Durable silicone polymer coating repels ice from aircraft wings by internal elastic energy
February 7, 2019
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Researchers from the University of Houston report that they have developed a durable silicone polymer coating capable of repelling ice from any surface. The new material reportedly uses elastic energy localization at the interface where ice meets the material, triggering cracks at the interface that slough off the ice. Dr. Hadi Ghasemi, Bill D. Cook Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering, says it requires minimal force to cause the cracks; the flow of air over the surface of an airplane acts as a trigger, for example.
The material, which is applied as a spray, can be used on any surface, and Prof. Ghasemi says that testing showed it is not only mechanically durable and unaffected by ultraviolet rays, but also does not change the aircraft’s aerodynamic performance. Furthermore, testing indicates that it will last for more than ten years, with no need to reapply.
The coating is based on a new theory in physics called stress localization, which the UH researchers used to tune and predict the properties of new materials. The researchers reported on the theory and their results in a paper in the journal Materials Horizons. “We have developed a new physical concept and the corresponding icephobic material that shows extremely low ice adhesion while having long-term mechanical, chemical, and environmental durability,†they wrote.
Prof. Ghasemi says the findings suggest a way to take trial and error out of the search for new materials, in keeping with the movement of materials science toward a physics-driven approach.
“You put in the properties you want, and the principle will tell you what material you need to synthesize,†he says, noting that the concept can also be used to predict materials with superb antibacterial or other beneficial properties.
http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2019/january-2019/01142019ghasemi-ice-phobic.php
Researchers from the University of Houston report that they have developed a durable silicone polymer coating capable of repelling ice from any surface.
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Ipsen International Holding announces leadership changes in global operations
February 6, 2019
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Ipsen International Holding GmbH, Kleve, Germany, announces that effective February 1, Ipsen Group CEO Thorsten Krüger has moved to the Advisory Board of the company, and has handed over global operational responsibilities to Mr. Geoffrey Somary, who is now CEO of Ipsen Group worldwide.
The Advisory Board thanks Mr. Krüger for his contributions at Ipsen since 2013, and looks forward to his shift from operational responsibility to an advisory capacity, where he will support the further development of the company.
Mr. Somary has held several senior positions within Ipsen, always closely involved with customers and with team members of the company. He has demonstrated the ability to bring together employees of different cultures in a way that delivers the best possible solutions to Ipsen customers.
Ipsen Group Management will be complemented by Mr. Houman Khorram, who will continue to serve as Group CFO, a position he has held since 2013.
The Board is confident that this leadership team, together with Ipsen’s dedicated employees, will continue to advance its unique success story and further strengthen its position as global market leader.
Ipsen designs and manufactures industrial vacuum and atmosphere heat-treating systems, supervisory control systems and predictive maintenance platforms for a wide variety of industries, including Aerospace, Automotive, Commercial Heat Treating, Energy and Medical. With production locations in Europe, North America, and Asia, along with representation in 34 countries, Ipsen is committed to providing 360-degree support for customers worldwide.
www.ipsenusa.com
Ipsen International Holding GmbH, Kleve, Germany, announces that effective February 1, Ipsen Group CEO Thorsten Krüger has moved to the Advisory Board of the company, and has handed over global operational responsibilities to Mr. Geoffrey Somary, who is now CEO of Ipsen Group worldwide.
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Spray Tips: Cold spray equipment and process parameters
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The schematic shows a typical cold-gas spray system: The process gas is introduced through a gas control module to a manifold system containing a gas heater and powder-metering device. The pressurized gas is heated to a preset temperature, often by a coil of an electrical resistance-heated tube.
The gas is heated not to heat or soften spray particles, but instead to achieve higher sonic flow velocities, which ultimately result in higher particle impact velocities. The high-pressure gas is introduced into the converging section of a de Laval-type nozzle (i.e., a converging/diverging nozzle). Then the gas is accelerated to sonic velocity in the throat region of the nozzle, and the flow then becomes supersonic (Mach numbers ranging from 2 to 4) as it expands in the diverging section of the nozzle.
