The Pigman College of Engineering’s Center for Aluminum Technology was established in September 1999 as a multidisciplinary center providing research and educational services to the aluminum industry in the United States. Aluminum industry leaders, local officials, the University of Kentucky, and the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet collaborated to form the nation’s only aluminum research laboratory supported by such a partnership. One of the ways that the research and educational services are delivered to the Aluminum industry is through Secat, Inc.
The Center supports and conducts research and development, provides technical assistance to the aluminum industry, assists with training and retaining an educated workforce, and promotes and participates in the expanding use of aluminum. The Center provides research opportunities for the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, along with non-degree students from community colleges and technical schools.
Affiliated with the Center are researchers from a variety of disciplines, including materials engineering, chemical engineering, mathematics, chemistry, electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering. The Center is funded through two sources: an endowment established with private contributions from the aluminum industry and matching support from Kentucky’s Research Challenge Trust Fund, and with state and federal grants.
Shridas Ningileri - Directorsningileri@engr.uky.eduXiyu Wen - Research Associate Sr.xwen2@engr.uky.edu Yan Jin - Research Associate Senioryjin@secat.net
I. S. Jawahir - Professorjawahir@engr.uky.edu
Welcome to the University of Kentucky, the flagship institution of higher education for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We at UK have long recognized the pivotal role we play in the life of the commonwealth – a role that is integral to the economic and intellectual prosperity of Kentucky’s citizens, to America and to the world at large.
We aspire to make the Pigman College of Engineering one of the nation’s great engineering schools, recognized nationally and internationally for excellence in teaching, research, and public service.
The UK Sloan Industry Center is a community of scholars interested in identifying, facilitating and disseminating innovative observation-based business research on keeping America’s aluminum industry sustainable. Key themes for the Center are: Recycling programs, workforce development and deployment, and supply chain management. The research results from the Center will contribute significantly to the competitiveness of the Aluminum industry to a global marketplace.
The University of Michigan is one of the great public research universities of the United States. Guided by the commitment and vision of its Regents and Executive Officers, since the nineteenth century the University has provided a national model of a complex, diverse, and comprehensive public institution of higher learning that supports excellence in research; provides outstanding undergraduate, graduate, and professional education; and demonstrates commitment to service through partnerships and collaborations that extend to the community, region, state, nation, and around the world.
University of Missouri-Rolla is Missouri’s premier technological university, founded in 1870 as the Missouri School of Mines (MSM). At UMR, students can choose from more than a dozen different engineering programs, as well as degrees and minors in English, psychology, history, mathematics, statistics, computer science, chemistry, physics and biological sciences in The College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Management.
As the twenty-first century dawns, the University is investing in research centers of excellence as well as in key academic programs as we seek to provide an outstanding education for all undergraduate and graduate students. The University aims to provide the knowledge that all citizens need to succeed in today’s rapidly changing world, whether that involves mastery of computing technology, access to the finest health services, protection of our fragile environment, or navigating the complex interactions of the United States with all parts of the globe.
Albany Research CenterTo provide stewardship for the Nation’s mineral resources by conserving materials produced from minerals.
Argonne National LaboratoryArgonne National Laboratory is one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest research centers. It is also the nation’s first national laboratory, chartered in 1946.Oak Ridge National LaboratoryOak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducts basic and applied research and development to create scientific knowledge and technological solutions that strengthen the nation’s leadership in key areas of science.
Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryThe Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNL) applies their capabilities to meet selected environmental, energy, health and national security objectives, strengthen the economy, and support the education of future scientists and engineers.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Sloan Foundation, a philanthropic nonprofit institution, was established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr., then President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation. Secat is an active participant in the Sloan Industry Center for a Sustainable Aluminum Industry.
The Aluminum Association
The Aluminum Association, Inc. is the trade association for producers of primary aluminum, recyclers and semi-fabricated aluminum products.
EWI
Edison Welding Institute is the leading engineering and technology organization in North America dedicated to the research and development of materials joining.
