An Australian Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to the north of Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan has been credited with protecting Australian troops travelling in the vehicle.
The soldiers, from the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF), were operating north of Tarin Kowt when the incident occurred on Thursday, 27 August 2009.
The Department of Defence issued a media release stating that while the vehicle was damaged, Australian troops within escaped injury.
“This incident is a reminder of the ongoing danger that IEDs pose to local nationals and ADF personnel in Afghanistan. It also highlights the outstanding protection provided by the Bushmaster vehicle,” said the Department.
The Bushmaster vehicle is manufactured by Thales Australia’s Bendigo facility. Thales is a core participant of the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC), active in the Armour Applications program. It is involved in a project focused on evolution of vehicle armour requirements and development of improved systems and manufacturing techniques.
DMTC is a private joint venture between defence industry, universities and government research agencies focused on enhancing Australia’s defence capability through the development of new materials and manufacturing technologies.
Please contact Jasmine Smith, DMTC Communications Manager, for further information or interview requests. Email jasmine.smith@dmtc.com.au or phone: (03) 9214 4775 (direct) / 0439 034 562 (mobile).
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Posted by DMTC on October 13th, 2009
Dr. Ingomar Kelbassa of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT), Germany, will today deliver a seminar on laser research to partners of the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC).
The seminar, entitled “Laser and applications research at RWTH University and Fraunhofer Laser Institute”, will be held at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn in Melbourne.
The activities of ILT cover a wide range of areas such as the development of new laser beam sources and components, the use of modern laser measurement and testing technology and laser-supported manufacturing. This includes for example laser cutting, caving, drilling, welding and soldering as well as surface treatment, micro-processing and rapid-prototyping.
The presentation will introduce and discuss laser research activities at ILT as well as its affiliated institutes at RWTH University, Lehrstuhl for LaserTechnik (LLT), Technology of Optical Systems (TOS) and Non-Linear Dynamics of laser materials processing (NLD) – all part of the mechanical engineering department of RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
The seminar will place a specific focus on the activities of the ILT’s department of surface technologies such as the Laser Additive Manufacturing techniques, Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM), as well as laser polishing and laser cleaning technologies.
Dr Kelbassa will also discuss LLT’s recent advances in femtosecond lasers and the steps to increase the average power from the current 400W and 700 fs to 1kW and 70fs by the end of this year.
The presentation will end by highlighting current projects such as the Cluster of Excellence (XCluster) at RWTH Aachen University, the RWTH Aachen University Campus project, the Fraunhofer-Cluster of Innovation (TurPro) and the Centre for Nano Photonic (CNP).
About Dr. Ingomar Kelbassa
Dr. Ingomar Kelbassa studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and has worked in the field of Laser Materials Processing at ILT and LLT since 2000. His research is focused on laser metal deposition and additive manufacture in the aerospace and power generation industries. He has been the Deputy and Academic director of LLT since mid 2006.
About the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology
With more than 250 employees and 10,000m² of usable floor space the ILT is one of the most important development and contract research institutes of its specific field in the world.
Posted by DMTC on September 23rd, 2009 The Australian Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle has again successfully protected troops after being struck by an Improvised Explosive Device.
The soldiers, from the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force, were operating north of Tarin Kowt when a road-side bomb exploded.
While the vehicle was damaged, all personnel escaped harm and there are no reports of Afghan locals being injured.
Australia’s Department of Defence issued a media release on the incident, which occurred on the morning of Wednesday 16 September 2009.
“The Taliban continues to use indiscriminate and cowardly tactics that risk the lives of innocent local Afghans,” said the Department.
“The number of improvised explosive devices is a reminder of the ongoing dangers faced by local nationals and Australian Defence Force personnel in Afghanistan, and the importance of countering this violent insurgent group.”
The Bushmaster vehicle is manufactured by Thales Australia’s Bendigo facility.
Thales is a core participant of the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC), active in the Armour Applications program. It is involved in a project focused on evolution of vehicle armour requirements and development of improved systems and manufacturing techniques.
DMTC is a joint venture between defence industry, universities and government research agencies focused on enhancing Australia’s defence capability through the development of new materials and manufacturing technologies.
