Materials NL Challenges grant for Dr. Maresca

Dr. Francesco Maresca, who recently started a tenure track position at ENTEG, has been granted a Materials NL Challenges grant by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). The grant, worth EUR 730,000, is for a M2i consortium, led by Dr. Poulumi Dey of the TU Delft, and supported by the industrial partners Tata Steel, Allseas Engineering, Koninklijke Nedschroef Holding and Daimler.

The project, ‘designing hydrogen-resistant alloys through novel multi-scale modeling and experimentation’, will tackle the most difficult to understand phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) in steels. Hydrogen embrittlement is an outstanding problem in the mechanics of structural metals which results in the loss of mechanical properties, such as strength and deformability, when hydrogen is present in metals or its surrounding environment (water, acids, etc.).

The novel methodology developed within the project for steels, will be transferrable to other technologically relevant materials e.g. superalloys and the novel high-entropy alloys.

In the Maresca-group one PhD Student will study hydrogen embrittlement in steels.