US Army Air Force Engineers Focus on Metals Research (US)

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Engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory are exploring new metals and metal processing techniques for use in future aerospace applications. (Credit Photo @Air Force Research Laboratory)

Carbon-fiber composite materials have been the darling of the aerospace industry in recent years. But, metal still plays a critical role in commercial and military aircraft, especially for applications that involve high temperatures or high stresses, such as engines and landing gear. Engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are exploring new metals and new metal processing techniques for use in hotter, faster and more efficient aircraft and spacecraft being developed for future combat missions. “Until you can make a jet engine out of anything else, metals Continue reading→

US Department of Defense, grants research for detecting structural damage in high-strength ship-building materials (US)

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Haiying Huang, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, has earned a pair of grants worth nearly $900,000 to monitor structural health and detect when and where damage happens. Using a $599,928 grant from the Department of Defense, Huang will attempt to design ultrasound transducers, devices that convert mechanical vibrations to electrical signals or vice versa, that can be glued to ships’ hulls to detect and monitor material degradation that causes corrosions on high-strength ship-building materials. These material degradations are microscale in size and usually cover the entire surface of the hull. If they are not treated, they can cause the alloys to break down and impact the ship’s seaworthiness. Huang’s research will focus on degradations that are early in their development, when they are so small that they are undetectable by Continue reading→

3-D printed tool cuts through titanium, wins innovation prize (US)

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Jimmy Toton inspects a 3D printed steel milling cutter. (Credit Photo@RMIT University)

Ph.D. candidate Jimmy Toton from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, has won the 2019 Young Defence Innovator Award and $15,000 prize at the Avalon International Airshow for the research, which was conducted with Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) and industry partner Sutton Tools. Because the metals used in Defence and aerospace are so strong, making high quality tools to cut them is a major, and expensive, challenge. This collaborative project conducted at RMIT’s Advanced Manufacturing Precinct is the first convincing demonstration of 3-D printed steel tools that can cut titanium alloys as well as, or in some cases better than, conventional steel tools. “Now that we’ve shown what’s possible, the full potential of 3-D printing can start being applied to this Continue reading→

WeAre Group investit 15 millions d’euros dans sa nouvelle usine de Montauban (FR)

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Le sous-traitant aéronautique WeAre Group va créer 200 emplois supplémentaires, d’ici 2023, sur son nouveau site de Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne).

Le sous-traitant aéronautique WeAre Group s’apprête à déménager son usine historique de Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) sur un nouveau site, entièrement réaménagé, toujours à Montauban. 15 millions d’euros d’investissement accompagnent cette opération. 200 emplois supplémentaires devraient être créés d’ici 2023.

Trop à l’étroit dans les 11 000 m² de locaux qu’il occupe à Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne), le sous-traitant aéronautique WeAreGroup, devraient bientôt tourner une nouvelle page de son histoire. D’ici quelques mois, son siège et son usine tarn-et-garonnaise seront relocalisés sur un nouveau site à quelques kilomètres de là, mais toujours sur la commune de Montauban. Une enveloppe globale de 15 millions d’euros est prévue, dont 11 millionsContinue reading→

ATI-Tsingshan JV under Regulatory Microscope for National Security (US)

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US. Specialty Metals Amendment prohibits using non-U.S. melted specialty metals for U.S. Defense applications. “No items for the defense industry are produced by the joint venture due to the commodity-product capability of the Midland plant.”according to Natalie Gillespie, a spokeswoman for ATI.

A group of grass-roots conservative leaders led by Morton Blackwell of the Weyrich Group and Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots has just sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin demanding an immediate security review of a joint venture between a Pittsburgh specialty steel maker and a Chinese firm that is the world’s largest stainless steel producer. Allegheny Technologies hopes to use the joint venture to import 336,000 metric tons of stainless steel slabs every year from an Indonesian mill owned by China’s Tsingshan Group. The slabs – which would be free of any tariffs – would then be turned into 60-inch-wide steel sheets. About 100 new jobs would be created at an Allegheny plant in Midland, Pennsylvania. The conservative leaders say the joint venture between Allegheny and Tsingshan hasn’t yet been reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). “China’s history of stealthy intellectual property theft triggers immediate concerns,” they write. “ATI possesses sensitive intellectual property that China could seek to extract and transfer in order to undercut U.S.economic and military advantages.” The conservative leaders point out that in 2014, hackers from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army were charged with cyber intrusions and economic espionage aimed at three U.S. steel producers, including Allegheny. The concern over such espionage is heightened because Allegheny hasContinue reading→

