Vac Aero ships horizontal vacuum furnace to an R&D center
January 20, 2014
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Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, recently shipped a horizontal vacuum furnace to the Québec Metallurgy Centre, a research institute affiliated with the Trois-Rivières college in Québec. The VAH2636 HV-2 furnace will be housed in a new a state-of-the-art facility in Trois-Rivières. The chamber size is 23 X 18 X 36 inches, with a metal hot zone designed for operating at temperatures up to 2400°F. The furnace operating system is based on Vac Aero's versatile HC900 interactive hybrid control package with SCADA and complete network integration capabilities, as well as remote monitoring and control.
Created in 1985, the Québec Metallurgy Centre is a collegiate center of technological transfer affiliated with the Trois-Rivières College. The center's focus is to support the technological development of Québec-based manufacturing companies in the metallurgical sector. The Québec Metallurgy Centre provides an incomparable knowledge base on metallic and ceramic materials as well as on metallurgical processes.
www.vacaero.com
Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, recently shipped a horizontal vacuum furnace to the Québec Metallurgy Centre, a research institute affiliated with the Trois-Rivières college in Québec. The VAH2636 HV-2 furnace will be housed in a new a state-of-the-art facility in Trois-Rivières.
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Tapping energy from the sun through heat and light
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A new approach to harvesting solar energy, developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, researchers, could improve efficiency by using sunlight to heat a high-temperature material whose infrared radiation would then be collected by a conventional photovoltaic cell. This technique could also make it easier to store the energy for later use, say researchers.
Adding the extra step in this case improves performance because it makes taking advantage of wavelengths of light that ordinarily go to waste possible. A conventional silicon-based solar cell "doesn't take advantage of all the photons," explains associate professor of mechanical engineering Evelyn Wang. That's because converting the energy of a photon into electricity requires that the photon's energy level match that of a characteristic of the photovoltaic (PV) material called a bandgap. Silicon's bandgap responds to many wavelengths of light, but misses many others.
To address that limitation, the team inserted a two-layer absorber-emitter device—made of novel materials including carbon nanotubes and photonic crystals—between the sunlight and the PV cell. This intermediate material collects energy from a broad spectrum of sunlight, heating up in the process. When it heats up, as with a piece of iron that glows red hot, it emits light of a particular wavelength, which in this case is tuned to match the bandgap of the PV cell mounted nearby.
This basic concept has been explored for several years, since in theory such solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) systems could provide a way to circumvent a theoretical limit on the energy-conversion efficiency of semiconductor-based photovoltaic devices. That limit, called the Shockley-Queisser limit, imposes a cap of 33.7% on such efficiency, but Wang says that with TPV systems, "the efficiency would be significantly higher—it could ideally be over 80%."
There have been many practical obstacles to realizing that potential; previous experiments have been unable to produce a STPV device with efficiency of greater than 1%. But Lenert, Wang, and their team have already produced an initial test device with a measured efficiency of 3.2%, and they say with further work they expect to be able to reach 20% efficiency—enough, they say, for a commercially viable product.
The design of the two-layer absorber-emitter material is key to this improvement. Its outer layer, facing the sunlight, is an array of multiwalled carbon nanotubes, which very efficiently absorbs the light's energy and turns it to heat. This layer is bonded tightly to a layer of a photonic crystal, which is precisely engineered so that when it is heated by the attached layer of nanotubes, it "glows" with light whose peak intensity is mostly above the bandgap of the adjacent PV, ensuring that most of the energy collected by the absorber is then turned into electricity.
In their experiments, the researchers used simulated sunlight, and found that its peak efficiency came when its intensity was equivalent to a focusing system that concentrates sunlight by a factor of 750. This light heated the absorber-emitter to a temperature of 962°C.
This level of concentration is already much lower than in previous attempts at STPV systems, which concentrated sunlight by a factor of several thousand. But the MIT researchers say that after further optimization, it should be possible to get the same kind of enhancement at even lower sunlight concentrations, making the systems easier to operate.
Such a system, the team says, combines the advantages of solar photovoltaic systems, which turn sunlight directly into electricity, and solar thermal systems, which can have an advantage for delayed use because heat can be more easily stored than electricity. The new solar thermophotovoltaic systems, they say, could provide efficiency because of their broadband absorption of sunlight; scalability and compactness, because they are based on existing chip-manufacturing technology; and ease of energy storage, because of their reliance on heat.
