AK Steel uses neutron spallation source at Oak Ridge to improve manufacture of AHSS
January 3, 2019
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AK Steel Corp., West Chester, Ohio, accepted an award of up to $1.2 million last October from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office program to investigate novel low-density steels that could ultimately be used in automotive structural applications.
Specifically, scientists from AK Steel are using neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) to discover how different manufacturing processes affect the performance of the company's new advanced high-strength steel (AHSS), called Nexmet 1000. Neutrons, unlike electrons or X-rays, are highly penetrating, nondestructive, and sensitive to lighter elements, making them an ideal probe for this novel category of steel materials.
"The Vulcan instrument at the SNS provides information about the crystal structure of AHSS during different stages of the stamping process that we cannot get anywhere else in the United States," said Wei Wu of AK Steel. "This data will be vital to improving our manufacturing methods and will make it easier to quickly identify the best new materials to blend with Nexmet 1000 to produce lighter, safer, and more durable automotive components."
The three-year project is being conducted in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory Materials Science and Technology Division, and the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center in the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines.
The objective of the project is to conduct alloy design, laboratory validation, and testing of low density steels that are alternatives to currently available advanced high strength steels and other lightweight metals. These low density steels are expected to generate energy savings by bringing efficiencies in manufacturing and lifetime savings in automotive structural applications.
www.aksteel.com
AK Steel Corp., West Chester, Ohio, accepted an award of up to $1.2 million last October from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office program to investigate novel low-density steels that could ultimately be used in automotive structural applications.
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Siemens and Chromalloy invest $139 million in Advanced Airfoil Components joint venture
November 2, 2018
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Siemens, Munich, and Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., have opened their new joint venture, Advanced Airfoil Components (AAC), near Tampa, Florida. The AAC casting facility is 210,000 square feet, and will enable production of the entire range of blades and vanes for Siemens gas turbine fleet, including the newest 9000HL. The facility equipment build-out is being done in stages and will be completed over the next four years. The stand-alone manufacturing plant, which began construction last year, was established to exclusively supply Siemens with casting components for its gas turbines.
The partnership represents a capital investment of $139 million and will add 350 jobs. Advanced Airfoil Components will hire workers for a range of skilled positions, including technical engineers, manufacturing technicians, and production workers, as well as human resources, finance, procurement and logistics, and operations roles.
“This new facility demonstrates Siemens' commitment to delivering state-of-the-art technology solutions for our power and gas customers in the United States and throughout the world,†said Lisa Davis, CEO Energy, Siemens AG. “Not only does this joint venture help reduce costs and support our supply chain needs, but also it will create 350 high-wage, skilled positions, including technical engineers, manufacturing technicians, and production workers, and will expand Siemens more than 5000 employees footprint in Florida.â€
“Advanced Airfoil Components is proud to exclusively deliver innovative, high-tech casting components for Siemens gas turbines at this new, state-of-the-art site,†said Kevin Updegrove, CEO, Advanced Airfoil Components. “The new space will allow Advanced Airfoil Components to grow this new business with Siemens and Chromalloy, taking our partnership to the next level.â€
www.siemens.com
Siemens, Munich, and Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., have opened their new joint venture, Advanced Airfoil Components (AAC), near Tampa, Florida.
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Praxair, United Process Controls form partnership for aerospace and automotive
August 17, 2018
Source: ASM International
United Process Controls Inc. (UPC), Cincinnati, Ohio, and Praxair, Danbury, Conn., have formed a collaboration in which customers will have access to Praxair’s gases, application technologies, and supply systems, along with UPC’s portfolio of specialized industrial flow measurement and atmosphere-control products.
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Aluminum producer Constellium adds metals R&D center to Brunel University in London
Source: ASM International
Constellium N.V., Amsterdam, has expanded its University Technology Center (UTC) at Brunel University in London with an R&D center to transition technology from the laboratory to its production facilities around the world.
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Lockheed Martin and Arconic to collaborate on 3D printing and advanced materials
July 26, 2018
Source: ASM International
Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Md., and Arconic, New York, announce a two-year Joint Development Agreement to develop customized lightweight material systems and advanced manufacturing processes for aerospace structures.
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Natural gas direct-fired batch oven renders products of combustion nonflammable
December 5, 2017
Source: ASM International
Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, has shipped a natural gas direct-fired batch oven with a separate cooling chamber to a manufacturer of automotive parts for curing rubber automotive hoses.