Posted by DMTC on September 18th, 2009 By Professor John Norrish*, University of Wollongong
The Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) was established in May 2008 following the Federal Government’s announcement it would establish technology development joint ventures called Defence Future Capability Technology Centres (DFCTCs), to combine expertise and resources from defence industries and research providers.
Operational funding of approximately $86 million is drawn from several sources including a $30 million contribution from the Federal Government and a combined $9 million from the state governments of Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. Collaborative industry and research sector partners provide the balance.
The overall aim of DMTC is to develop and deliver advanced materials/manufacturing technology that will be incorporated into future defence industry products and services; it covers applications in land, marine and air platforms. It is also an important objective of the government to sustain Defence manufacturing and support capability in Australia.
Welding and joining play a key role in the fabrication of all defence platforms and in an attempt to progressively improve performance, capability and availability it is likely that new challenges will arise in the joining technology area.
In particular, higher strength materials and lighter weight structures are likely to be used. As the strength of the materials increase, the weldability issues can dictate whether the fabrication is feasible and what procedural constraints are imposed. In addition, the requirement for improved productivity and sustainable manufacture in Australia mean that advanced welding processes and manufacturing technologies must be evaluated.
Weldability and process technology are inextricably linked; for example high thermal intensity processes such as laser welding allow significant increases in speed, reduction of heat input and lower distortion but the risk of hydrogen assisted cold cracking (HACC) in high strength steels may be increased. By the same token, the use of high preheat levels to combat HACC may damage heat affected zone properties and can be counter-productive when robotic welding is employed. As a result, some of the key welding research areas being tackled within the DMTC program are:
The weldability and subsequent performance of high strength structural steels for ships
The weldability and performance of existing and alternative armour materials
Advanced welding processes for improved productivity
Lean automation of air platforms
Lean automation and robotic welding for land and marine platforms; and
Welding repair and reclamation of marine components
A good example of the coordinated approach to these issues is the investigation of future armour requirements and manufacturing technology for the land vehicles such as the various armoured personnel carriers manufactured by Thales in Bendigo.
The research, which is based at the UOW involves a team which includes Thales, DSTO, ANSTO, Bluescope Steel and Bisalloy. The armour materials currently used include quenched and tempered steels, and welding technologies are integral to defining and improving the ballistic and blast protection offered to operational personnel. In order to determine the limits of weldability of these and potentially higher grade steels it is necessary to understand the basic metallurgy and the effects of welding thermal cycles in candidate welding processes.
The research team is therefore conducting basic studies to assess the transformation behaviour of the materials. This involves welding trials to establish actual thermal cycles and thermo mechanical simulation.
A Gleeble 3500 thermo mechanical simulator is being employed to explore the effect of the complete range of welding variables on the material properties. In order to understand the likely effect of welding; the transformation behaviour of the candidate steels needs to be mapped and dilatometric studies are underway to produce this basic data.
In parallel, and conjunction with these weldability studies, various high productivity process options; such as laser-GMAW hybrid and tandem GMAW techniques are being evaluated. Whilst conventional robotic welding of long production runs is well established and Thales has already embarked on robotic welding implementation, recent developments in lean manufacturing and off-line programming may extend the application of such techniques to more specialised short runs.
The team are therefore evaluating off-line programming, simulation and integrated design and production techniques for the land platforms as well as marine structures. This activity also involves the construction of a technology demonstration cell at the UOW incorporating state of the art welding and robotic hardware and associated software.
Similar studies are in hand for marine and air platforms with an emphasis on addressing future defence capability needs. Although specifically aimed at defence, the research is also expected to have spin-offs in other manufacturing applications.
It is important to recognise that the research is multi-disciplinary and a holistic approach is essential to ensure that practical solutions, which balance the weldability, productivity and performance, are achieved. The collaborative model involving a range of research and industry partners is the ideal way to meet these goals.
*Prof Norrish is a Director of DMTC Ltd
This article first appeared in the Australasian Welding Journal (Vol 54, Third Quarter, 2009) published by the Welding Technology Institute of Australia. Visit www.wtia.com.au
Posted by DMTC on September 15th, 2009