IMR Test Labs
IMR Test Labs offers a complete scope of materials research and testing services, including failure analysis, expert testimony, lab management, product testing, training and more.
Light Metal Age
Light Metal Age, read worldwide, is the only U.S. magazine exclusively devoted to primary production and semi-fabrication of light metals.
McConnell Technology & Training Center
The McConnell Technology & Training Center (MTTC) provides technology consulting and training for individuals and businesses, and innovative technology solutions for the U.S. Navy.
Six Sigma and Advanced Controls
SAC offers six sigma quality technologies, training, software products, and services for improving the bottom-line of manufacturing and transactional processes.
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
Headquartered in the United States but international in both its membership and activities, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) is a rare professional organization that encompasses the entire range of materials and engineering, from minerals processing and primary metals production to basic research and the advanced applicationsof materials.
U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
AFRL's mission is leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air and space forces. It is a full-spectrum laboratory, responsible for planning and executing the Air Force's entire science and technology budget, basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development.
U.S. Department of Energy
The Department of Energy’s mission is to foster a secure and reliable energy system that is environmentally and economically sustainable, to be a responsible steward of the Nation’s nuclear weapons, to clean up our own facilities and to support continued United States leadership in science and technology.
ITP
The Industrial Technologies Program partners with U.S. industry to improve industrial energy efficiency and environmental performance. The program’s primary role is to invest in high-risk, high-value research and development that will reduce industrial energy requirements while stimulating economic productivity and growth.
ITP: Aluminum
The Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) works toward shared goals with aluminum companies in the Industry of the Future (IOF) partnership. IOF has been feeding the technology pipeline so that U.S. aluminum producers will have the technologies they need to achieve their long-term economic, energy, and environmental goals.
ITP: Hydrogen
The Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program is working with partners to accelerate the development and successful market introduction of these technologies.
Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development
Success in economic development depends on forging an effective team. The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, through the Economic Development Partnership Board, works closely with communities, local economic development agencies, and utility companies to provide a stronger Kentucky economy.
Kentucky Division of Energy
The Kentucky Division of Energy (KDOE) promotes the wise use of energy for a healthier, more prosperous and sustainable future.
This project will identify melt conditions that will significantly reduce the oxidation of aluminum. The potential benefits of this project include: estimated annual energy savings in excess of 58 trillion Btu; lowered cost of aluminum products; reduced industrial emissions and, significantly increase recycling capability of the aluminum industry.
This project will develop in-line heatin/annealing protocols for continuously cast aluminum sheet prior to coiling. The focus is on utilizing a process optimization model and increasing the understanding of the evolution of microstructure and microtexture in continuously cast sheet during in-line anneal. The implementation of this work will result in the production of continuous cast alloy sheet with improved formability at high levels of productivity, consistency and quality.
This project will reduce aluminum ingot scrap by developing advanced models for ingot stress crack formation and butt deformation. The potential benefits of this project include: improved ingot consistency and quality; reduction in ingot scalping; elimination of butt sawing; annual energy savings of over six trillion BTU; annual cost savings of more than $500 million and emissions reduction.
The goal of this project is to improve energy in aluminum melting by 25%. Project partners will build an experimental reverberatory furnace (ERF) with the ability to vary burner design and other furnace parameters. Combinations of oxy-fuel, staged combustion, new refactory/insulation materials, and intelligent and robust control systems will be assessed.Results from the ERF will be supplemented with modeling studies of mass, heat, and fluid flow and then extended to full scale furnaces. Optimal furnace systems and the most effective technologies will be demonstrated on full-scale furnaces with the coorperation of the industrial partners.The research will focus on determining the influence of the cast microstructure and the spatial distribution of the intermetallic constituents and dispersion phases of the microtexture during deformation and recrystallization. The object of this research is to study in detail the difference in structure between DC and CC aluminum alloys that leads to the difference in formability. This work will concentrate on the 5000 series aluminum alloys, which have great potential for continuous cast product market growth. The difference in formability will be correlated with the difference in bulk texture and microtexture of the two materials. The fundamental insight obtained from this research will provide a science-based approach for optimizing wide continuous casting technology.
