INDUSTRY NEWS
WPI’s Lados Receives NSF Award for Nanoceramic Reinforced Al Diana Lados, associate professor of
mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Worcester, Mass., and founding director of the univer- sity’s Integrative Materials Design Center (iMdc), has received a three-year, $424,000 award from the National Science Founda- tion (NSF) to support the development of a new way to manufacture metal-ceramic composites, which can be used to make vehicles lighter and more energy effi cient while increasing performance. T e research will focus on ceramic-
reinforced metal matrix composites, which are produced by incorporating ceramic particles within aluminum to enhance its strength and high operating temperature. With award, Lados will conduct fun- damental and applied research aimed at developing an energy and cost-effi cient process for making nanoceramic rein- forced metal matrix composites, overcom- ing the limitations of existing processes and enabling the creation of materials with unprecedented combinations of desirable properties and sustainability benefi ts. “T is project is another signifi cant step
in a large ongoing research program dedi- cated to developing novel materials and
processes using a combination of fun- damental materials science knowledge, property evaluations, and computational modeling,” Lados said. Unlike current methods, in which the
ceramic particles are mixed into the metal during processing, the new technique involves the formation of nanoreinforce- ments directly within the molten metal.
T e resulting composite materials will contain ceramic particles of the proper size, distributed uniformly in and fi rmly bonded to the metal matrix. Less expen- sive and more fl exible and energy effi cient than existing methods, the process can be used with a broad selection of metal- ceramic systems to manufacture a wide variety of structural components.
Diana Lados is at work in WPI’s laboratory. NEWSCAST Can-Eng Furnaces International
Ltd., Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, has received a contract to design, manufacture and commission an automated system for heat treating lightweight aluminum automotive structural components for a Tier 1 automotive component supplier. With locations in North American and China, the metalcaster will install a solu- tion furnace with rapid quench transfer capabilities and an artifi cial aging oven using natural gas heating. Both installa- tions include Can-Eng’s Precision Air Quench (PAQ) Technology.
November 2014 MODERN CASTING | 13
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