L'emboutissage est une technique de mise en forme des tôles métalliques. L'emboutissage est généralement suivi par un phénomène de retour élastique de la tôle emboutie. Le phénomène de retour élastique correspond à une modification de la géométrie de la tôle après enlèvement de la charge d'emboutissage. L'écrouissage du matériau est l'un des facteurs les plus importants qui influence ce phénomène. Dans cette thèse, l'écrouissage de différentes tôles dédiées à l'emboutissage a été étudié en utilisant la technique d'indentation instrumentée. Cette technique permet d'obtenir la loi d'écrouissage d'un matériau à partir de la mesure de l'évolution de l'enfoncement d'une bille dans le matériau testé en fonction de l'effort appliqué sur cette bille. Trois aspects essentiels de l'écrouissage ont été étudiés : La variation de la loi d'écrouissage dans l'épaisseur de la tôle, le niveau d'écrouissage atteint par la tôle après déformation plastique et le type d'écrouissage. Le test d'indentation instrumentée a permis de caractériser chacun de ces aspects influençant le retour élastique. Cet outil peut ainsi être utile dans une démarche d'amélioration de la prédiction du phénomène de retour élastique en emboutissage. / Stamping is a forming technique of the metal sheets. Stamping is generally followed by a springback phenomenon of the stamped sheet metal. The phenomenon of springback corresponds to a modification of the geometry of the sheet after removal of the load. One of the most important factors influencing springback is the work-hardening of the material. In this thesis, the work-hardening of different sheet metals used for stamping process was investigated using the instrumented indentation technique. This technique allows obtaining the work-hardening law of a material from the measurement of the evolution of the penetration depth of a ball in the tested material as a function of the applied force on the ball. Three major aspects of the work-hardening were studied: The variation of the work-hardening law in the thickness of the sheet, the level of work-hardening obtained after plastic deformation and the type of the work-hardening. The instrumented indentation test allows characterizing each of these aspects influencing springback. This tool can thus be useful in a process of improving the prediction of the springback phenomenon in stamping.

This thesis focuses on the different degradation mechanisms of the stainless steel in a travelling grate in a Grate-Kiln iron ore pellet indurator. The travelling grate is a conveyor belt that transports green-body pellets to a rotary kiln while the pellets are being dried and pre-heated to a temperature of 900-1100 °C by recycled hot air. After unloading of the pellets to the rotary-kiln for further sintering, the travelling grate is cooled in room temperature while returning to the loading zone of the wet pellets. The steel was tested during thermal cycling in a test-rig, in order to simulate the influence of thermo mechanical fatigue and oxide spallation. The influence of erosion-deposition was investigated in a modified horizontal industrial combustion kiln at 800 °C, with slag and coal from production used as erosive media and combustion fuel, respectively. The influence of minor alloying additions of Mn, Si and Ti on the microstructure was explored by eight different casted alloy compositions. Isothermal heat treatments were performed at 800 °C during 200 hours on steel immersed in deposits recovered from a travelling grate in production. The three main degradation mechanisms found in this work are thermal spallation, erosion-deposition and deposit induced accelerated corrosion (DIAC). Thermal spallation of the oxide layer is caused by the thermal expansion difference between the oxide and the metal during heating and cooling. It has been found that Ti improves the spallation resistance while Si reduces it. Spallation of deposits is another cause believed to increase the degradation. Erosion-deposition appears due to simultaneous erosion and deposition of particles on the travelling grate that causes erosion or deposition depending on the amount of alkali metals in the environment. The velocity of the particles also influences erosion and deposition in the way that higher velocities increase erosion. DIAC is proposed to form on the travelling grate due to the concentration of chloride- and sulphate containing alkali metals in the deposits.  Other than these major degrading mechanisms, minor degradation mechanisms such as internal oxidation, sigma formation, carburization and sensitization towards inter-granular attack have been found inside the steel during heating. Thermo mechanical fatigue (TMF) causes intergranular cracks in the material of the travelling grate. Casting issues such as micro-segregation have also been addressed in this thesis. A few different ways to improve degradation resistance have been proposed, such as homogenization heat treatments, optimization of process parameters and inhibitor solutions.

