Uploaded September 2022 | Updated September 2026, 23 hours ago
The risk of cracking during cold forming has become one of the greatest fears of high strength sheet metal producers and part makers.
This risk is even more accentuated with the emergence of new, advanced high strength steels, whose greater cracking susceptibility requires the development of new fracture criteria able to predict crack formation and propagation.
Recent findings have shown that fracture toughness is a reliable property to assess edge-cracking and crashworthiness in a simpler and faster way.
ToughSteel aims to disseminate the industrial, economic and environmental benefits of measuring fracture toughness and boost the usage of this material property to understand crack-related problems.
The project provides practical tools, including a user guideline for fracture toughness evaluation in thin sheets along with an open access fracture toughness database, and other resources such as training webinars and industrial and academic workshops.
Our main objective is to upskill the industrial community to optimize material selection, prevent production losses and reduce the time-to-market of sheet metal products.
We estimate that the implementation of these approaches will result in a reduction of up to 25% of scrap metal and failed parts, and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions due to the cuts to machinery usage time.
Fracture Toughness is key to increasing the competitiveness of the European metal industry. Learn how to measure it and optimize your business operations at toughsteel.eu.
The risk of cracking during cold forming has become one of the greatest fears of high strength sheet metal producers and part makers.
This risk is even more accentuated with the emergence of new, advanced high strength steels, whose greater cracking susceptibility requires the development of new fracture criteria able to predict crack formation and propagation.
Recent findings have shown that fracture toughness is a reliable property to assess edge-cracking and crashworthiness in a simpler and faster way.
ToughSteel aims to disseminate the industrial, economic and environmental benefits of measuring fracture toughness and boost the usage of this material property to understand crack-related problems.
The project provides practical tools, including a user guideline for fracture toughness evaluation in thin sheets along with an open access fracture toughness database, and other resources such as training webinars and industrial and academic workshops.
Our main objective is to upskill the industrial community to optimize material selection, prevent production losses and reduce the time-to-market of sheet metal products.
We estimate that the implementation of these approaches will result in a reduction of up to 25% of scrap metal and failed parts, and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions due to the cuts to machinery usage time.
Fracture Toughness is key to increasing the competitiveness of the European metal industry. Learn how to measure it and optimize your business operations at toughsteel.eu.
