AK Steel launches advanced high-strength steel for automotive applications
August 30, 2016
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AK Steel, Westchester, Ohio, launches Nexmet 440EX high-strength steel, which provides improved ductility, strength, and formability for automotive applications. The steel is designed for automotive light-weighting in all types of structural and exterior parts. The products are especially designed to help original equipment manufacturers meet their U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets for the year 2025.
This new exposed-surface-quality product combines high yield and tensile strength at thinner gauges to facilitate lightweight designs. This results in enhanced performance where surface appearance and dent resistance are critical. Nexmet 440EX is currently available and is being qualified by automotive OEMs as a steel solution for exposed body panel lightweighting needs.
AK Steel will launch its other next-generation Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) products, Nexmet 1000 and 1200, in early 2017, following completion of upgrades at AK Steel's Dearborn Works hot-dip galvanized line. These AHSS steels will offer significantly improved ductility at tensile strengths of 1000 and 1200 MPa, and will serve to help lightweight automotive body structures.
www.aksteel.com
AK Steel, Westchester, Ohio, launches its Nexmet 440EX high-strength steel that provides greater ductility, strength, and formability for automotive applications.
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Aleris Aluminum to be acquired by Chinese aluminum extrusion company
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Aleris Corp., Cleveland, Oho, a global aluminum rolled products producer, announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Zhongwang USA LLC, a Chinese company. The aggregate value of Aleris amounts to $2.33 billion, comprising $1.11 billion in cash for the equity to be paid by Zhongwang USA, plus $1.22 billion in net debt.
The acquisition of Aleris reflects commitment to disciplined operating investments over the long-term by Mr. Liu Zhongwang, the majority owner of Zhongwang USA, in an industry to which he has been committed for two decades. In addition to his role at Zhongwang USA, Mr. Liu is also the chairman and founder of China Zhongwang, the second largest aluminum extrusions product developer and manufacturer in the world, and the largest in Asia. With the acquisition of Aleris, Mr. Liu will now oversee companies that have complementary geographic footprints and capabilities.
Aleris will continue to be headquartered in Cleveland, and will be operated as an independent entity. The Aleris management team will remain in place, providing continuity for Aleris employees and customers, and supporting the continued implementation of the Aleris strategy.
Aleris will retain its name and continue to serve its customers with no changes to current operations, contracts, or commitments. It will continue with the implementation of all strategic growth projects, including its major expansion project in Lewisport, Kentucky, which will enable Aleris to meet the North American automotive industry's growing demand for aluminum auto body sheet.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, following the customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
Aleris is a privately held, global leader in aluminum rolled products serving diverse industries including aerospace, automotive, building and construction, commercial transportation, and industrial manufacturing. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Aleris operates production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.
www.aleris.com
Aleris Corp., Cleveland, Oho, a global aluminum rolled products producer, announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Zhongwang USA LLC, a Chinese company.
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Precipitation of Intermetallics in Stainless Steels
August 29, 2016
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The exposure of duplex stainless steels to temperatures in the range of 1100 to 1850°F can result in the formation of undesirable intermetallic compounds such as σ and χ phases. The graph shows the isothermal precipitation kinetics for carbides, σ/χ, and α' phases in types 2304, 2205, and 2507 duplex stainless steels.
The occurrence of these phases is usually associated with fabrication and processing practices such as excessively high weld heat inputs or slow cooling rates after solution anneal heat treatments.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Heat Treated High-Alloy Steels ⇒ Heat Treating of Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels ⇒ Duplex Stainless Steels
The exposure of duplex stainless steels to temperatures in the range of 1100 to 1850°F can result in the formation of undesirable intermetallic compounds such as ? and ? phases.
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One Minute Mentor: Precipitation of Intermetallics in Stainless Steels
Source: ASM International
The exposure of duplex stainless steels to temperatures in the range of 1100 to 1850°F can result in the formation of undesirable intermetallic compounds such as σ and χ phases.
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CERN heat treating furnace to process niobium-tin superconducting magnets
August 24, 2016
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The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, announces that it has received a 105-foot-long furnace for the heat treatment of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) superconducting coils that will be installed in the Future Circular Collider. The furnace completes the equipment required for the production of superconducting coils, which are needed for the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) upgrade and future circular colliders.
