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versity and Schorn Associates. Updates on these projects and others under this AMC slate of projects were given during the JDMTP Benet Technology Review held June 6-7, 2011. Those interested in information on the program or attending should contact Thornton C. White, ATI, Senior Program Manager, at whitet@aticorp.org or visit the ATI website to register online at: amc.aticorp.org/techreview.html.


High Strength, High Toughness Cast Aluminum Alloy


There is an ongoing need to reduce the weight and cost of mili- tary weapon systems. High strength, high toughness cast alumi- num alloys could meet this need in applications such as armor and structural components. During the first year of research the chemistry was optimized for an existing high strength alu- minum alloy (BAC 100), which may be suitable for mortar base applications, and develop a mechanical property database for designers. This alloy was developed for military applications as a potential substitute for wrought aluminum alloy 2519 but needs to be optimized for specific applications. After this optimiza- tion, the statistical variation in mechanical properties (strength, toughness) was measured to assist in obtaining properties for design purposes. The goal of this material development pro- gram was to produce an aluminum casting alloy with proper- ties that meet MIL-DTL-46192C, aluminum alloy armor, rolled plate and weldable standards. In the second year, the focus of the research is to develop ultra-high strength (>600 MPa yield strength), cast aluminum alloys with reasonable tensile ductility (>8%) based on the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu system. These advanced, ultra high strength, cast aluminum alloys can have exception- ally high strength but suffer from a lack of ductility (essentially zero). It is hypothesized that the lack of ductility is caused by the combination of two microstructural features; an interden- dritic network of intermetallic particles and randomly dispersed microporosity. These microstructural features are caused by the solidification characteristics of these alloys (long freezing range, very little isothermal solidification and nucleation occur- ring simultaneously throughout the casting), which produces significant segregation of alloying elements and prevents ad- equate feeding during solidification


During all phases of the development, both high strength and high toughness variants will be developed for specific military applica- tions. The principal investigators for this project are Dr. Robin Foley and John Griffin, University of Alabama at Birmingham.


Developing an Improved Combination of Strength and Permeability for Investment Shells Used With Foam Patterns


The importance of this project is that manufacturing processes to produce larger complex shapes with tight dimensional toler- ances is needed. This is especially true for lower volume and higher strength cast materials, like steel, which is important in the area of large caliber weapons systems development and production. Investment casting with foam patterns is currently a preferred technology with Benet for producing limited run, large scale (over 300 lbs.) parts of complex shape. This technol- ogy will allow the production of lighter weight parts. This proj- ect will improve thin section fill and dimensional reproducibility for steel castings, such as muzzle brake and breech components (loading trays and raven breech nozzles, for example). The po- tential for this technology to address this need has been dem- onstrated, but optimization is required to take full advantage of the potential of the technology to improve quality and reduce production lead times. The program will combine development activity and tests conducted at MS&T with industrial trials on defense-relevant components. It is anticipated that future work could focus on additional components, more complex assem- blies and other cast metals and alloys. The principal investigator for this project is Prof. Von Richards, Missouri University of Science and Technology.


Visual Inspection of Cast Products


This project will provide a comprehensive investigation on ways to improve visual inspection tasks for the metalcasting in- dustry. The major areas of investigation will include: impact of human factors on the inspection process, environmental vari- ables, training, surface anomaly mapping and case studies with technology transfer. This project is jointly sponsored by SFSA, AFS and NADCA. The principal investigators are Frank Peters, Iowa State University, and Ted Schorn, Schorn Associates.


AFS Information Services Casting Process and Alloy Assistance


The AFS website offers assistance for casting design engineers in selecting the best casting process for a potential component, and also provides casting alloy design and property data on many com- monly used alloys. The website provides casting users, design en- gineers and purchasers with relevant and accurate information on casting capabilities and properties, providing easily accessible and retrievable information from a single site. The alloy data can be quickly exported to spreadsheet or FEA tools. The site is housed on the AFS Metalcasting Design website www.metalcastingdesign. com and is part of the Metalcasting Process Selector tool. The


International Journal of Metalcasting/Spring 2012


comprehensive site includes assistance for selection of alloys, cast- ing process, alloy property data for many common alloys and a metalcaster directory to locate potential casting sources.


Technical Resource


Technical department staff and technical committee members provide quarterly columns for Modern Casting and Metal Casting design & Purchasing. The quarterly column, CastTIP, documents the best practices for various procedures and tests used in the metalcasting industry. A new column, the Defect Detective, will discuss various casting defects and potential


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