50% of the charge is steel, which makes it necessary to add large amounts of silicon alloy to achieve the desired cast iron composition (~2.5% Si). To meet this level of demand, cupolas consumed about 4x105 was oxidized (4x104
large added cost to the foundry ($40x106 waste of energy.
tons of silicon/yr of which about 10% tons of Si). This loss represents not only a /yr), but also a large
The overall goal of this study is to demonstrate the relative advantages and disadvantages of 36% and 65% SiC so as to provide foundries with the information required to optimize
the use of SiC at their facilities. The project will involve sig- nificant in-kind effort by the foundry conducting the work and the steering committee, with AFS support to fund for slag and off-gas analyses and a consultant to assist with data collection and analysis.
Status Update: The plant trial phase of this project is sched- uled to be conducted this summer. The work is being moni- tored by AFS Melting Methods & Materials Cupola Commit- tee (8F). Those wishing to participate should contact Jim Cree, Grede, at
JCree@grede.com.
AFS Advocated & Coordinated Research
Achieving Lightweight Casting Solutions for Defense Applications (ALCS)
The ALCS Program is the result of a FY10 Congressional Appropriation request made by Congressman Schock (R-Il) and Sen. Burris (D-Il.) on behalf of AFS. $1.6 million was approved and signed into the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) FY10 Appropriations Bill. A Cooperative Agreement (CA) is being created with Benet Labs as a response to a BAA (Broad Agency Announcement) that will be the framework for conducting this program. This effort will be for 4-5 years, with around $1.1-1.2 million available for FY10 new start projects and support activity under this CA and the funding signed into the DoD FY10 bill. An ALCS Advisory Board consisting of 22 members from the metalcasting industry, the DoD prime contractors and also government sector (Army Research Labs, Office of Naval Research. WPAFB, Benet, DLA) participated in a kick-off meeting held in Dec. 09.
A Call for White Papers was issued and 34 proposals were re- ceived by the Jan. 31st
deadline. Almost $7,000,000 is requested
funding for first year of activity. This Advisory Board helped down-select the top 10 and then an executive board consisting of AFS Staff and the Government members chose the 7 proj- ects that will receive funding for FY10. It is hoped that a higher level of funding can be secured for FY11 and key AFS Corpo- rate Members and those attending the Government Affairs Con- ference this year will be asked to help seek support from their congressional delegations. An annual review that will be open to AFS Corporate Members will be held with the first meeting an- ticipated for this fall so they can see the technology and process innovations that are a result of the funding support. The benefi- ciaries of the ALCS program will first and foremost be the Warf- ighter, the Military and our membership by promoting castings and a strong North American Industrial base. Those wishing to receive information about how they can support this initiative should contact Thomas Prucha, AFS, at
tprucha@afsinc.org.
International Journal of Metalcasting/Fall 10
81
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