The thesis focuses on exploring the sub-grain structure in stainless steel 316L prepared by additive manufacturing (AM). Two powder-bed based AM methods are involved: selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM). It is already known that AM 316L has heterogeneous property and hierarchy structure: micro-sized melt pools, micro-sized grains, nano-sized sub-grain structure and nano-sized inclusions. Yet, the relation among these structures and their influence on mechanical properties have not been clearly revealed so far. Melt pool boundaries having lower amount of sub-grain segregated network structures (Cellular structure) are weaker compared to the base material. Compared with cell boundaries, grain boundaries have less influence on strength but are still important for ductility. Cell boundaries strengthen the material without losing ductility as revealed by mechanical tests. Cellular structure can be continuous across the melt pool boundaries, low angle sub-grain boundaries, but not grain boundaries. Based on the above understanding, AM process parameters were adjusted to achieve customized mechanical properties. Comprehensive characterization were carried out to investigate the density, composition, microstructure, phase, magnetic permeability, tensile property, Charpy impact property, and fatigue property of both SLM and EBM SS316L at room temperature and at elevated temperatures (250°C and 400°C). In general, SLM SS316L has better strength while EBM SS316L has better ductility due to the different process conditions. Improved cell connection between melt pools were achieved by rotating 45° scanning direction between each layer compared to rotating 90°. Superior mechanical properties (yield strength 552 MPa and elongation 83%) were achieved in SLM SS316L fabricated with 20 µm layer thickness and tested in the building direction. Y2O3 added oxide dispersed strengthening steel (ODSS) were also prepared by SLM to further improve its performance at elevated temperatures. Slightly improved strength and ductility (yield strength 574 MPa and elongation 90%) were obtained on 0.3%Y2O3-ODSS with evenly dispersed nanoparticles (20 nm). The strength drops slightly  but ductility drops dramatically at elevated temperatures. Fractographic analysis results revealed that the coalescence of nano-voids is hindered at room temperature but not at elevated temperatures. The achieved promising properties in large AM specimens assure its potential application in nuclear fusion. For the first time, ITER first wall panel parts with complex inner pipe structure were successfully fabricated by both SLM and EBM which gives great confidence to application of AM in nuclear industry. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

Automotive industry products portfolio includes a wide variety of complex‐shaped cast iron products, such as truck engine components, that need to withstand a constant trend of higher demands, especially urged by stricter environmental regulations on emissions. Combined with this continued demand on properties improvement, cast iron industry faces a process problem related to the lack of understanding of solidification and mechanisms behind defect formation. Casting products are highly affected by the product design and the manufacturing method itself, which governs the final microstructure and hence the final mechanical properties. Wall thickness of the moulding material strongly influences the solidification time, varying the microstructural coarseness, resulting in a component with different properties depending on the local shape of the casting. The main objective of this work is the characterization of the primary austenite microstructure and its coarsening process, which has been poorly documented in cast iron literature, to allow the prediction and control of these microstructural features present in the casting. The microstructural evolution of the primary austenite in hypoeutectic lamellar graphite iron (LGI) is studied under isothermal coarsening conditions. The dendritic microstructure suffered major morphological changes that included dendrite fragmentation, globularization, and coalescence. Empirical relations based on morphological parameters are introduced to predict the microstructural evolution of primary austenite. A novel technique for colour‐etching and semi‐automatic image analysis for the characterization of quenched dendritic microstructures in cast iron is presented. A new experimental technique for production of graphitic iron with varying nodularity is presented as a solution to control the production of compacted (CGI) and spheroidal graphite iron (SGI) under laboratory conditions. The nodularity evolution is controlled as a function of the holding time and the residual Mg, allowing the study of the primary solidification and primary microstructures of hypoeutectic CGI and SGI in future investigations.

