SRI working to produce titanium powder in a single step by reacting TiCl4 with hydrogen
March 3, 2015
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SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., is reportedly developing an advanced process in which titanium tetrachloride and other metal chlorides are reacted with hydrogen to produce titanium or titanium alloy granules in a single step. The process is based on a multi-arc fluidized bed reactor (MAFBR) developed by SRI. If successful, the process will reduce the cost, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions associated with Ti alloy production.
In the process, plasma arcs facilitate reactions between molecules of hydrogen and titanium tetrachloride, a chemical produced from titanium ore. "Arcs, like lightning bolts, crack the hydrogen, producing atomic hydrogen that can readily react," says Barbara Heydorn, senior director of the Energy Center at SRI. The reactions produce titanium vapor that quickly solidifies and forms titanium powder.
With funding from ARPA-E's Modern Electro/Thermochemical Advances in Light-Metal Systems (METALS) Program, SRI built and tested a proof-of-concept system and conducted a techno-economic analysis.
The process could enable the production of alloys that cannot be produced with conventional technology, providing engineers with a larger portfolio of materials. The technology can be used to manufacture alloys other than Ti alloys, as well as composites based on a metal alloy matrix with dispersion of a ceramic phase.
SRI has so far demonstrated a small-scale version of the process for producing pure titanium. It's currently working on a two-stage process to improve yields and lower costs before attempting to scale it up.
www.sri.com
SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., is reportedly developing an advanced process in which titanium tetrachloride and other metal chlorides are reacted with hydrogen to produce titanium or titanium alloy granules in a single step.
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Tinius Olsen universal testing machines feature dual pressure and digital control
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Tinius Olsen, Horsham, Pa., introduces its all-new SL series of hydraulic universal testing machines that feature a patented dual-pressure hydraulic loading system and four-column construction for high loadframe rigidity. With advanced digital control, load accuracy has been enhanced and should be better than 0.1% of the displayed reading within the operating range of 0.2% to 100% of the frame capacity.
SL machines are controlled by a range of user interface options, including Bluetooth wireless, tethered interface, or a virtual interface running on a connected PC. Tinius Olsen's Horizon software can be added to any system for accessing a library of standardized test routines, for generating complete graphical results of a test, and for performing sophisticated powerful analyses on the test data to produce test reports. Horizon is networkable and scalable, so operators can manage equipment and review test results from multiple sources and locations.
A variety of standard capacities ensure accommodation of a range of testing needs. For rapid sequence production testing within the range of 150 to 1000 kN (30,000 to 200,000 lbf), Tinius Olsen offers SL versions with open-front crossheads and/or fixed position crossheads.
The SL series is also highly customizable for many other applications. For instance, columns and screws can be lengthened and crossheads can be made adjustable to meet specific requirements. The extensive range of grip designs ensures careful matching to application. Other options include hydraulically actuated lever grips, accordion-type, non-metallic screw covers, tooling for tension, compression, and other tests, a broad range of instrumentation, and furnaces.
www.TiniusOlsen.com
Tinius Olsen, Horsham, Pa., introduces its all-new SL series of hydraulic universal testing machines that feature a patented dual-pressure hydraulic loading system and four-column construction for high loadframe rigidity.
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Ipsen provides range of atmosphere furnaces for North American market
February 25, 2015
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Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., reports that since 2010, the company has successfully installed more than 50 atmosphere furnaces, as well as temper and auxiliary equipment throughout North America. Atmosphere furnaces provide the flexibility to carburize, nitride, and harden a wide range of parts with different materials, case depths, hardenability, and geometries.
These installations include single- and double-chamber sealed quench, vertical retort, pusher, and box furnaces. For example, Ipsen pusher furnaces drive parts through the full carburizing and nitriding processes, including preheating, washing, tempering and cooling, all in a fully-automated, "lights-out" system with customized layouts.
Ipsen has one of the largest installed bases of atmosphere furnaces in the United States – several thousand since its founding in 1948. – Ipsen continues to deliver atmosphere solutions that meet a range of customer needs. These installations were designed for a range of applications and industries – automotive, aerospace, commercial, and energy.
For Ipsen, a key part of innovating is listening to the specific needs and challenges of their customers and then providing ideal solutions that meet those needs. As companies are faced with constantly evolving requirements and processes, nothing is more essential than finding heat-treating equipment that provides the necessary solutions.
www.IpsenUSA.com/Atmosphere.
Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., reports that since 2010, the company has successfully installed more than 50 atmosphere furnaces, as well as temper and auxiliary equipment throughout North America.
