1.ISQ Description

ISQ – Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade – is a service-oriented non-profit making private association that was founded in 1965 to meet the needs of the national metal working industries. Resulting from its strong industrial links and ever increasing and varying demands, ISQ´s activities consolidated and diversified into many other technical/scientific areas and industrial sectors.

In R&D, ISQ works to support national and foreign companies either by co-operative research or by rendering services, and has been involved in numerous national and international projects, mostly in association with industrial companies. Work in this area has enabled the development of new products, technologies and services, and has lead to new industrial patents and to technology transfer to SME´s. Its technical specialisation includes the materials characterisation, production technologies, surface engineering and quality assurance fields.

ISQ has considerable experience of participating and co-ordinating European R&D projects, namely in the programs: BRITE/EURAM, EUREKA, ECSC, SPRINT, COMMET, ESPRIT, etc. From the technical point of view ISQ has strong and proved capabilities in materials characterisation and joining techniques.

Currently ISQ employs 450 people and has a turnover of 25 million Euro.

2.Activities of ISQ

Within the scope of this research, ISQ is able to perform the metallurgical, chemical and mechanical characterisation of the steels under study, thus contributing for an in-depth knowledge of the steels properties.

Concerning the metallurgical characterisation, ISQ is able to microstructure analysis by optical and scanning electron microscopy, grain size measurements (image analysis), microhardness tests and scanning electron microscopy analysis by EDX and WDX.

Mechanical characterisation can be made by means of all the conventional mechanical tests like tensile tests, compression tests, bending tests, fatigue tests, fatigue/creep tests, sharpy tests and fracture mechanics.

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3.ISQ Research facilities

Since November 1993 ISQ is situated in Tagus Park (Science and Technology Park), in Oeiras near Lisbon, Portugal.

The main facilities and equipment available at ISQ that will contribute to the project are:

LABMM – Materials and Metallurgical Laboratory

5 – Optical microscope – Reichert MeF2, Prior/Viara Com. Mearthen, Zeiss/Hitec Axioscop, Zeiss/Hitec Stemi SV8, Zeiss/Hitec AX10PhOTO, Zeiss/Hitec Heating Stage 1750;

1 – Scanning electron microscopy – Zeiss/Hitec DSM960;

9 – Hardness equipment – Zwith 3202, Proeq/Viara Com. Equotip, Karl Frank/Viara Com. Frankoskop 38181, Krautkramer Branson/Equicontrol Microdur II (2), Shimadzu/Viara Com. HSV20, Krautkramer/Delfim Pacheco MIC10, Shimadzu/Viara Com. Universal, CV instruments/EN shore D;

1 – Microhardness equipment – Shimadzu/Viara Com. M;

2 – Metalizer – Sputter Coater/Belzers/Cassel SCD 040, Balzers/Hitec SCD050;

1 – Microanalyses system EDX – Oxford Instruments/Link/Hitec EDX Link AN10/25s;

1 – Micro analysis system WDX – Microspec/Hitec MICROSPEC 3PC;

1 – Metals analyser – Texas Nuclear/Masquicontrolo Alloy Analyser 9266;

Sample preparation equipment.

LABMEC – Mechanical Behaviour Laboratory

2 – Servo-hydaulic testing machines – 500 and 250KW – Instron 8504 and 8502;

1 – Universal testing machine – 300KN – Instron 4208;

3 – Electromechanical-testing machines equipped with 800ºC furnaces and controllers – 30KN – Instron 1380;

10 – Creep machines equipped with 900ºC furnaces – 20KN – Mayes TC20;

1 – Impact testing machine – 300J – Wolpert PW30/15;

1 – X-ray diffraction equipment – Rigaku MSF – 2M/PSF-2M.

Joining Laboratory

9 – Welding equipment ESAB – ARISTO 500, DTB 250 AC-DC, LHF 630, ARISTOROB 500, MECHTIG 315 INVERTER, DTA300 AC-DC, DTA 300 AC-DC, Plasma welding PW300B, LAR 500;

2 – Welding equipment MIGATRONIC – BDH 320, BDH 550;

2 – Plasma welding equipment – SÉCHERION PLASMAFIX 50s, AGA Plasma Sequence Control;

1 – Resistance welding equipment SERRA – BETA 27;

1 – Braising furnace in vacuum;

1 – Bondascope 2100 – Equipment for detection of defects in structures joint by adhesives;

1 – Mechanical peeling device;

1 – Abrasive grit blasting equipment;

1 – Monocomponents adhesives dispenser equipment;

1 – Stove.

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