Some of the ways to further improve the system are quite straightforward. Since the intermediate stage of the system, the absorber-emitter, relies on high temperatures, its size is crucial: The larger an object, the less surface area it has in relation to its volume, so heat losses decline rapidly with increasing size. The initial tests were done on a 1 cm chip, but follow-up tests will be done with a 10 cm chip, they say.
Zhuomin Zhang, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology who was not involved in this research, says, "This work is a breakthrough in solar thermophotovoltaics, which in principle may achieve higher efficiency than conventional solar cells because STPV can take advantage of the whole solar spectrum. … This achievement paves the way for rapidly boosting the STPV efficiency."
The research team also included MIT graduate students David Bierman and Walker Chan, former postdoc Youngsuk Nam, and research scientist Ivan Celanović. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through MIT's Solid-State Solar Thermal Energy Conversion (S3TEC) Center, as well as the Martin Family Society, the MIT Energy Initiative, and the National Science Foundation.
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MIT
Image caption — A nanophotonic solar thermophotovoltaic device composed of an array of multi‑walled carbon nanotubes as the absorber, a one‑dimensional silicon/silicon dioxide photonic crystal as the emitter, and a 0.55 eV photovoltaic cell. Courtesy of John Freidah.
A new approach to harvesting solar energy, developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, researchers, could improve efficiency by using sunlight to heat a high-temperature material whose infrared radiation would then be collected by a conventional photovoltaic cell.
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Nitrex turnkey systems enable nitriding/nitrocarburizing for Polish aerospace company
January 17, 2014
Source: ASM International
Nitrex Metal, St. Laurent, Quebec, reports that Polish aircraft engine and gear transmission manufacturer WSK “PZL- Kalisz” has started production on its new NXK-609 nitriding system from Nitrex Metal. The self-contained turnkey system, which has a diameter of 24 in. and a height of 36 in., nitrides gears and housings supplied to many world-leading aerospace firms. Nitriding with Nitreg technology meets the company’s requirement for precise control of the white layer thickness on Nitralloy parts, including zero white layer.
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Hitachi VP-SEM offers four-axis motorized stage for smaller samples
Source: ASM International
The Nanotechnology Systems Division of Hitachi High Technologies America Inc., Clarksburg, Md., announces that its latest VP-SEM system, Model SU3500, is now available with a four-axis motorized stage, in addition to the existing five-axis motorized stage system. The new four-axis version is targeted for smaller sample applications (max. 200 mm in diameter and 70 mm in height).
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Ipsen ships large aluminum brazing furnace to aerospace company
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Ipsen, Cherry Valey, Ill., announces that it shipped a large vertical vacuum aluminum brazing furnace to a major aerospace company, a longstanding customer. This furnace, the customer's second vertical furnace, will be installed in Mexico. Two other TurboTreaters will be shipped to Southeast Asia for the same aerospace company. One of these furnaces will be used for high-pressure gas quenching; the other includes AvaC for low-pressure vacuum carburizing.
Ipsen, known for quality products and reliability, is committed to furthering the success of its customers, including those in the aerospace industry. To ensure safety and consistency, many aerospace manufacturers, have established their own specifications that must be met or exceeded to produce their parts. Ipsen provides the expert guidance to build the furnaces best-suited for each customer's processes and capable of meeting not only their requirements, but also those of AMS 2750E and Nadcap.
www.ipsenusa.com
Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that it shipped a large vertical vacuum aluminum brazing furnace to a major aerospace company, a longstanding customer. This furnace, the customer’s second vertical furnace, will be installed in Mexico. Two other TurboTreaters will be shipped to Southeast Asia for the same aerospace company. One of these furnaces will be used for high-pressure gas quenching; the other includes AvaC for low-pressure vacuum carburizing.
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Centorr designs furnace for metal injection molding
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Centorr Vacuum Industries, Nashua, N.H., has developed the MIM-Vac, a custom-engineered high temperature vacuum/ controlled-atmosphere furnace designed specifically for metal injection molding. Tight partial pressure control and even gas flow in conjunction with effective event-based programming and sound retort design allow the entire load to undergo the same series of conditions as a function of time. This results in consistent microstructures and repeatable carbon control. The MIM-Vac is designed primarily for second-stage binder removal and sintering, and has a number of design improvements specific for use with MIM feedstocks.
