Low Gravity Boosts Computerized CastingRESEARCH IN LOW GRAVITY HAS TAKEN AN important step toward making metal products used in homes, automobiles and aircraft less expensive, safer and more durable. Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and industry are partnering with NASA to develop the first accurate computer model predictions of molten metals and molding materials used in a manufacturing process called casting. Cast alloy parts are formed by mixing and pouring melted metals into a mold. The first commercial use of the new computer information is being made by Howmet Industries of Whitehall, Michigan, to more precisely design and cast aircraft turbine blades. In a similar activity, Ford Motor Company's casting plant in Cleveland, Ohio, is using the information developed by the new computer models to improve the casting process of automobile and light truck engine blocks. "We're doing the long-range research that industry really needs to improve its final products," said Dr. Tony Overfelt, director of the Solidification Design Center at Auburn University. "We're benefiting the American public—those who pay for the research and use the products." Cast metal parts are used in 90 percent of all durable goods, such as washing machines, refrigerators, stoves, lawn mowers, cars, boats and aircraft. Sales of cast parts in the United States alone total $25 billion to $30 billion a year, according to the American Foundrymen's Society in Des Plaines, Illinois. "The NASA and Auburn University-led research project on turbine blade castings has enhanced our capabilities, helped us realize a cost savings and accelerated the development cycle for rocket hardware," said Dr. Thomas Tom, director of advanced technology for Howmet. "Partnering with NASA offers unique research opportunities to improve methods of production used in the foundry industry to enhance the quality of castings," said American Foundrymen's Society director of research, Dr. Joe Santner. He added, "Advanced research into new processes makes casting more affordable, reliable and expands their utility." Besides the American Foundrymen's Society, three companies from industry participated in the Auburn University-led casting research consortium. These are Anter Corp. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Thermophysical Properties Research Laboratory, Inc., in West Lafayette, Indiana, and PCC Airfoils Inc. in Beachwood, Ohio. High-temperature metal alloy parts for the aerospace and auto industry can make aircraft and vehicles stronger, lighter and more efficient, but casting typically requires three to four years to develop an effective process. "We started with experiments on the ground," Overfelt said. "Then we went aboard a NASA KC-135 aircraft flying an arc pattern in low gravity to refine our research. Our goal," he added, "is to continue to produce accurate measurements for all the alloys used by the casting industry. This information can be used by American manufacturers to standardize metal-mixing 'recipes' and to compete more effectively in the worldwide market." Auburn University is one of NASA's ten Commercial Space Centers. These centers serve as a focal point for NASA partnerships with industry and universities, encouraging unique space-related research opportunities to develop new products and services. The Space Products Development Office of the Microgravity Research Program at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages NASA's Commercial Space Center program. For more information, contact Rose Allen at Marshall Space Flight
Center's Space Products Development Office. |
A computer-generated model of ground-based casting using precise data can only be gathered from space experiments that provide the absence of impurity contamination and buoyancy convection effects.
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