The research will focus on determining the influence of the cast microstructure and the spatial distribution of the intermetallic constituents and dispersion phases of the microtexture during deformation and recrystallization. The object of this research is to study in detail the difference in structure between DC and CC aluminum alloys that leads to the difference in formability. This work will concentrate on the 5000 series aluminum alloys, which have great potential for continuous cast product market growth. The difference in formability will be correlated with the difference in bulk texture and microtexture of the two materials. The fundamental insight obtained from this research will provide a science-based approach for optimizing wide continuous casting technology.
This project focuses on the development and integration of technologies that will enable significant reduction in the energy consumption and environmental impacts of melting aluminum through substitution of immersion heating for the conventional radiant burner methods used in reverberatory furnaces. Specifically, the program will couple heater improvements with furnace modeling that will enable cost-effective retrofits to a range of existing furnace sizes, reducing the economic barrier to application. This project is directly relevant to the Metalcasting industry since melting represents 55% of the energy used in the industry, yet there is substantial installed capital that inhibits adoption of technologies that require complete replacement to obtain benefits.
This project will address materials improvements for enhanced heat recovery, reliability and competitiveness in two industries: Aluminum and Forest Products. The Aluminum and Forest Products Industry Technology Roadmaps specifically identify the need for fuel efficiency and cost effectiveness in melters and recovery boilers, respectively. The proposed project will concentrate on recuperators associated with aluminum melting furnaces and the superheater and wall tubes in black liquor recovery boilers. These are only two of a large number of heat recovery systems that have issues with the performance of components, but these two were identified because of the significant energy savings that could be realized from material improvements and associated increases in reliability. In addition, there are several common features for these two areas including flue gas temperatures, requirements for high duty cycle, and service in oxidizing and reducing environments. In both recuperators and primary air ports, there is an issue of local combustion and the effects of localized high temperature on the tubes. The recuperator and superheater tubes also have common issues of distortion and corrosion over a limited area.
The research objectives of this project are to develop multifunctional metallic and refractory materials and surface treatment, coatings and claddings for life improvement of molten metal containment and submerged hardware and improved thermal management in aluminum, steel, and metal casting industries. The project goal is to extend the molten metal containment and submerged hardware life by an order of magnitude and improve thermal efficiency with energy savings of 333 trillion BTU/year and cost savings of approximately $1 billion/year by 2020.
This project presents an integrated approach to developing and testing new materials solutions to enable pipeline delivery of hydrogen at high pressures. Pipeline transmission is the most economical method for hydrogen delivery in large quantities from the point of generation to point of use. Literature to-date clearly shows that hydrogen embrittlement of pipeline steels is one of the limiting factors in the cost-effective, high-pressure transport of hydrogen. Over the past few years, significant advances have been made in understanding the mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement in a wide variety of materials. Furthermore, integration of computational techniques with experimental methods has resulted in the development of designer materials along with the scientific methodologies for developing customized materials better suited for any given application. We strongly believe that revolutionary advances are now possible in addressing the problem of hydrogen embrittlement of steels.
The research objective is to develop a quantitative (mathematical) model for the prediction of the crystallographic texture and formability of CC aluminum alloy sheet as a function of processing parameters. The model will be based on thorough experimental investigation of the evolution of microstructure and texture, and their effects on formability of the alloys. This model will show the effect of alloy composition, hot rolling procedure, homogenization practice as well as annealing temperature on the texture evolution during cold rolling and annealing. It will subsequently allow the prediction of formability both from a mechanical anistropy point of view as well as from a limit strain consideration. It is anticipated that the model will be valuable in the optimization of the processing of continuous cast aluminum alloys and the development of aluminum alloys for industrial thermo-mechanical processing.
