No more system malfunctions? The ZORRO project is working on diagnostic methods for high-tech systems, such as MRI scanners and printers. By continuously monitoring their behaviour with suitable sensors, algorithms from AI can detect anomalous patterns and relate these to their root causes. Suitable measures, such as replacements or repairs, can then prevent failures. We aim at breakthroughs in complexity with ZORRO: not diagnostics for simple components, but for entire systems; efficient monitoring systems that combine different sensor types; automation of diagnostic processes by capturing domain knowledge in diagnostic models and integrate these into the engineering process for high-tech systems.

The project is a collaboration between the University of Twente and Sorama. It aims to develop a physics-informed fault diagnosis monitoring framework for rotary machinery that utilizes acoustic sensors and physics-based models. An experimental set-up of pumps at the University of Twente and acoustic sensors provided by Sorama will be used to develop and validate the proposed framework.

Hot stamping is a widely used technology to produce ultra-high strength steel parts in the automotive industry. This method combines traditional heat treatment and cold stamping technologies. To avoid surface oxidation at high temperatures, Aluminum-based coated steel sheets are used for hot stamping of boron steels. These Al-based coatings prevent surface oxidation, decarburization and enhance corrosion resistance of the hot stamped parts. Apart from the advantages of the Al-based (Al-Si) coatings, introducing them to the hot stamping of the boron steels complicates the heat treatment and sheet metal forming processes. Therefore, a profound knowledge and control of the heat treatment procedure, bimetal system interface properties, and subsequently their mechanical behavior during forming stage is required. Localized cracking and delamination of the Al-Si coatings are the major problems which can affect the determining process factors such as coating frictional behavior and tool wear. This may consequently lead to a less efficient forming process, oxidation of the substrate and reduction in its corrosion resistance. Currently, there is not any comprehensive knowledge about the initiation and propagation of the micro-cracks during the heat treatment and subsequently cracking and interfacial debonding of the coating during the sheet metal forming. The aim of this project is first characterizing the initiation of the micro-cracks at the surface and the coating-substrate interface, second multi-scale modeling of the fracture behavior of the multi-layered Al-Si coating based on different layers of the intermetallic compounds in the coating (obtained from different heat treatment variables: time, temperature and cooling/heating rate), and third optimizing hot stamping process parameters (both thermal and mechanical) to avoid cracks in the coating based on fracture behavior of the coating layer. We anticipate that the optimization of the process will consequently lead to enhanced frictional behavior and tool wear in hot stamping of the Al-Si coated boron steels.