Procédé de recuits sous champ magnétique intense pour microstructures optimisées (MICrostructures tailored by MAGnetic PROcessing) – MICMAGPRO

In this project, we propose to use high magnetic field processing (several tesla) for the development of alloys with strong added value. The process will use the application of an intense magnetic field during thermal treatment either to increase significantly the performances of Imphy industrial alloys or with the purpose of decreasing the production costs (for equivalent performances) in alloys containing at least one magnetic phase. This ambitious project is motivated by a first preliminary and successful study led in 2006_2007 between CNRS/CRETA and Imphy Alloys. This project is moved on by the continuous search for new performances at the Imphy Alloys Research Centre. However, it constitutes a major innovation as far as the process is concerned. 'Magnetoscience' refers to any kind of interaction of a magnetic field with chemical, physical or biological processes. This field of research is emerging at present thanks to the high magnetic fields available now. These high magnetic fields enable to reach effects which are no longer negligible. Therefore, high magnetic field processing appears as an interesting tool to tailor microstructures through the contribution of a magnetic energy term to the total energy of a given phase. Phase transformations and phase equilibria are thus modified. The project is mainly related to special alloys required for high magnetic or mechanical performances and dedicated to peculiar use or extreme conditions (magnetic actuators, oil chemistry, air-plane applications, etc…). This project is based on: - Imphy Alloys important know-how for processing special alloys with specific functional properties; - G2Elaboratory expertise concerning the characterisation of magnetic properties, modelisation and materials integration in innovative devices (sensors, actuators, etc...) such as microsystems; - CRETA knowledge in « material science and magnetoscience » combined with numerous high magnetic field equipments available in this laboratory (some of them are unique in the world).