Superconducting accelerator magnets are key for reaching higher energies and luminosities in particle accelerators.
The HL-LHC upgrade aims for magnetic fields up to 11 Tesla for the dipole magnets, while the Future Circular Collider study explores using magnets with a field of 16 Tesla, almost double the 8.3 Tesla of the superconducting magnets used in the LHC.
To reach these goals new superconducting materials are needed.
"Nb3Sn has been chosen for the next generation of superconducting magnets," says Friedrich Lackner, a project engineer who supervises the coil production for HL-LHC. "The field achieved with this material can reach up to 16 Tesla. The production of such coils is complex, as we must first wind the coils and then carry out the heat treatment that allows the tin and niobium to react and convert to the superconducting Nb3Sn compound."
After the material has undergone this heat treatment, it becomes very brittle, which is why this process is implemented after the winding process—the opposite to magnets in the LHC.
Called GL010000, the furnace will allow the heat treatment of coils up to 36 feet long, and can reach temperatures up to 1650°F, providing a sufficient margin for future challenges.
This treatment involves a two-week process during which the coils are raised to different temperature plateaus up to 1230°F. A special feature is that it is able to raise the coils to such high temperatures completely uniformly throughout the entire furnace, making sure one part does not heat more or less than another.
http://cds.cern.ch/record/2203181
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, announces that it has received a 105-foot-long furnace for the heat treatment of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) superconducting coils that will be installed in the Future Circular Collider.
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Sinterite custom pusher furnace designed for continuous sintering
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Sinterite, a Gasbarre Furnace Group Company, St. Marys, Pa., has installed a manually operated custom pusher furnace designed for continuous sintering of a range of materials and grades at a facility in Pennsylvania. It consists of two heat control zones and one cooling zone, with a maximum operating temperature of 1800°F.
This particular pusher furnace is unique because of its low operating temperature. Typically, these types of furnaces are designed to operate up to 3000°F. Because of the customer's specialized sintering process and lower temperature requirements, this furnace was customized to meet those unique processing needs.
Sinterite designs, manufactures, and services custom continuous belt and batch furnaces for sintering, brazing, annealing, steam treating, drying and heat treating applications. The installed base of equipment is in excess of 1300 units in more than 47 countries. Sinterite's quality design includes alloy and ceramic muffle systems, powder-handling equipment, custom fabrications, and the exclusively-manufactured HyperCooler sinter-hardening and rapid cooling system.
www.sinterite.com
Sinterite, a Gasbarre Furnace Group Company, St. Marys, Pa., has installed a manually operated custom pusher furnace designed for continuous sintering of a range of materials and grades at a facility in Pennsylvania.
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Titanium 2016 conference to focus on world demand trends
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The International Titanium Association, Northglenn, Colo., announces that the Titanium 2016 conference and exhibition will focus on the global titanium industry. The event will be held September 25th - 28th at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Golf Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, providing nearly 1000 attendees with valuable insights, timely information and networking opportunities in the global titanium industry.
The conference will host numerous speaker sessions to address titanium business trends and manufacturing technology innovations, along with presentations by a number of accomplished individuals. Special guest speakers include Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group; Allan McArtor, the chairman and chief executive officer of Airbus Group Inc.; award-winning author, journalist and international correspondent Robin Wright; American inventor and electrical vehicle pioneer William Morrison (Chip) Yates, who serves as vice president of marketing for Norsk Titanium; and pilot, author and photographer Brian Shul, one of only 93 men in history to fly the legendary, titanium-intensive SR-71 spy plane, the fastest jet ever built.
Henry Seiner will deliver a presentation on "Trends in the Defense Market: A Titanium Perspective," as a member of the World Titanium Industry Demand Trends segment. Henry will address aerospace, marine and land-based titanium applications and their market drivers. Seiner will frame his remarks in the larger scope of defense budgets and increasing global tensions. China and United States continue to have the world's two largest defense budgets. However, the gap is closing as the U.S. defense budget declined for the fifth consecutive year in a row and its ratio of outspending China has dropped from 10:1 to 3:1 in the last decade. The decline in value of the euro, the ruble and the price of oil has caused a shake-up of ranking for the remaining top 15 military spenders.
www.titanium.org
The International Titanium Association, Northglenn, Colo., announces that the Titanium 2016 conference and exhibition will focus on the global titanium industry.
