SYS862B - Sujets spéc. I en génie mécanique : Applications of computational thermodynamics in manuf. processes

This course can be useful for students in multidisciplinary fields such as, but not limited to, Process Metallurgy, Recycling, Alloy and Material Design, Microstructure Control, Energy, High Temperature Corrosion.

It allows students in the field of Materials Design and Microstructural Control to predict stable phases and their compositions as well as microstructural evolution under a set of defined experimental conditions (temperature, composition, partial pressure). In the field of process metallurgy, ceramic industry and high-temperature corrosion, it allows students to calculate and understand complex solid/liquid/gas chemical reactions and complex phase equilibria under a set of experimental variables. In combination with macro processing, it allows students to simulate complex processes and develop a process flowsheet, not limited to mass and heat balance. It allows students to study gasification of coal and biomass, combustion and waste valorization. It is a very useful knowledge and expertise for researchers and engineers who would like to work and contribute to the field of sustainable materials processing and manufacturing.

Brief Description :

Knowledge of thermodynamics and phase equilibria is not only very important from a fundamental point of view (phase transformation, solidification, corrosion, oxidation, etc.) but also indispensable for the successful improvement and design of cutting-edge materials and manufacturing processes. However, studies relying on a large number of experiments or a hit and trial method are time-consuming and costly. For this reason, the coupled experimental and thermodynamic modeling method has been successfully developed and being extensively used at both academia and industry. It will be also interesting to combine computational thermodynamics and artificial intelligence to accelerate the advancement in knowledge.

This course will be at graduate level and will be given every week in Fall semester to educate and train scientists and engineers who will become highly expert in the field of computational thermodynamics in multidisciplinary fields of materials processing and manufacturing. The first 2-3 sessions will be about introduction to materials engineering thermodynamics as refreshment followed by lectures about computational thermodynamics. Applications of thermodynamic modeling in several fields such as recycling and circular economy, industrial emissions, additive manufacturing and renewable energy will be demonstrated and explained. The second part of the course will 2 cover the basic features of FactSage thermochemical software (Reaction, Equilib, Phase Diagrams, Compound, Figure, etc.). In the third part, advanced applications of FactSage in different materials processes and manufacturing techniques (combustion, pyrometallurgy, recycling, alloy design, welding, heat treatment, solidification, ceramics, etc.) will be taught. During the entire course, relevant fundamental knowledge and underlying principles of thermodynamics, which are used in the calculations, will be elaborated. At the end, applications of FactSage in process simulation will be covered.