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Improving the Nitriding Process Using ZeroFlow® Gas Nitriding Technology
November 14, 2017
Source: ASM International
Gas nitriding has been performed for almost a century with many variations over the years. The benefits of nitriding are well documented and nitriding has gained amazing industrial acceptance. However, the equipment and control of the nitrided layer has continued to be challenging, and as such, nitriding is still slowly being adopted by industry, but the rate of change is improving.
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One Minute Mentor: Fatigue Testing of 316 Stainless Steel Round Bar
November 13, 2017
Source: ASM International
The graph shows the results of fatigue testing of standard round bar 316 stainless steel specimens, in tension-compression cycling (R = –1) The symbols represent different sets of specimens, with nontreated specimens identified by triangles, treated specimens by squares.
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Braidy Industries to invest $1.3 billion to build aluminum rolling mill in Kentucky
May 1, 2017
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Braidy Industries Inc., Ashland, Kentucky, announces that it will spend $1.3 billion to build an auto body sheet and aerospace plate aluminum rolling mill, the nation's first greenfield aluminum rolling mill in over three decades. The goal of the mill is to become the nation's low-cost producer of high quality auto body sheet aluminum, plate, and ultra-high strength alloys for the aerospace industry.
The mill will open with capacity of 370,000 tons per annum, producing series 5000, 6000, and 7000 aluminum sheet and plate products. Braidy is also exploring new scientific nano-crystalline technical advances capable of improving molten metal-based manufacturing.
"By combining an advanced production capability with advanced metallurgical science, there is a great opportunity to reinvigorate metals manufacturing in United States," said ASM member Christopher Schuh, MIT metallurgist and member of the Braidy board of directors.
Ground will be broken at the 370-acre South Shore site in the first quarter of 2018. Over $1.3 billion will be spent on the mill, which is located in Greenup County Kentucky, close to the city of Ashland. The mill will be 2.5 million square feet under roof, with an ideal location on the great Ohio River, and already-permitted barge capacity. The CSX railroad runs through the property, and highway I-64 connects the mill site to some of the nation's largest auto-making and aerospace customers. The State of Kentucky exports more than $10 billion per year in aerospace products, ranking it second among all states in the United States.
www.braidyindustries.com
Braidy Industries Inc., Ashland, Kentucky, announces that it will spend $1.3 billion to build an auto body sheet and aerospace plate aluminum rolling mill, the nation’s first greenfield aluminum rolling mill in over three decades.
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QuesTek receives Tibbetts Award for Integrated Computational Materials Engineering
February 10, 2017
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QuesTek Innovations, Evanston, Ill., announces that it was invited to the White House in early January to accept the U.S. Small Business Administration 2016 Tibbetts Award. This prestigious award is presented to small businesses, organizations, and individuals who have demonstrated excellence in leveraging Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to generate measurable impact through technological innovation, technology transfer, business impact, and product commercialization.
The 2016 Tibbetts Award was presented to 37 small businesses, and QuesTek was specifically recognized for its unique contributions to the field of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) and President Obama's Materials Genome Initiative.
QuesTek received its first SBIR-funded project in 2001, and has since been awarded over $30 million across a total of 93 projects, all of which have focused on the modeling and design of novel materials.
QuesTek's reported commercialization value ranks it in the 95th percentile of all SBIR recipient companies. SBIR funding (from DOD, DOE, DARPA and NASA) has enabled QuesTek to create more than 30 jobs; transition its ICME technology and a team of engineers to a leading Silicon Valley consumer electronics corporation; form a joint venture with Thermo-Calc Software in Sweden to expand its ICME offerings into the European market; and enter into a strategic partnership with a major U.S.-based company to design and commercialize game-changing alloys.
Under SBIR-funded projects, QuesTek designed and commercialized two ultra-high performance steels: Ferrium M54 steel and Ferrium C64 steel. Ferrium M54 steel was successfully qualified and transitioned into the U.S. Navy T-45 fleet for the safety-critical hook shank component application, and is bringing an estimated $3 million in savings to the Navy based on an order of 60 components. Ferrium C64 steel is being qualified by Bell Helicopter and Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin for next generation helicopter transmissions, replacing lower-performing steels and allowing for significant increases in power density.
Both of these steels have received U.S. patents and are commercially available through a license agreement from leading specialty steel producer, Carpenter Technology.
www.questek.com
QuesTek Innovations, Evanston, Ill., announces that it was invited to the White House in early January to accept the U.S. Small Business Administration 2016 Tibbetts Award.
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