The revolutionary new gas-plenum retort has rows of perforations allowing even gas flow across all the work trays, and features alumina ceramic support members for ease of construction and replacement. The work grid assembly also incorporates alumina ceramic as tray supports for reduced metal-to-metal contact, resulting in less sticking. The grid assembly is removable for production loading outside the unit, and can be inserted into the chamber by load truck, eliminating hand loading of individual trays.
Depending on the customer's process requirements, a variety of wax and polymer condensation strategies have been developed, including vacuum delube/condensation; Sweepgas; Injectavac BRS; MIM-Vac BRS; and Thermal Incineration.
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Centorr Vacuum Industries, Nashua, N.H., has developed the MIM-Vac, a custom-engineered high temperature vacuum/ controlled-atmosphere furnace designed specifically for metal injection molding. Tight partial pressure control and even gas flow in conjunction with effective event-based programming and sound retort design allow the entire load to undergo the same series of conditions as a function of time.
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Metlab hardens and press-quenches leaf springs for 1932 Alfa Romeo
January 13, 2014
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Metlab, Philadelphia, recently heat-treated custom fabricated leaf springs of an antique 1932 Alfa Romeo sports car. The springs were fabricated for a Pennsylvania based automobile restorer. The leaf springs, made from HR-5160 steel, were patterned after the original springs, which were too worn to be reused. The replacement springs were hardened and press quenched into the shape of the spring, using a pencil-drawn template made from the originals. Then they were tempered to a final hardness of HRC 28–32, duplicating the hardness as measured on the samples.
Another recent project included the case hardening of reground lifters from a 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud engine. The lifters, which exhibited about 0.010-in. wear, were reground to make them all uniform in size. However, the grinding removed the hardened case, hence the lifters had to be recarburized and rehardened. As-measured surface hardness was HRC 62.
In addition, Metlab is often called upon to nitride O.E.M. as well as reground camshafts, crankshafts, and other engine components to restore these parts to original factory specifications. Camshafts are typically manufactured from 4140 or 4340 pre-heat-treated steel. This steel has a hardness of HRC 28 – 32. Nitriding results in a surface hardness of HRC 60+ and a case depth of up to 0.020 in., providing significant wear protection for the cam lobes and gear teeth.
In addition to hardening and surface treatment services, Metlab offers cryogenic processing on automobile engine, transmission, and brake parts for improving their performance extending their useful life.
http://blog.metlabheattreat.com/posts/#sthash.WmzQjWUK.dpuf
Metlab, Philadelphia, recently heat-treated custom fabricated leaf springs of an antique 1932 Alfa Romeo sports car. The springs were made for a Pennsylvania-based automobile restorer. The leaf springs, made from HR-5160 steel, were patterned after the original springs, which were too worn to be reused. The replacement springs were hardened and press quenched into the shape of the spring, and were tempered to a final hardness of HRC 28–32, duplicating the hardness as measured on the originals.
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Bruker S1 Titan handheld XRF instrument analyzes 37 elements without the need for vacuum
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Bruker Elemental, Kennewick, Wash., introduces the second generation of its S1 Titan handheld XRF analyzer platform. Based on extensive customer feedback, enhancements include a weatherproof IP54-rated housing, and optional integrated camera and small spot collimator. In addition, the protective Titan Detector Shield has been made standard for all models. The patented SharpBeam collimator technology remains a standard feature in all S1 TITAN models. The SharpBeam optimized geometry has many benefits, including improved measurement precision, reduced power requirements, and longer battery life.
The new S1 TITAN is available in four configurations: S1 TITAN 200, 300, 600 and 800. S1 Titan 600 and 800 have a thin film window and FAST SDD detector for analysis of up to 37 elements, including light elements such as Mg, Al, and Si, without the need for a vacuum or helium gas flush. S1 Titan 200 and 300 are value analyzers with SiPIN detectors. When equipped with an aluminized Kapton window, the S1 is also able to measure in-process samples at temperatures up to 500°C.
