Changwon National University to Join Ministry's Shipbuilding and Offshore Industry Technology Development Project as Joint Research Partner

Securing Demonstration Data for High-Strength Materials with 440 MPa Yield Strength

Changwon National University announced on August 7 that it will participate as a joint research institution in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's "Shipbuilding and Offshore Industry Technology Development Project."

The research team led by Professor Yun Sungmin from the GAST-College of Mechanical Engineering at Changwon National University will take part in a demonstration study to secure core technology for evaluating the integrity of materials used in ammonia carriers as part of this project. They will conduct the first phase of the research (years 1 to 3) over a three-year period starting in July this year.

University and corporate researchers participating in the industry-academia-research consortium jointly researched by the National Changwon University.
[Photo by National Changwon University]

According to Professor Yun's research team, steel materials that can be applied to ships transporting or using ammonia as fuel must comply with the International Maritime Organization's IGC Code, which sets a minimum actual yield strength of 440 MPa.

However, there is currently insufficient demonstration data to verify whether TMCP steel produced by POSCO meets this condition.

Therefore, the research team plans to elucidate the mechanisms behind the occurrence of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) by conducting simulated tests of SCC, which refers to the phenomenon of cracks forming in high-strength steel exposed to environments with both stress and corrosion.

Additionally, they will develop SCC acceleration testing technology and a slow strain rate test (SSRT) method to recreate these conditions.

Through this, the team aims to establish an integrated verification system and secure the possibility of applying steel with actual yield strength of 440 MPa or higher to vessels built by Korea's two largest shipbuilders.

This project is being led by the Korea Institute of Materials Science, with Changwon National University, Pusan National University, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Chosun University, POSCO, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean, among other universities and major corporations, participating as demand partners in the form of an industry-academia-research consortium.

The outcomes of Professor Yun's research team are expected to provide key foundational data connecting with the SCC integrated infrastructure and to be utilized in future classification certification and test standardization processes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.