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Seco-Warwick commissions Vector single-chamber vacuum hardening furnace in India
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Seco-Warwick Allied Pvt. Ltd., India, reports that it has installed a single-chamber vacuum hardening furnace with high-pressure gas quenching capability for Jyoti Heat Treat Industries, at its fourth commercial heat-treatment unit in Pune, India. The Vector furnace with high-pressure gas quench is ideally suited for vacuum hardening under an oxygen-free environment.
Parts can be heated in vacuum as well as under convection with partial pressure. Quench pressure can be adjusted from 1.5 bar to a maximum of 10 bar. The Vector line furnace installed at Jyoti can also be used for additional processes such as vacuum annealing, normalizing, and tempering. The furnace has effective uniform hot zone size of 24x24x36 in., and load capacity of 1320 lb. The furnace complies with NADCA requirements and is equipped with an advanced PLC/HMI control system.
www.secowarwick.com
Seco-Warwick Allied Pvt. Ltd., India, reports that it has installed a single-chamber vacuum hardening furnace with high-pressure gas quenching capability for Jyoti Heat Treat Industries, at their fourth commercial heat treatment unit in Pune, India.
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AK Steel to invest $36 million in Research and Innovation Center
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AK Steel, West Chester, Ohio, announces that it will invest $36 million build a new world-class Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio. The 120,000 square foot facility will be constructed on a 15-acre site located in the Cincinnati–Dayton growth corridor along Interstate 75. It will replace the company's existing research facility that is located at another site in Middletown.
The new facility will be home to the company's approximately 75 researchers, scientists, and engineers who will carry out cutting-edge research, applications engineering, advanced engineering, product development, and customer technical services. The facility will also house pilot lines that simulate the company's steel manufacturing operations, ranging from melting and casting, to hot- and cold-rolling, to final finishing. The pilot lines are used for research, enhancing existing products, problem-solving in production, and experimentation for new and improved products.
"Our talented researchers, scientists and engineers are already working to develop such innovative products as next-generation advanced high-strength steels," says James L. Wainscott, Chairman, President, and CEO. "They also are developing high-efficiency electrical steels that will help the nation's electricity grid become more energy-efficient, and new stainless steels that offer superior corrosion resistance for a wide variety of applications. The new research and innovation center will enhance our capabilities to bring these products to the marketplace."
AK Steel said groundbreaking for its new research and innovation center is planned for the late spring or early summer of 2015. The project is subject to final state and local government approvals.
The company also announced two changes in executive leadership, effective immediately:
Eric S. Petersen, 46, has been named Vice President, Research and Innovation. Mr. Petersen was previously Vice President, Sales and Customer Service.
Scott M. Lauschke, 45, has been named Vice President, Sales and Customer Service. Mr. Lauschke joins AK Steel from his previous position as Vice President and General Manager of AFGlobal Corporation and spent 15 years at The Timken Company in a variety of leadership roles.
www.aksteel.com.
AK Steel, West Chester, Ohio, announces that it will invest $36 million build a new world-class Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio.
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American Specialty Alloys to build $2.4 billion aluminum mill complex
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American Specialty Alloys Inc., Baton Rouge, La., plans to develop a $2.4 billion mill and campus in Central Louisiana to provide aluminum for the automotive and aerospace industries. Plans include a melting and casting mill; hot- and cold-rolling mills for sheet and plate; and annealing, slit, and cut-to-length production lines. Mill specifications call for production of 1.3 billion pounds of aluminum per year at full operation.
ASA plans to construct its manufacturing facility at a 1200-acre mill complex owned and formerly operated by International Paper in Pineville, Louisiana. ASA expects to break ground later this year, with a targeted completion date of all facilities in 2020. ASA estimates development of the aluminum mill will generate 2,000 construction jobs.
ASA selected the former IP containerboard mill property in Pineville after evaluating competing sites in Texas, Alabama and Mississippi. Danieli Group has been selected to provide technology services and mill equipment, while Yates Construction LLC has been tapped to build the mill facilities. The company has secured additional partners to provide materials sourcing, fabrication and logistics services: Advanced Processes Inc., American Specialty Processing LLC, Columbus Recycling Corp. and others to be announced later. ASA already has begun hiring for professional roles associated with the Louisiana project. The company plans to begin significant hiring of production jobs for the aluminum mill in 2016.
www.asametals.com
American Specialty Alloys Inc., Baton Rouge, La., plans to develop a $2.4 billion mill and campus in Central Louisiana to provide aluminum for the automotive and aerospace industries.
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Intermetallic nanoparticles increase strength and ductility in alloy steel
February 16, 2015
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Researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea, report that they have developed a lightweight steel by uniformly dispersing nanometer-size intermetallic compounds between and within the steel's grains. By adding nickel and heat treating an alloy of iron, aluminum, manganese, and carbon, they induced nanoparticles to form evenly throughout the steel. The photo shows that six specimens of the new steel weigh less than five specimens of conventional steel.
