and develop accurate, AI-assisted material models that predict high-temperature structural integrity and batch variation with less than 20% prediction error.
Expected effects and result
The expected results includes the establishment of both digital and experimental methods to optimise and ensure the high-temperature structural integrity of welded austenitic stainless steel structures, beneficial to the substitution of nickel-base alloys. This add to the Swedish contribution to EU’s CRMA goals by reducing the dependency on nickel, identified as a strategic raw material by EU, and the high environmental impact associate the usage of nickel-base alloys.
Planned approach and implementation
The project plan consists of the acquisition of experimental data on the microstructural description and the high temperature structural integrity, e.g., thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) testing, of selected austenitic stainless-steel alloys. In parallell, AI-assisted microstructure-informed material models describing the stress-strain, fracture, fatigue and weld behaviour under TMF load conditions, including the influence of microstructural evolution, will be implemented and validated.