There are great energy savings to be made by recycling aluminium; as little as 5% of the energy needed for primary aluminium production may be required. Striving to produce high quality aluminium castings requires knowledge of microstructural imperfections, which is extra important when casting recycled aluminium that generally contains higher levels of imperfections compared to primary aluminium. Imperfections include amongst others Si, Fe, and Mn as well as oxides. Si is needed for castability, but it may also initiate fracture. There are different types of Fe-rich intermetallics influencing properties of castings, generally in a negative direction. Oxides constitute cracks and they are elusive because they are difficult to quantify. This thesis aims to increase knowledge about imperfections in recycled aluminium castings originating from alloying elements and the melt. Experiments were performed in advanced laboratory equipment, including X-radiographic imaging during solidification and in-situ tensile testing in a scanning electron microscope. Experiments were also performed at industrial foundry facilities. The experiments showed that the nucleation temperature of primary α-Fe intermetallics increased with higher Fe, Mn, and Cr contents. Primary α-Fe are strongly suggested to nucleate on oxides and to grow in four basic morphologies. Lower nucleation frequency of α-Fe promoted faster growth and hopper crystals while higher nucleation frequency promoted slower growth rates and massive crystals. Results also showed that a decrease in the size of the eutectic Si and plate-like β-Fe intermetallics improved tensile properties, foremost the elongation to fracture. In β-Fe containing alloys the transversely oriented intermetallics initiated macrocracks that are potential fracture initiation sites. In alloys with primary α-Fe foremost clusters of intermetallics promoted macrocracks. In fatigue testing, a transition from β-Fe to α-Fe shifted the initiation sites from oxides and pores to the α-Fe, resulting in a decrease of fatigue strength. Oxides in Al-Si alloys continue to be elusive; no correlations between efforts to quantify the oxides and tensile properties could be observed. / Genom att återvinna aluminium kan stora energibesparingar göras eftersom återvinning kan förbruka så lite som 5% av den energi som behövs för produktion av primär aluminium. Vid gjutning av högkvalitativa aluminiumprodukter krävs förståelse för defekter i mikrostrukturen och denna kunskap är extra viktig vid användning av återvunnen aluminium, som i regel innehåller mer defekter än primär aluminium. Defekterna består bland annat av Si, Fe och Mn samt oxider. Si behövs för gjutbarhet men kan också initiera brott. Järnrika intermetaller kan ha olika morfologier som generellt påverkar gjutna komponenter negativt. Oxider, som kan utgöra sprickor, är gäckande då de är svåra att kvantifiera. Denna avhandlings syfte är att öka kunskapen om defekter i gjutna komponenter av återvunnen aluminium. Experiment utfördes med avancerad laborationsutrustning så som röntgenfotografering av prover under stelning och dragprovning i svepelektronmikroskop. Experiment utfördes också i industrimiljö. Experimenten visade att kärnbildningstemperaturen steg för primära α-Fe intermetaller med ökade andelar av Fe, Mn och Cr. Resultaten tyder starkt på att primär α-Fe kärnbildas på oxider och att de växer i fyra olika morfologier. Lägre kärnbildningstäthet av α-Fe främjade snabbare tillväxt av kristaller med håligheter men högre kärnbildningstäthet främjade långsammare tillväxt av massiva kristaller. Resultaten visade också att minskad storlek av eutektiskt Si och β-Fe intermetaller ledde till förbättring av dragprovsresultaten, främst brottförlängningen. I legeringar med β-Fe ledde transversellt orienterade intermetaller till makrosprickor vilka kan initiera brott. I legeringar med primär α-Fe var det främst kluster av intermetaller som orsakade makrosprickor. I utmattningsprovning orsakade modifiering av β-Fe till α-Fe förflyttning av sprickinitieringen från oxider och porer till α-Fe, vilket resulterade i en reducerad utmattningshållfasthet. Oxiderna i Al-Si-legeringar fortsätter att gäcka; ingen korrelation mellan försök att kvantifiera oxiderna och draghållfasthet kunde påvisas.

Fe-Cr based steels, i.e. stainless steels, possessing a combination of excellent corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties, have indispensable applications ranging from low-end cooking utensils, to sophisticated components for nuclear power plants. However, the bcc/bct phase containing stainless steels which have a miscibility gap (MG) suffer from the so-called “475 oC embrittlement” leading to hardness increase and toughness deterioration. It occurs due to demixing of Fe and Cr leading to the formation of Fe-rich (α) and Cr-rich (α′) regions in bcc/bct phases. The demixing is referred to as phase separation (PS). The goal of this work was to study PS in ferrite containing stainless steels mainly by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Firstly, the application of different experimental techniques for the study of phase separation in Fe-Cr based steels was reviewed and supplemented by new measurements. SANS was shown to be very sensitive to the nanostructure change caused by PS and capable