RESEARCH FIELDS
In line with the positioning of the Carnot Ingénierie@Lyon institute, LabECAM’s activities are part of a general effort to support the industrial and societal changes brought about by global warming and the need for sustainable, resource-efficient development. Its primary aim is to increase the performance of products and their production, in the fields of transport, energy and, more transversally, materials, while reducing their impact on the environment.
LabECAM opened within the Université de Lyon. As a member of the Institut Carnot “Ingénierie@Lyon”, it plays an active role in facilitating SME access to numerous opportunities in research technology and innovation. LabECAM is also one of the research sites of the doctoral school MEGA de Lyon and is part of the engineering federation IngéLySE.
LabECAM, Lyon’s mechanical transmissions research laboratory, focuses on four main themes:
- Thermal engineering, efficiency and lubrication
Predictive models can be used to estimate power losses and temperatures within mechanical transmission systems. The LabECAM use a nodal approach, with thermal networks. This provides a strong coupling between loss estimation models and temperatures, while keeping calculation times under control.
With a view to electrifying modes of transport, the main objectives are based on more detailed modelling of the interaction between lubricant and rotating components (heat losses and exchanges), using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques alongside dedicated experimental resources.
- Materials and process
Additive manufacturing Microstructure Feedstock formulation Recycling Sintering Functional properties Research into materials and processes focuses on developing and optimizing metal additive manufacturing processes assisted by sintering, with the aim of addressing the challenges and needs of industrial materials manufacturers, as well as industrial end-users of additive manufacturing, in order to assess the opportunities offered by these technologies.
- Durability
The aim is to understand the main modes of surface initiated failure. The approach is based firstly on thermal modelling and surface analysis of adhesive wear and seizure phenomena, and secondly, on using digital models for finished parts to analyse contact fatigue and predict cracks on a granular scale.
The goal of current developments is to make this model as representative as possible of the different contact and damage conditions (spalling or microspalling) of the materials used, and in particular, the property gradients.
- Monitoring
The aim of this theme is to develop methods for monitoring mechanical transmissions. Our approach is based on the thermal network method and involves using temperature analysis as an indicator of the state of the components in the transmission.
The objective is to make the thermal approach more reliable and to continue to test the benefits of combining thermal measurements with measurements of other physical values (electrical signals from motors, dynamic signals, etc.). We also seek to extend this approach to electric motors and semi-conductor components in the control system.
In keeping with ECAM LaSalle’s generalist approach to teaching, LabECAM is made up of teacher-researchers from different scientific fields: mechanics, materials science, energy engineering, electrical engineering and automation.
These themes are closely linked to our training courses. The link between academic programme and research is essential to ensure that the activity benefits students, either through their direct involvement in carrying out research work, or through the dissemination of this knowledge during the initial training cycle.
It is also a good medium for developing interdisciplinary approaches that encourage research at the interfaces between fields, which are the ideal places for the genesis of innovations.
A multidisciplinary team
Created in 2012, the Research and R&D Department is headed by Christophe CHANGENET, ESIM engineer and Doctor in Mechanics (INSA Lyon), HDR.
This cross-functional department federates the scientific skills of all ECAM LaSalle’s teaching divisions, and focuses research activities on industrial concerns and socio-economic development.
