CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory

2011/25 (a)

Backgrounder

The CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory (CANMET-MTL) is the largest research centre in Canada dedicated to metals and materials fabrication, processing and evaluation. Scientific and technical staff are involved in research and development to provide materials solutions for Canadian industry in the energy, transportation and metal-manufacturing sectors. Canada has long been a leader in this field.

CANMET-MTL is also home to Canada’s certification program for non-destructive testing personnel. CANMET-MTL in its present form began in 1942 with the establishment of the Physical Metallurgy Research Laboratories (PMRL) at 568 Booth Street, Ottawa. Later additions included an experimental casting laboratory, an advanced corrosion laboratory and the metal-forming laboratory, which contained pilot-scale industrial facilities such as a rolling mill, a horizontal hydraulic extrusion press, vertical hydraulic presses, a hammer forge and a draw bench. The PMRL was initially created to support the Second World War effort and boost manufacturing competency in Canada. Later achievements include the original extrusions of zircalloy tubes for the CANDU® reactor and, during the 1960s and 1970s, the development of microalloyed steels for oil and gas pipeline applications.

In the late 1990s, work began on lightweight materials for the transportation sector in response to demands for new fuel-efficient materials. Today, CANMET-MTL works with a range of industries, including automotive, nuclear and defence. The lab specializes in materials of economic importance, including cast and wrought metals and alloys; metal matrix composites; powdered metals; coatings; and materials for durable infrastructures.

CANMET-MTL’s mandate is to develop and deploy technologies that improve all aspects of producing and using value-added products derived from metals and minerals. Particular emphasis is placed on solving technological problems of relevance to NRCan's mandate in clean energy and sustainable development, and on transferring materials technology to Canadian companies. In doing so, CANMET-MTL strives to develop technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, result in innovative products for a green economy and enhance health, security and safety.

CANMET-MTL’s research focuses on three industrial sectors that are enormous users of Canada’s natural resources and, therefore, are central to the mandate of NRCan. Laboratory staff work closely with clients and stakeholders in each sector:

  • transportation — particularly the manufacturers of vehicles, engines and components, which require new advanced-materials solutions to improve fuel efficiency while maintaining safety and performance;
  • energy — components for use in clean energy production (such as next-generation nuclear reactors and clean combustion systems for fossil fuels) and reliable pipelines to transport gas, oil, biofuels and carbon dioxide; and
  • metal manufacturing — components for a variety of other sectors, such as defence, aerospace, health and construction, which require high-performance materials.

CANMET-MTL also studies other aspects of sustainable development, such as achieving process efficiencies and the recycling of materials.

CANMET-MTL has expertise and facilities for the pilot-scale production and performance assessment of novel materials. It houses unique facilities for handling hot and molten metal in pilot-scale quantities in its experimental casting and metal-forming laboratories. It also characterizes the microstructure and assesses the mechanical, corrosion, thermal and electrochemical performance of innovative materials.

These unique facilities are used by university researchers through CANMET-MTL’s academic access program, which is supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). The program has supported 64 research projects from 18 universities across Canada. The relocation to Hamilton will expand the number of students and professors who can access MTL’s unique metallurgical processing facilities and gain valuable, industrially relevant experience using the centre’s pilot-scale facilities.

Richard Walker

Director of Communications

Office of the Minister

Natural Resources Canada

Ottawa

613-996-2007

or

Media Relations

Natural Resources Canada

Ottawa

613-992-4447

NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media/index-eng.php.