of characterizing the early stages of PS in Fe-Cr alloys. However, atom probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy are complementary to SANS. Therefore, in order to have a more complete view of the microstructure, the combination of these techniques should be pursued. Secondly, the factors affecting the initial microstructure prior to aging treatment and the effect of the resulted initial microstructure on PS were systematically investigated using binary Fe-Cr model alloys. The critical temperature of the MG was determined to be located between 560 and 580 oC in binary Fe-Cr. The results indicate that the solution treatment temperature above the MG and the cooling rate after solution treatment have significant effects on the initial microstructure and thus on PS during subsequent aging. The mechanisms responsible for the changed aging behavior are Cr clustering, quenched-in vacancy and decomposition during cooling. Therefore, computational simulations should take into account these factors and the initial microstructure to make predictions that are more accurate. Thirdly, the study was extended to PS in commercial duplex stainless steels (DSSs) which are of practical importance in various industries, e.g., nuclear power. It is found that alloying elements have an important effect on PS in DSSs. The grade 2507 (25 %Cr, 7 %Ni) experiences stronger PS than grade 2205 (22 %Cr, 5 % Ni) for the same heat treatment. Moreover, the fracture mechanisms as well as the mechanical properties depend on the extent of PS.  Finally, the fundamental aspects regarding the neutron scattering behavior for Fe-Cr alloys were examined. The results show that the nuclear and magnetic scattering of neutrons depend on the evolution of the nanoscale compositional fluctuation in Fe-Cr alloys. The ratio of the magnitude of nuclear scattering versus magnetic scattering varies with the extent of PS. / Stål baserade på Fe-Cr systemet, det vill säga rostfria stål, som har en kombination av utmärkta korrosionsegenskaper och bra mekaniska egenskaper, har många tillämpningar; allt från köksredskap, till sofistikerade komponenter för kärnkraftverk. Rostfria stål som innehåller Bcc / bct-fasen och som således har en blandningslucka, är känsliga för den så kallade "475 °C försprödningen" som leder till en hårdhetsökning men kraftigt försämrad slagseghet. Detta uppstår på grund av en uppdelning av Fe och Cr som leder till bildandet av Fe-rika (a) och Cr-rika (a’) regioner i bcc / bct-fasen. Denna uppdelning brukar kallas fasseparation. Målet med detta arbete var att studera fasseparationen i ferrit-innehållande rostfria stål främst genom lågvinkel-spridning av neutroner (SANS). Till att börja med studerades och jämfördes olika experimentella tekniker för undersökning av fasseparation i Fe-Cr-baserade stål med nya SANS- mätningar. SANS visade sig vara mycket känslig för förändringar på nano-skala orsakad av fasseparation och tekniken visade sig även kapabel att karakterisera de tidiga stadierna av fasseparation i Fe-Cr-legeringar. För att få en mer fullständig bild av mikrostrukturen efter fasseparation, bör emellertid en kombination av SANS och komplementära tekniker, såsom atomsond och transmissions-elektronmikroskopi, användas. Vidare undersöktes de faktorer som påverkar den ursprungliga mikrostrukturen före åldringsbehandling, och effekten av den initiala mikrostrukturen på fasseparation studerades systematiskt med användning av binära modell-legeringar av Fe-Cr. Den kritiska temperaturen för blandningsluckan i Fe-Cr bestämdes vara belägen mellan 560 och 580 °C. Resultaten indikerar att temperaturen för upplösningsbehandling ovanför blandningsluckan och kylhastigheten har en signifikant inverkan på den initiala mikrostrukturen och därmed på fasseparationen under efterföljande åldring. Mekanismerna som är ansvariga för det förändrade åldringsbeteendet är: Cr-klustring, insläckta vakanser och fasseparation under kylning. Simuleringar av fasseparationen bör därför ta hänsyn till dessa faktorer och den ursprungliga mikrostrukturen för att göra mer exakta förutsägelser av hur mikrostrukturen utvecklar sig med åldringstiden. Fasseparationen i kommersiella duplexa rostfria stål (DSS), som är av stor praktisk betydelse i olika branscher, t ex kärnkraft, studerades också med SANS. Det visade sig att mängden av olika legeringselement har en viktig effekt på graden av fasseparation i DSS. Legeringen 2507 uppvisade en tydligare fasseparation jämfört med legering 2205 för samma värmebehandling. Brottmekanismerna såväl som de mekaniska egenskaperna visade sig bero på omfattningen av fasseparationen. Slutligen undersöktes de grundläggande aspekterna hos neutronspridnings-beteendet för binära Fe-Cr-legeringar. Resultaten visade att kärn- och magnetisk spridning av neutroner beror på utvecklingen av sammansättningsfluktuationerna på en nanoskala i Fe-Cr-legeringar. Förhållandet mellan magnetisk- och kärnspridning varierar med omfattningen av fasseparationen. / <p>QC 20171117</p>

