This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) study that examines a number of scenarios that complement the primary use phase of electric vehicle (EV) batteries with a secondary application in smart buildings in Spain, as a means of extending their useful life under less demanding conditions, when they no longer meet the requirements for automotive purposes. Specifically, it considers a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery to analyze four second life application scenarios by combining the following cases: (i) either reuse of the EV battery or manufacturing of a new battery as energy storage unit in the building; and (ii) either use of the Spanish electricity mix or energy supply by solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Based on the Eco-indicator 99 and IPCC 2007 GWP 20a methods, the evaluation of the scenario results shows that there is significant environmental benefit from reusing the existing EV battery in the secondary application instead of manufacturing a new battery to be used for the same purpose and time frame. Moreover, the findings of this work exemplify the dependence of the results on the energy source in the smart building application, and thus highlight the importance of PVs on the reduction of the environmental impact.

The evolution of the microstructure changes during hot deformation of high-chromium content of stainless steels (martensitic stainless steels) is reviewed. The microstructural changes taking place under high-temperature conditions and the associated mechanical behaviors are presented. During the continuous dynamic recrystallization (cDRX), the new grains nucleate and growth in materials with high stacking fault energies (SFE). On the other hand, new ultrafine grains could be produced in stainless steel material irrespective of the SFE employing high deformation and temperatures. The gradual transformation results from the dislocation of sub-boundaries created at low strains into ultrafine grains with high angle boundaries at large strains. There is limited information about flow stress and monitoring microstructure changes during the hot forming of martensitic stainless steels. For this reason, continuous dynamic recrystallization (cDRX) is still not entirely understood for these types of metals. Recent studies of the deformation behavior of martensitic stainless steels under thermomechanical conditions investigated the relationship between the microstructural changes and mechanical properties. In this review, grain formation under thermomechanical conditions and dynamic recrystallization behavior of this type of steel during the deformation phase is discussed.

Research on T-configuration aluminum constructions effectively decreases fuel consumption, increases strength, and develops aerial structures. In this research, the effects of friction stir welding (FSW) tool offset (TO) on Al–Mg–Si alloy mixing and bonding in T-configurations is studied. The process is simulated by the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technique to better understand the material mixing flow and the bonding between the skin and flange during FSW. According to the results, the best material flow can be only achieved at an appropriate TO. The appropriate TO generates enough material to fill the joint line and results in formation of the highest participation of the flange in the stir zone (SZ) area. The results show that, in the T-configuration, FSW joints provide raw materials from the retreating side (RS) of the flange that play a primary role in producing a sound mixing flow. The selected parameters were related to the geometric limitations of the raw sheets considered in this study. The failure point of all tensile samples was located on the flange. Surface tunneling is the primary defect in these joints, which is produced at high TOs. Among the analyzed cases, the most robust joint was made at +0.2 mm TO on the advancing side (AS), resulting in more than 60% strength of the base aluminum alloy being retained.

The wall thickness eccentricity is one of the most important weaknesses that appears in seamless tubes production, since this imperfection is subsequently transferred downstream through the manufacturing stages until the final product. For this reason, in this article a finite element model of the rotary tube piercing (RTP) process is developed aimed at analysing the wall thickness eccentricity imperfection. Experimental data extracted from the industrial process is used for the validation of the model, including operational process variables like power consumption and process velocity, and deformation variables as elongation and longitudinal torsion, originated by axial and shear strain respectively. The cause of longitudinal torsion is also analysed. The two most important conclusions derived from this study are: (I) the longitudinal torsion of the tube is a crucial parameter for the correct model validation, and (II) the combined effect between the uneven temperature distribution of the billet and the plug bending deformation is identified as the major cause of the wall thickness eccentricity flaw.