CEM WAVE

Project

The CEM-WAVE project aims to introduce an innovative manufacturing process for ceramic matrix composites - CMC - based on oxide and non-oxide based chemical vapor infiltration technologies with microwave-assisted heating (MW-CVI).

Ensuring a significant reduction in production costs, CEM-WAVE addresses the need for high-performance materials that can withstand the fluctuating and extreme production conditions created by the increasing use of renewable energy sources in heavy industry, such as steelmaking.

The main advantages of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) over other materials are their high heat resistance, hardness, corrosion resistance, light weight, and absence of magnetism. Over the years, CMCs have gained significant importance in industrial applications over single-phase ceramic materials and other materials due to their unique physical properties.

The growing industrial demand for high-temperature resistant, low-weight and low-density equipment is the main factor driving the expansion of the global market for ceramic matrix composites.

Goals

The project is based on 4 measurable objectives:

Optimise the Microwave-assisted Chemical Vapour Infiltration (MW-CVI) technology to produce non-oxide and oxide-based CMCs, including coating and joining. In this regard, a process for "welding" CMC components in order to obtain tubes of various shapes and a process for applying protective coatings will also be developed;

Harness CMCs’ dielectric properties to optimise their use as sensors, both to determine the optimal MW-CVI processing conditions and to monitor their use in radial tube furnaces, in combination with infra-red imaging and electrical analysis;

Build and validate a small-scale version of a CMC tube to display improved properties compared to current alternatives;

Bring the solution to market, making it a long-term sustainable method and leading the application of circular economy principles in energy-intensive industries.

Role of Certimac

Certimac supports ENEA in the evaluation of thermal conductivity and specific heat of the developed solutions using traditional (e.g., heat flow meter) and innovative (e.g., Laser Flash Analysis - LFA method) experimental methods up to 1250 °C.

This will allow selection of the best solutions in terms of thermal behavior with reference to the application. The use of appropriate post-analysis methods will also allow the evaluation of different effects such as two-dimensional heat flow, heat loss from the sample, radiation effects for temperatures above 500 °C, and convection heat transfer from the sample to the surrounding ambient air flow. The combination of thermal conductivity and specific heat will make it possible to determine a fundamental parameter-thermal diffusivity-a material-specific property that characterizes heat conduction in the dynamic regime and describes how quickly a material reacts to a change in temperature, thus playing a strategic role in qualifying the behavior of components/materials in the context of heat transfer problems.

In addition, emissivity, which is the parameter representing the ability to absorb, transmit and emit infrared energy, will be measured at high temperatures by CNRS by means of spectroradiometers and/or spectrophotometers.

Expected results

Ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs) have so far been widely used as core materials in the transportation sector, such as to produce elements in aircraft combustion engines, valve train components, turbine blades, exhaust systems, and automobile braking systems (brake discs and clutches), and in the energy sector, where they have been used as refractory materials in silicon smelter furnaces, energy reactors, gas burners, and high-pressure heat exchangers.

Using Microwave-assisted Chemical Vapour Infiltration (MW-CVI) technology, the CEM-WAVE project will develop a CMC-based component to construct an innovative small-scale sensor tube for use in radiant tube furnaces in the steel industry. In addition to validating microwave-assisted technology, the CMC-based tube with embedded sensor will provide a viable substitute for the Inconel/stainless steel alloys currently used.

The adoption of lightweight composites by electric vehicle manufacturers is increasing and is expected to further boost the market for ceramic matrix composites in the near future. Given the higher efficiency and durability of CMCs compared to metal alloys currently used in radiant tube furnaces, new possibilities will open up in the steel industry, such as the possibility of using higher annealing temperatures and new processing chemistries.

The cost opportunities recently established by CEM-WAVE for CMCs will increase the competitiveness of CMC-based components, ultimately allowing them to be more widely deployed in almost all industrial lines and fostering environmental and economic benefits in a win-win situation.

Generated impacts

Improving energy efficiency
CEM-WAVE-produced Ceramic Matrix Composites have the potential to improve energy efficiencies in future steelmaking production of up to 30%, with a reduction in costs ranging between 7 and 13%

Reduction of CO2 emissions
If steelmaking transitions to using CMCs produced by Microwave-assisted Chemical Vapour Infiltration (MW-CVI) in radiant tube furnaces, the sector’s CO2 emissions could be reduced up to 20%

Extension of product life
Using CEM-WAVE-produced CMCs is expected to enlarge the lifetime of radiant tube furnaces of up to 20% compared to the current average, which is between 4 and 8 years