The powder feedstock is delivered by a precision metering device and typically is introduced into the high-pressure side of the nozzle in alignment with the throat orifice.
https://dl.asminternational.org/books/book/12/chapter/133714/Cold-Spray-Process
The schematic shows a typical cold-gas spray system: The process gas is introduced through a gas control module to a manifold system containing a gas heater and powder-metering device.
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One Minute Mentor: Normalizing Ductile Iron
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Normalizing (air cooling following austenitizing) can result in a considerable improvement in tensile strength and may be used in the production of ductile iron of ASTM grade 100-70-03, which is shown in the figure. The microstructure obtained by normalizing depends on the composition of the castings and the cooling rate. The graph shows hardness versus strength and ductilityof ductile iron.
The composition of the casting dictates its hardenability, that is, the relative position of the fields in the time-temperature CCT diagram. The cooling rate depends on the mass of the casting, but it also may be influenced by the temperature and movement of the surrounding air during cooling. Normalizing generally produces a homogeneous structure of fine pearlite, if the iron is not too high in silicon content and has at least a moderate manganese content (0.3 to 0.5% or higher).
https://dl.asminternational.org/books/book/52/chapter/639854/Heat-Treatment-of-Ductile-Iron
Normalizing (air cooling following austenitizing) can result in a considerable improvement in tensile strength and may be used in the production of ductile iron of ASTM grade 100-70-03, which is shown in the figure.
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Can-Eng Furnaces commissions continuous mesh belt heat treat system for auto fasteners
February 5, 2019
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Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd., Niagara Falls, Ontario, recently commissioned a state-of-the-art continuous mesh belt heat treat system for the production of high quality automotive fasteners in the Piedmont Region of Italy. This Italian project was one of four installation locations for a global producer of specialty automotive fasteners.
The company chose Can-Eng based on proven reliability, efficiency, and soft part-handling features that are hallmarks of its mesh belt furnace systems. The high-volume fastener system features energy-efficient combustion and waste heat recovery systems, atmosphere-controlled mesh belt hardening system, oil quench, post wash system, temper furnace, soluble oil system, bi-directional conveyor discharge, and its Level 2 SCADA system.
The PET system provides the user with access to vital Industry 4.0 features, such as product traceability, detailed process data for continuous process improvements, comprehensive equipment diagnostics, cost analysis, and inventory management. It also integrates Can-Eng’s energy reduction system, which significantly lowers energy requirements. The system was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2018, and has met and exceeded the client’s performance expectations.
www.can-eng.com
Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd., Niagara Falls, Ontario, recently commissioned a state-of-the-art continuous mesh belt heat treat system for the production of high quality automotive fasteners in the Piedmont Region of Italy.
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Seco Warwick vacuum heat treating/brazing system includes high-pressure gas quench
Source: ASM International
Seco Warwick, Meadville, Pa., announces that is has provided a vacuum heat treatment and brazing system equipped with high-pressure gas quench to Grupo TTT for its facility in Bergara, Spain.
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Lindberg’s Treet-All box furnace is modular, stackable, with 2050°F maximum temperature
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Lindberg MPH, Riverside, Mich., reports that its Treet-All light industrial box furnace is suited for multiple applications, including annealing, ashing, austempering, brazing, preheating, and solution treating. The company recently shipped a Treet All to a customer in the technology industry.
The maximum temperature rating is 2050°F, with work chamber dimensions of 12x24x12 inches. This furnace is part of Lindberg’s modular, stackable, and space-saving line of box furnaces, and it meets and exceeds industry standards for heat-up rates and outer-shell temperatures. It is ideal for tool rooms, plant maintenance, and production applications that require maximum heat-treating, hardening, and tempering capabilities in a minimum amount of space.
The Treet-All furnaces are designed to minimize heat loss and save space. They also offer quick, consistent heat up rates, full access to the work chamber, minimum heating of the outer skin, product load protection, and precise control with long life and reliability.
www.lindbergmph.com
Lindberg MPH, Riverside, Mich., reports that its Treet-All light industrial box furnace is suited for multiple applications, including annealing, ashing, austempering, brazing, preheating, and solution treating.
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Bodycote plans to build new facility in Illinois for advanced heat treating technologies
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Bodycote, U.K., the world’s largest provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services, announces plans to open a new heat treating facility by late 2019 in Elgin, Illinois. The plant will support the automotive, agricultural, mining, construction, and various other manufacturing supply chains in the Upper Midwest region.
