Research projects


  • Friction spot welding of aluminium alloys : Weldability and mechanical properties

    Investigation of new welding technology for aluminium

    The Belgian welding Institute has started a research project about a new spot weld technique; friction spot welding. The connection is created by using friction. This welding technology is particularly suitable for welding aluminium, and provides a solution to the difficulties that resistance spot welding is facing when joining aluminium, such as the electrode wear and tool life.

    Start: 01-12-2017
    End: 31-01-2020
  • HYBRISONIC: Ultrasonic supported processing of hybrid materials

    Metal-composite sandwich panels consist of two thin solid metal plates with in between a synthetic material (e.g. polyethylene), glued under high pressure. The metal plates, together with the plastic core, form a kind of sandwich plate. Different types of metals are used; mainly aluminium, but also stainless steel, coated steel, brass, titanium etc.

    The surface of aluminium sandwich plates is extremely flat, corrosion-free and has a low coefficient of expansion. The stiff aluminium sandwich plates combine these properties with excellent ink printing. This makes them ideally suited for stylish applications, such as advertising pillars, stand construction, advertising boards and displays.

    Start: 01-04-2019
    End: 01-04-2021
  • INNOJOIN: Development and evaluation of advanced welding technologies for multi-material design with dissimilar sheet metals

    The INNOJOIN project provides insight in new modern welding technologies for welding of dissimilar sheet metals and helps companies to identify the most suitable welding technology for their products. During the project, a few representative cases were developed, based on the input of the participating companies.

    Start: 01-03-2014
    End: 30-06-2016
  • LightBEE : Development of Lightweight Battery Carriers for EV Energy Units

    The overall aim of the research project “LightBEE” is to develop a range of new high added-value battery components for the transport industry, using innovative joining technologies. Therefore, systematic and reliable knowledge and data will be generated about the applicability of promising joining processes for manufacturing of battery modules, carriers and sub-components. The optimised battery components should be lighter, having better safety properties, and produced more cost-effectively and more environmentally-friendly.

    Start: 01-05-2020
    End: 30-11-2022
  • SOUNDWELD: Quality inspection using acoustic emission monitoring

    SOUNDWELD investigates a new promising real-time non-destructive examination technique for welding processes, based on acoustic emission during the weld cycle. The acoustic emission technique is based on the detection and conversion of high-frequency elastic waves into electrical signals. Acoustic emission monitoring (AEM) is currently being used for the surveillance of industrial processes or structures. In this project, the application of this technology is expanded towards welding processes.

    Start: 01-03-2018
    End: 01-09-2020