Casting
Technology
Capabilities
The Casting
Technology Group supports the Sustainable Casting Research program
and other research programs within CANMET-MTL where the melting
and casting of metals is required. The group's 17 members –
6 research scientists, 1 physical scientist, 1 engineer, and 9 technicians
and technologists
– provide expertise in the following
areas:
- semi-solid
processing of aluminum and magnesium alloys
- hot-tearing
of aluminum-based aerospace alloys
- mechanical
and thermo-physical properties of magnesium alloys
- heat treatment,
mechanical properties and hot ductility of aluminum alloys for
automotive applications
- permanent-mould
casting and grain refining of magnesium-, aluminum-, and copper-based
alloys
- lead-free
copper alloys for plumbing applications
- thin-wall
ductile iron castings
- inoculation
effects on gray and ductile iron
- heat treatment
of austenitic manganese steels
- pore formation
and feeding behaviour in steel castings
- continuous
casting of steel slabs and billets
- short production
runs of prototypes
Major
Facilities
With a variety
of facilities in melting and refining, casting, heat treatment,
moulding, instrumentation, and chemical analysis, the Casting Technology
Group operates the most comprehensive experimental foundry in Canada.
Members of the group also offer telephone consultation and can arrange
a visit to a foundry to help with process improvement. Major facilities
include:
Melting
and refining
- conventional
induction melting:
- steel:
500 g-450 kg
- copper:
500 g-495 kg
- aluminum:
500 g-160 kg
- vacuum
induction melting: 500 g-220 kg steel capacity (adjustable for
other alloys)
- resistance
melting and holding furnaces:
- aluminum:
70 kg
- magnesium:
40 kg
- composites:
(magnesium: 20 kg; aluminum: 30 kg)
- rotary
degasser
- powder
injection
Casting
- low-pressure
(magnesium: 150 kg; aluminum: 200 kg)
- gravity
permanent-mould
- vacuum-assisted
(and counter-gravity)
- semi-solid
- electromagnetic
stirring
- squeeze
- lost foam
- sand
Heat treatment
- thermally
programmable, atmosphere-controlled heat-treatment furnaces with
various quenching media
- tight temperature
control
- heat treatment
to mill specifications for magnesium alloys
Moulding
- complete
moulding and core-making facilities
- complete
sand and core-testing facilities
- prototyping
Instrumentation
- reduced-pressure
test and AlSCAN for hydrogen measurement in aluminum alloys
- oxygen
probe for steels and copper alloys
- on-line
thermal analysis
- custom
data acquisition and instrumentation for all processes
Chemical
analysis
- optical
emission spectrograph
- gravimetric
analysis (Leco) for copper, sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen
- inductively
coupled plasma
- atomic
absorption
Dr. Yemi Fasoyinu
Group Leader
Telephone: (613) 996-0325
Facsimile: (613) 992-8735
E-mail: ffasoyin@nrcan.gc.ca
Scientific
Services
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