The new facility will include advanced heat treating technologies such as low-pressure carburizing and carbonitriding, vacuum nitriding and ferritic nitrocarburizing, Bodycote’s proprietary Corr-I-Dur process, and traditional carburizing of large parts.
According to Dan McCurdy, President Automotive & General Industrial, North America & Asia division, “This investment demonstrates Bodycote’s commitment to serving the Midwest with the services our customers ask for and require.â€
www.bodycote.com
Bodycote, U.K., the world’s largest provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services, announces plans to open a new heat treating facility by late 2019 in Elgin, Illinois.
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Department of Energy to award $38 million for projects to advance coal-fired power plants
January 29, 2019
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The U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, announces up to $38 million in federal funding for cost-shared R&D projects enhancing technologies that improve the overall performance, reliability, and flexibility of the nation’s existing coal-fired power plant fleet.
Coal is vital to the Nation’s energy security and provides around 30 percent of U.S. electricity. DOE is funding research to modernize the grid and improve the existing coal-fired power plant fleet under the Office of Fossil Energy’s (FE) funding opportunity announcement Improving Efficiency, Reliability, and Flexibility of Existing Coal-Based Power Plants.
“Utilizing all of our energy resources to ensure the reliability and resiliency of our nation’s electricity is a top priority for the Department of Energy,†said Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes. “Modernizing and advancing the existing coal fleet is imperative to this mission. By improving the efficiency of our baseload generation, we are strengthening the reliability of all our electricity generation.â€
“Along with the Department’s Coal FIRST initiative, modernizing the existing coal-fired fleet is critical to our effort to allow existing coal plants to load, follow and operate more efficiently. This research and development will lower emissions and foster new technologies beneficial to our electric grid,†said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg.
This FOA will develop advanced technologies that improve the overall performance, reliability, and flexibility of the nation’s existing coal-fired power plant fleet. Projects will support DOE’s Transformative Power Generation Program and Crosscutting Research Program. R&D funded under this FOA will also benefit FE’s efforts to advance the coal-fired plant of the future as part of the Coal FIRST initiative. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage these projects. Read more details of the FOA here.
https://www.energy.gov/fe/office-fossil-energy
The U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, announces up to $38 million in federal funding for cost-shared R&D projects enhancing technologies that improve the overall performance, reliability, and flexibility of the nation’s existing coal-fired power plant fleet.
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Supersonic Spray repairs 1937 vintage aluminum oil pan with its cold spray technology
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Supersonic Spray Technologies, a division of Centerline, Windsor, Ontario, announces that its engineers have restored an aluminum casting oil pan on a 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta with its cold spray technology. RX Autoworks, a classic car restoration company, contacted SST for assistance in restoring the oil pan. The SST job shop team prepped the parts and applied cold spray to repair the damage, restoring the original oil pan to full mechanical functionality and aesthetically to its original appearance. This enabled RX Autoworks to salvage and restore the irreplaceable oil pan almost back to its original state. (Photo shows the untreated oil pan above, finished oil pan below.)
Wear/tear and corrosion over the years had a severe impact on the aesthetics and functionality of the oil pan. There were visible cracks on the inside that were causing leaks. The outside of the pan did not look aesthetically pleasing. Replacing components on vintage vehicles is undoubtedly not an option as they are long out of production. Additionally, aluminum casting alloys used to fabricate components like this are heat treated and are sensitive to procedures such as welding or conventional thermal spray techniques. Therefore, selecting a repair technique that did not compromise the integrity of this one-of-a-kind component was paramount.
The SST cold spray process enables metal consolidation that can dimensionally restore heat-sensitive components with minimal or no thermal effects. Therefore, SST manual cold spray technology, operating at low pressures and temperatures, was considered a reliable and effective solution for this challenge.
https://www.supersonicspray.com/uploadshttps://www.asminternational.org/documents/SST%20RX%20Autoworks%20Rev%202.pdf
Supersonic Spray Technologies, a division of Centerline, Windsor, Ontario, announces that its engineers have restored an aluminum casting oil pan on a 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta with its cold spray technology.
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