E the vehicle.
nergy efficiency, in recent years, has become an in- creasingly integral part of designing and manufactur- ing components, no matter the method of production. Whether the motive is commercial, environmental or regulatory, manufacturers know sacred cows can- not get in the way of progress. Metalcasting, with its various processes, is well-suited to meet and exceed customers’ expectations for components that reduce
weight while maintaining physical and mechanical properties. One challenge faced by REL Inc., Calumet, Michigan, a material process
development company with casting capabilities, was repackaging fuel storage. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is commonly used to supplement traditional gasoline-powered engines. But improving the storage of CNG—most com- monly in long cylindrical tubes—may make the cheaper, cleaner-burning fuel a commercial competitor to standard gasoline.
REL Inc., through a grant from a
U.S. Department of Energy program, cast a technically viable conformable tank in an aluminum 206 alloy. Te so-called conformable tank, cast via a low pressure permanent mold process, better uses allowable packaging space to store as much as 35% more CNG. Te shape of the tank also improves flexibility in the placement of the fuel, allowing it to be more commercially viable than the torpedo-shaped tanks currently in use. REL is now partner- ing with a major CNG supplier and a local university in a three-year, $2.1
22 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Mar/Apr 2016 Cylindrical CNG tanks (top) are spatially inefficient, while the proposed conformable tank from REL (bottom) can be stowed underneath
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