This thesis work is an experimental study of one type of Semi-Solid Metal casting (SSM) process which is called RheoMetalTM. This method is an efficient type of Rheocasting that creates a semi-solid slurry within 30 seconds that is used for a high pressure die casting machine. The purpose of using a slurry in a high pressure die casting machine is that the slurry has a higher viscosity due to its solid fraction. This makes the filling of the die cavity more laminar which reduces air entrapment in the casting. The difficulty with this type of casting is to control the process parameters to be able to insure a casting with desired properties. A few studies within RheoMetalTM has already been made but there is still a lack of knowledge of to what extent the process parameters affect the slurry. The goal in this work is to study how the different RheoMetalTM process parameters influence the primary α-Al solid fraction, shape and size. The process parameters that were studied in this work was the stirring rate, superheat and EEM amount. In this study, the so called growth layer has been removed to make more precise calculations of the primary α-Al. This work also aims to study how grain refinement affect the primary α-Al which is commonly used to improve the quality of castings. To be able to perform this study, both practical and theoretical work has been implemented. The casting process involved making of ladles and preparation of various equipment. The cast samples were then prepared by standard metallurgy procedure for optical analyse of the microstructure. A special etching reagent was used to analyse the microstructure in a microscope. The etching is called Weck’s reagent and its purpose is to differentiate the growth layer from the primary α-Al. The growth layer is formed during quenching and by excluding it, the calculation of the slurry’s primary α-Al becomes more precise. This is because the slurry is not quenched before it is inserted into the high pressure die casting machine, therefore no growth layer is formed. To analyse the cast samples, a special program was used to identify and to calculate the solid fraction, shape and size of the primary α-Al. The result from the calculations made by the program gave different tendencies when changing the EEM amount. The stirring rate showed a tendency to decrease the solid fraction and increase the shape factor. The superheat decreased the solid fraction and increased the shape factor. The grain refinement also decreased the solid fraction and increased the shape factor. There was no clear tendency showing that the equivalent circular diameter of the primary α-Al was affected by any of the parameters.

Atlas Copco Secoroc AB are searching after new bulk materials for drill heads that are used in percussive drilling in order to improve their strength and durability. The aim of this project is to assist Atlas Copco in this search and provide them with further information regarding material properties, alloying elements, suppliers, etc. A literary study was carried out in order to identify materials that had UTS and KIC more than or equal to 1700 MPa and 70 MPa*m^1/2, respectively. Materials that fulfilled these criteria were T250 grade maraging steel, Cobalt free maraging steel, High cobalt maraging steel, 300 grade maraging steel, AerMet 100, AF1410, S53, M54, 300M, 4340M and PremoMet. These were categorized into maraging steels, high alloy secondary hardened steels, and low alloy steels, and were then further researched. The material with the highest combination of UTS and KIC was M54 followed by AerMet 100; while AF1410 had the highest KIC but a low UTS, and PremoMet had the highest UTS but a low KIC. Maraging steels and HASH steels have a similar price range, while low alloy steels are much cheaper.

The use and knowledge of additive manufacturing technologies are rapidly growing. It is crucial to understand the processing-structure-property relationship, which is highly discussed when trying to understand the science of a material. One commonly used material in aerospace applications is titanium alloy, lately Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (Ti-6242). This work is addressed towards a laser metal deposition wire (LMD-w) manufactured Ti-6242 built on a Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-64) base plate.  The microstructure of titanium alloys, like all other alloys, are highly dependent on its thermal history. It is crucial to understand the microstructural change in order to optimize the material properties. The prediction of microstructure through simulation can be improved by obtaining experimental input. Since the microstructure of an LMD-w manufactured component is different from the subtractive manufactured, the change from heat treatments are different considering the different start structures. It is therefore of interest to analyse isothermal heat treatments effect on solution heat treated microstructure of LMD-w Ti-6242, from an industrial application point of view. The objective of this work is to analyse the effect of isothermal heat treatment on microstructural changes for LMD-w Ti-6242 wall.  