U.S. launches national security probe into titanium sponge imports (US)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday launched a national security probe into titanium sponge imports, a key input in military aircraft and other equipment like space vehicles, satellites, naval vessels, missiles and munitions. The probe under Section “232” follows an investigation by the Commerce Department in 2017 to review if titanium sponge imports from Japan and Kazakhstan were injuring U.S. producers and was prompted by a petition from U.S.-based Titanium Metals Corp, part of Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s Precision Castparts Corp. In 2017, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted to end its probe into the imports, saying it found no harm. The Commerce Department said the Pentagon supported the national security probe. “Titanium Continue reading→

US Army prints ultra-strong steel parts from powder (US)

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Using advanced additive manufacturing techniques, Army scientists work with an Air Force-invented steel alloy to print intricate geometries with ultra-high-strength. This sample, created using a technique called powder bed fusion, is the symbol of the newly formed Army Futures Command. The steel is 50-percent stronger than what is commercially available. (U.S. Army photo by David McNally)

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Feb. 27, 2019) — Soldiers needing replacement parts may turn to 3-D printers in the future to rapidly deliver reliable and ultra-strong metal parts. Army researchers are looking at new technologies to create steel alloy parts from powder using a laser. At the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory, materials manufacturing scientists say this technology may change everything. “I think it’s going to really revolutionize logistics,” said Dr. Brandon McWilliams, a team lead in the lab’s manufacturing science and technology branch. “Additive manufacturing is going to have a huge impact on sustainment.” While progress remains steady, McWilliams said realizing the dream of quickly printed, reliable 3-D metal parts is still a long way off; however its benefits will be substantial. “You can really reduce your logistics footprint,” he said. “Instead of worrying about carrying a whole Continue reading→

US DOE powers Aluminum and Steelmaking Research through HPC4Manufacturing Program (US)

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Under a newly awarded HPC4Manufacturing project, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will work with the U.S. Steel Corporation on a hot strip mill simulation model that will provide predictions of through-thickness temperature, deformation behavior and associated microstructure. Credit: Photo courtesy of U.S. Steel Corporation.

The HPC4Manufacturing Program announced four federal funding awards for solving key manufacturing challenges in steelmaking and aluminum production through supercomputing. This most recent Call for Proposalshad a special focus — applying the unparalleled HPC capabilities of DOE national labs to steelmaking and aluminum production processes. Under the program, each selected industry partner will have access to the national labs’ HPC machines and expertise to help these industries become more competitive, boost productivity and support American manufacturing jobs.

“Primary metals industries are significant energy users, so opportunities to reduce energy consumption in this area is of great interest to our sponsors,” said HPC4Manufacturing Director Robin Miles of LLNL. “Additionally, this program is helping U.S. steel makers produce the higher strength steels vital to light weighting the next generation of automobiles.

Funded by DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, the HPC4Mfg Program is administered by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) along withContinue reading→

La BEI et Aperam signent un contrat de 100 millions (FR)

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Basé au Luxembourg, Aperam est un acteur mondial du secteur de l’acier inoxydable, de l’acier électrique et des aciers spéciaux. (Photo: Aperam)

La Banque européenne d’investissement et le groupe basé au Luxembourg annoncent la signature d’un contrat de financement pour un montant de 100 millions d’euros. La BEI finance ainsi des technologies avancées de production d’acier inoxydable.

Avec un chiffre d’affaires de 4,68 milliards d’euros et des expéditions d’acier de 1,97 million de tonnes, le groupe Aperam, basé au Luxembourg, est un acteur mondial du secteur de l’acier inoxydable, de l’acier électrique

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Titanium pressure vessel for space exploration built successfully using the Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing process (US)

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A team comprising of Thales Alenia Space, Cranfield University and Glenalmond Technologieshave successfully produced a first full-scale prototype of a titanium pressure vessel to be used in future manned missions for space exploration. The piece is approximately 1m in height and 8.5kg in mass. Made of the titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V), it has been deposited using the Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process, which Cranfield University has pioneered over the last decade. Thanks to being able to go straight from digital drawing to final structure, WAAM has integrated two individual pieces into a single part; eliminating the need for long-lead-time forgings; and substantially reduced the amount of waste material removed by machining. If manufactured traditionally, the component Continue reading→