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Bodycote Ipswich heat treating facility earns MedAccred status
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Bodycote, England, announces that its facility in Ipswich, Mass., has earned MedAccred accreditation, underlining its high standards of quality.
MedAccred, administered by the Performance Review Institute (PRI), is an industry-managed approach to ensuring critical manufacturing process quality throughout the medical device supply chain. It establishes stringent consensus audit criteria based on industry and specific OEM requirements that ensure compliance and quality. Adherence to these requirements leads to greater process discipline, operational efficiency and ongoing improvement which results in higher quality and performance.
Strategically located in New England, Bodycote's plant in Ipswich is fast becoming a center of excellence for the region's medical device and implants market, offering heat treatment services to process and strengthen medical implants, surgical and dental tools, and other medical devices. The plant's close proximity to Bodycote's hot isostatic pressing (HIP) plant in Andover makes it an ideal source for a complete thermal processing solution.
Bodycote continues to invest in new capacity and technology to support opportunities within the growing medical industry for classic heat treatment and HIP, along with its Specialty Stainless Steel Processes (S3P) in North America. For Bodycote, the benefits of MedAccred to the supplier are evident. The process provides for consistent and standardized critical process audits, which result in fewer redundant onsite audits by multiple OEMs and first tier customers. The MedAccred certification reinforces customer confidence in Bodycote as a premier quality provider of heat treating.
www.bodycote.com
Bodycote, England, announces that its facility in Ipswich, Mass., has earned MedAccred accreditation, underlining its high standards of quality.
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One Minute Mentor: Stress Relieving Type 347 Stainless Steel
August 18, 2016
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Although stabilized alloys do not require high-temperature annealing to avoid intergranular corrosion, the stress-relieving temperature exerts an influence on the general corrosion resistance of these alloys.
The graphs show how the percentage of stress relief increases with an increase in stress-relieving temperature for type 347 stainless steel. These data also demonstrate the relative unimportance of holding time.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Heat Treated High-Alloy Steels ⇒ Heat Treating of Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels ⇒ Stress Relieving
Although stabilized alloys do not require high-temperature annealing to avoid intergranular corrosion, the stress-relieving temperature exerts an influence on the general corrosion resistance of these alloys.
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Fluorescent microcapsules identify microscopic failure
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The Autonomous Materials Systems Group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Ill., recently devised a way to identify microscopic damage in polymers and composites by incorporating microcapsules containing materials that fluoresce under stress.
"We've developed microcapsules that are colorless and non-fluorescent when intact," said Maxwell Robb, Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and a lead author of "A Robust Damage-Reporting Strategy for Polymeric Materials Enabled by Aggression-Induced Emission," recently published in ACS Central Science.
"We can embed them into materials, and when damage occurs, the microcapsules will release their payload and become fluorescent, indicating that repair is needed," says Wenle Li, a postdoctoral research associate and co-first author.
"Autonomous indication of small cracks has potential to make structures safer and more reliable by giving time to intervene and repair or replace the damaged region prior to catastrophic failure," said Nancy Sottos, professor of materials science and engineering, and one of the authors.
The new method uses a type of fluorescence called aggregation-induced emission (AIE), which becomes brighter as the indicator solidifies from solution, and is visible under ultraviolet light. The unique mechanism of indication, which relies on a physical change of state instead of a chemical reaction, enables excellent performance in a wide variety of materials and for visualizing different types of damage.
"The elegance of this system lies in its versatility as well as its sensitivity," says Dr. Li. "We can easily visualize a fluorescence signal resulting from mechanical damage as small as two microns."
The research is funded by BP, which is interested in coating oil and gas pipelines with a polymer coating that will be able to indicate damage. The goal is to target damage at its earliest stage to prevent further deterioration, improve safety and reliability, and reduce life cycle costs associated with regular maintenance and inspection.
http://beckman.illinois.edu/news/2016/08/ams-aie
The Autonomous Materials Systems Group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Ill., recently devised a way to identify microscopic damage in polymers and composites by incorporating microcapsules containing materials that fluoresce under stress.
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