The as received state was solution heat treated according to GKN standard, isothermal treatments were additionally performed and the change was analysed with microstructural characterization. The prior beta grain size, alpha lath thickness, phase fraction and hardness have been measured. Focus has been on the Ti-6242 wall for the measurements of alpha lath thickness and phase fraction. However, an analysis of the interface and heat affected zone (HAZ) has been made as well. MIPAR, an image analysis program was used for alpha lath thickness and phase distribution measurements. It has been concluded that the hardness of the material increases with increasing isothermal temperature during heat treatment and that the lath thickness increases with longer holding time. An equilibrium diagram has been obtained for Ti-6242 from a solution heat treated microstructure of LMD-w between the temperatures of 700°C and 1000°C and a time-temperature-transformation diagram (TTT-diagram), in the range of 700°C-1000°C and a holding time from 30 seconds to 2 hours. / Efterfrågan av samt kunskapen om additiva tillverkningsmetoder ökar kraftigt. Det är därför av stort intresse att förstå relationen mellan process-struktur-egenskaper, vilket ofta diskuteras för att förstå vetenskapen bakom ett material. Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (Ti-6242) har under den senaste tiden väckt stort ett intresse inom flygindustrin. I detta arbete har fokus lagts på laser metal deposition wire (LMD-w) tillverkat material bestående av en Ti-6242 vägg på en Ti-64 basplatta.  Titanlegeringars mikrostruktur är känslig mot den termiska historiken inom materialet. Det är därför av stort intresse att förstå hur mikrostrukturen ändras för att kunna optimera materialet. Förutberäkning genom simulering av mikrostrukturens förändring kan förbättras med hjälp av experimental indata. Eftersom mikrostrukturen av en LMD-w tillverkad komponent är annorlunda från traditionella tillverkningsmetoder, kommer förändringen av mikrostrukturen från värmebehandlingar vara olika, eftersom ursprungsstrukturen inte är densamma. Därför är det av intresse att analysera isotermiska värmebehandlingars påverkan på en upplösningsbehandlad mikrostruktur tillverkad med LMD-w, från en industriell synpunkt. Målet med detta arbete är att analysera effekten av isotermisk värmebehandling på mikrostrukturen av en LMD-w Ti-6242 vägg.  Startmaterialet bestod av ett upplösningsbehandlat tillstånd enligt GKN standard, isotermiska värmebehandlingar gjordes och förändringen analyserades genom mikrostrukturkarakterisering. Primära beta korn, alfaband, fasfraktion och hårdhet har mätts. Fokus har legat i Ti-6242 väggens mätningar av alfaband och fasfraktion, dock har en analys av den värmebehandlade zonen (HAZ) i basplattan gjorts. MIPAR, ett bildanalysprogram, har använts för att mäta alfaband och fasdistribution.  Det kan konstateras att hårdheten av materialet ökar med ökande isotermisk temperatur under värmebehandling, och att alfabandens tjocklek ökar med längre hålltider. Ett jämnviktsdiagram har framtagits för upplösningsbehandlad Ti-6242 LMD-w mellan temperaturerna 700°C och 1000°C. Ett tid-temperatur-transformations diagram (TTT-diagram) inom intervallet av 700°C-1000°C och från 30 sekunder till 2 timmar.

The constantly tightening emission regulations demand the engines to be moreefficient, to get more power out of smaller engines. Higher engine loads andcomponent temperatures are causing more stresses to engine components. Therefore,a company that produces engines wanted to study if it would be possible to increasethe capabilities of the components by optimising the used material. In this final project work, a cylinder head will be studied. The cylinder heads for theengines are made of ductile cast iron. The limits of that material are near safety limits,and therefore a better material is needed. In this work are some previous studiesanalysed and tried to find how to optimise the used material. The optimised materialshould have better thermal conductivity properties combined with sufficient strengthproperties. Previous studies were analysed to gather knowledge of the elements that affect thematerial parameters. Those studies showed that copper, silicon, pearlite fraction, andthe use of chills are the elements to be optimised. Silicon and pearlite fraction waschosen as optimisation parameters because of their effect on the thermal conductivityand strength properties. Copper was chosen as an optimisation variable due to its effecton the pearlite formation. Chills were used to affect the cooling rate and thereby thepearlite formation. The work was made using MAGMASOFT™ simulation software to simulate cylinderhead casting. The simulated cylinder head was divided into 4 parts for the simulations.For those sections were then set targets for pearlite fraction according to previousstudies. The silicon content was kept constant in the simulation, based on the studiespresented in this work. Copper content was simulated with variations from 0 to 0.7weight-%, and chill heights were simulated from 20 to 60 mm and without chills. After simulating the different variables, the results were analysed. Then the selectedcasting simulation result was mapped to finite element simulation mesh to include thelocal material parameters to finite element simulation. With the finite elementsimulation, the estimated lifetime of the component was simulated. By analysing the casting simulation results, an optimal combination was found. Theoptimal material parameters for a cylinder head casting would be copper 0.5weight-%, silicon 1.9 weight-% and chills thicker than 40 mm on the flame plate. Theoptimised material gives more possibilities to develop engines even further when thecomponent demands are growing.