With this innovative approach, stronger and more ductile lightweight steels have been created, solving the longstanding problem of poor ductility caused by the formation of large brittle intermetallic compound particles. Besides being lightweight, this new steel possesses an excellent combination of strength and ductility.
The team plans to work with POSCO to produce its new product later this year, ushering in a new era of high-specific-strength steels that will be lightweight and strong enough to produce fuel-efficient vehicles and other transportation systems.
In the 5 February issue of Nature, materials scientist Sang-Heon Kim and colleagues at Pohang describe improving lightweight steel by altering how metal compounds are arrayed in an alloy. They report that the microstructure of their material is stronger and more ductile than titanium alloys.
The researchers think that their work could be useful for industrial steel making. But "even if it takes a long time before this can become a part of production, the novelty of the microstructure that forms could be very useful for thinking about how to construct new alloys," says Suveen Mathaudhu, a materials engineer at the University of California, Riverside.
www.posco.com
www.postech.ac.kr
Researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea, report that they have developed a lightweight steel by uniformly dispersing nanometer-sized intermetallic compounds between and within the steel’s grains.
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Solar Atmospheres wins renewal of Sikorsky approved-supplier status
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Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa., has received renewed approved-supplier status from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., with a two-year certification. Solar is approved to provide heat treatment of titanium, and carburizing grade materials and aircraft grade steels in accordance with various AMS and Sikorsky specifications. In addition to maintaining current approvals, Solar also gained full approval for laboratory testing, metallography, and micro-hardness testing for Sikorsky products.
"Solar Atmospheres has been Sikorsky-approved since the 1990s," says Mike Moyer, Director of Sales at Solar Atmospheres. "Over the years, Solar's investment in R&D and process development has attracted the attention of Sikorsky and other prime aerospace companies, resulting in an expansion of our work scope. Solar's Low Pressure Vacuum Carburizing process is a perfect example of our ever-expanding capabilities and subsequent approvals."
www.solaratm.com
Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa., has received renewed approved-supplier status from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., with a two-year certification.
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Carbon control during sintering improves quality of MIM parts
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Linde North America Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., and Megamet Solid Metals, Earth City, Mo., a custom metal-injection-molding company, have shown that the quality of metal-injection-molded parts could be significantly enhanced by following Linde's advanced Sinterflex atmosphere control system. The system maintains the low CO+H2 concentration atmosphere necessary to stabilize carbon potential.
Using Linde's advance control system, Megamet was able to reduce the standard deviation of the carbon content in MIM parts. The Linde system also helps to reduce rejects and prevent rework due to carbon content variation, boost productivity, and increase the number of parts that are in specification.
According to Bruce G. Dionne, General Manager of Megamet Solid Metals, "Homogeneity and consistency in the furnace atmosphere are pivotal to the success of MIM manufacturing. The highest-accuracy carbon control is achieved by regulating the carbon potential at the sintering temperature to the value that will lead to the needed final surface carbon concentration in the sinter body upon cooling."
When compared to other manufacturing processes such as CNC machining and casting, MIM is a cost-effective option. This powder metal process provides the durability and strength of metals, along with the advantages of plastic-injection molding. In MIM, the final step is sintering, which is a high-temperature hardening process. This process is performed in a controlled atmosphere, and it involves application of heat below the melting point, which causes the high-density alloyed powders to fuse. During the sintering process, decarburization is avoided by the MIM parts due to the carbon-neutral atmosphere. Decarburization prevents the carbon content from meeting the specification.
www.lindeus.com
Linde North America Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., and Megamet Solid Metals, Earth City, Mo., a custom metal-injection molding company, have shown that the quality of metal-injection-molded parts could be significantly enhanced by following Linde’s advanced Sinterflex atmosphere control system.
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Vac Aero receives orders for three replacement hot zones
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Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, recently received orders for three complete all-metal hot zone refurbishments for customers in Florida, Connecticut, and Indiana. The companies are in the aerospace, medical, and commercial heat treatment industry sectors. The retrofit work is for two horizontal and one vertical furnace.
The hot zones feature unitized construction for easy removal and maintenance. The lightweight design's low thermal mass enables faster quenching and longer life. The heat shield package consists of one layer of 0.020 in. thick lanthanated molybdenum (Mola) sheet backed by one layer of 0.010 in. thick molybdenum sheet, and three layers of 0.014 in. stainless steel sheet.
The heat shield package is supported by a 14 gauge stainless steel assembly that also acts as a manifold to distribute the quenching gas uniformly throughout the workload. Built for rugged usage and low maintenance, Vac Aero hot zones feature unitized construction for easy removal and maintenance.
www.vacaero.com
Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, recently received orders for three complete all-metal hot zone refurbishments for customers in Florida, Connecticut, and Indiana.
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