The new S1 TITAN covers a wide range of applications and materials. Whether it's in aerospace or automotive applications, in metals processing or fabrication, in electronics manufacturing, in a refinery, in a power plant, in mining, in recycling and scrap sorting, in consumer products testing, in field environmental analysis, or in the testing laboratory— the S1 Titan will quickly and accurately analyze the elemental composition and identify the alloys of your sample or parts being tested.
In addition, the S1 TITAN is available configured specifically to analyze precious metals. Given the current fluctuation in gold prices, knowing the exact concentration is critical. Handheld XRF is a very quick and easy way to measure the value of gold jewelry.
www.bruker.com/s1titan
Bruker Elemental, Kennewick, Wash., introduces the second generation of its S1 Titan handheld XRF analyzer platform. Based on extensive customer feedback, enhancements include a weatherproof IP54-rated housing, and optional integrated camera and small spot collimator. In addition, the protective Titan Detector Shield has been made standard for all models. The patented SharpBeam collimator technology remains a standard feature in all S1 TITAN models.
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QuesTek’s Ferrium M54 Steel included in aerospace industry MMPDS Handbook
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QuesTek Innovations LLC, Evanston, Ill., announces that its ultra high-strength, high-toughness Ferrium M54 steel has been approved for inclusion in the aerospace industry's Metallic Materials Properties Development & Standardization (MMPDS) Handbook. QuesTek accelerated M54 steel from a clean sheet design to a precise chemical composition in less than one year, and produced the first 10-ton ingot the following year.
SAE International issued an Aerospace Material Specification (AMS 6516) two years later. With this MMPDS approval, M54 steel has reached full flight qualification from clean sheet design in less than six years.
This marks QuesTek's second fully qualified alloy, following the 2008 MMPDS approval of its ultra high strength, high toughness, corrosion resistant Ferrium S53 alloy, which is being used without toxic cadmium plating in landing gear and other corrosion-sensitive applications.
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering methodology and its Materials by Design technology have enabled QuesTek to design and develop M54 steel to be a cost-effective, drop-in replacement for AerMet 100. The alloy design project was funded under two Small Business Innovation Research contracts sponsored by the U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command.
The MMPDS Handbook provides standardized design values for alloys in aerospace structures, and is accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The A- and B-Basis design minima for M54 steel will first be published in MMPDS-09, allowing engineers to design components of M54 steel for flight safety critical components such as landing gear and helicopter rotor shafts. M54 steel is also an upgrade from 4340 and Maraging steel grades, and is being used in demanding oil and gas and other industry applications.
http://www.questek.com/ferrium-m54.html
QuesTek Innovations LLC, Evanston, Ill., announces that its ultra high-strength, high-toughness Ferrium M54 steel has been approved for inclusion in the aerospace industry’s Metallic Materials Properties Development & Standardization (MMPDS) Handbook. QuesTek accelerated M54 steel from a clean sheet design to a precise chemical composition in less than one year, and produced the first 10-ton ingot the following year.
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ThyssenKrupp to convert process gases from steel production into base chemicals
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ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany, in collaboration with partners from research and industry, is initiating a cross-sector technology transfer project focused on converting process gases from steel production into valuable chemicals. The goal for this collaboration between the steel and chemical industries is to permit cost-effective carbon recycling into fertilizers or fuel.
According to Professor Robert Schlögl, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion in Mülheim, "The mission of our institute is to research the fundamental chemical processes involved in energy conversion and thus contribute to the development of new and more efficient catalysts."
With its subsidiaries ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Germany's biggest steelmaker, and ThyssenKrupp Uhde, a world leading engineering company for chemical, refinery and other industrial plants, and with the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion in Mülheim, ThyssenKrupp AG has already carried out planning and preliminary research in a joint preparatory project.
Interest from potential partners is high: Around 40 representatives from research organizations, universities and companies gathered in Duisburg in December 2013 to launch the project. In addition to the Fraunhofer and Max Planck societies, the group includes Ruhr University Bochum, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the Duisburg-based Fuel Cell Research Center ZBT. Alongside ThyssenKrupp, the industrial partners involved from the start are BASF, Bayer, RWE and Siemens. The group is open to further members.
www.thyssenkrupp.com
ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany, in collaboration with partners from research and industry, is initiating a cross-sector technology transfer project focused on converting process gases from steel production into valuable chemicals. The goal for this collaboration between the steel and chemical industries is to permit cost-effective carbon recycling into fertilizers or fuel.
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