Molten Aluminum Spills At Detroit Lakes Foundry

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. - Crews were chipping away aluminum that spilled from a valve and coated a floor 2 1/2 inches deep at a Detroit Lakes foundry. Almost three tons of the molten metal spilled at Team Industries on Monday morning. Plant manager Jeff Sullivan says one of four furnaces was being cleaned when the cleaning apparatus struck a value, dumping the aluminum on the floor. No one was hurt. The spill was expected to be cleaned up in time for the second shift. A damage estimate was not available. The aluminum covered an area ranging from 1,200 to 1,500 square feet.

Associated Press

Why does a ball go farther when hit with an aluminum bat?

Babe Ruth's Baseball Bat

Asif Shakur, Chair of Physics and Engineering at Salisbury State University, gives the following explanation:

Aluminum is a hard material. It doesn't have a lot of "give." In other words, aluminum is highly elastic. Therefore, very little of the ball's initial kinetic energy (the energy associated with motion) is used up in permanently deforming the aluminum. Indeed, the aluminum springs back quickly and the ball retains much of its initial energy. In contrast, wood is less elastic: it is deformed permanently and to a greater extent than aluminum. As a result, a ball colliding with a wooden bat, such as the replica of Babe Ruth's Louisville Slugger (below), loses more of its initial kinetic energy. At the extreme, a ball colliding with silly putty--a plastic that is completely inelastic--could lose almost all its kinetic energy.

During an elastic collision, a ball experiences an incredibly large force for an incredibly short time, causing it to reverse direction at a speed that can be greater than its initial speed. For example, a bullet gains speed when it ricochets off an approaching artillery shell, but looses almost all of its kinetic energy when shot into a wooden block. One must be very careful to distinguish between the expressions "losing kinetic energy" and "losing energy." The total energy is not lost; the kinetic energy is transformed into other forms of energy such as heat. Although heat is a wonderful thing on a cold morning, it does not make our ball move any faster.
The law of conservation of momentum--a profound physical law--governs the motion of colliding objects. An object's momentum equals the product of its mass and its velocity, or mv. And conservation means that the total momentum of objects entering into a collision equals their total momentum after the collision. This law holds whether the collision is elastic or inelastic. On the other hand, the objects' kinetic energy--equal to 1/2mv2--before the collision is not necessarily equal to the kinetic energy after the collision. Indeed, elastic collisions are characterized by the conservation of kinetic energy, whereas inelastic collisions are characterized by the "loss" of kinetic energy into heat, sound and so forth.

Unfortunately, the only way to make this discussion more cogent is to resort to equations. Consider a bullet of mass m and speed v colliding with a stationary block of wood of mass M. After the collision, the bullet is lodged in the wood and the "system" of both the bullet and the block move with a common speed V. Conservation of momentum then says that mv + 0 = (m+M)V. It would be incorrect to write a "conservation of kinetic energy" equation for this case, along the lines of 1/2mv2 +0 = 1/2(M+m)V2. That equation is patently incorrect. In fact, the first equation implies that the second cannot be true! Try yourself by plugging in some numbers. To further elucidate this point, let us calculate the ratio of the kinetic energy of the bullet and block system and the initial kinetic energy of the bullet: what is 1/2(M+m)V2 divided by 1/2mv2?

From the first equation, we know that V = m/(M+m). Substituting this value into our ratio, we find that the kinetic energy of the bullet and block divided by the kinetic energy of bullet alone equals m/(M+m). If m is 10 grams and M is 990 grams, the bullet loses more than 99 percent of its initial kinetic energy.

The moral of the story is that if you want the ball to have a high speed (lots of kinetic energy), make sure that the collision is as close to being elastic as possible. Of course, this begs the question: Why not use a big, bad steel bat? But that's another story for another day!

From www.sciam.com

How to Get Aluminum From Bauxite

An employee at the Alcoa San Ciprian, Spain, plant examines a conveyor belt
full of bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is made.

This video from the Discovery Channel shows the process by which aluminum is made from bauxite.

View the video.

Learn more.

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CastExpo'08 Highlights Global Warming, Energy Costs

U.S. dependence on oil, escalating energy costs, and climate change legislation are all important issues facing metalcasters today. All three of these topics will be featured at the 112th Metalcasting Congress to be held in conjunction with CastExpo'08 this May in Atlanta.The U.S. dependence on petroleum for transportation fuels has been a great cause for concern. The Hoyt Memorial Lecture, "FreedomCAR and Casting: Research & Development of Cast Automotive Components," by Joseph Carpenter Jr., U.S. Department of Energy, on Monday, May 19, at 10:15 a.m., highlights the latest research in advanced automotive technologies aimed at reducing reliance on petroleum for transportation. The lecture will focus on the major role cast aluminum and magnesium automotive components have played in the research. Global climate change legislation is a hot topic; however, its final effect on the metalcasting industry remains to be seen. The special session, "Global Warming and the Metalcasting Industry," on Tuesday, May 20, at 8:30 a.m., will inform you of AFS's involvement in climate change issues, define key issues, preview pending legislation, and describe potential costs of compliance. Plan to attend this session to gain awareness of the potential effect global warming legislation will have on your operation.The cost of energy is a big part of the operating budget for metalcasting facilities, and any reduction in energy consumption results in direct bottom-line savings. The special congress workshop, "Forum on Energy Savings," on Tuesday, May 20, at 10:00 a.m., focuses on simple changes metalcasting facilities can make that result in major reductions in these costs. Using metalcasting facility case studies, the workshop will demonstrate how practical energy saving techniques can be applied immediately to your operation.The AFS Town Hall Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 17, at 11:30 a.m., will review the latest programs offered by AFS/CMI, as well as a chance to meet the AFS National Officers, Board of Directors and staff. Come prepared to discuss current and future metalcasting issues.Don't wait. Register early at reduced rates at www.castexpo.com.

Yamaha to introduce DiASil cylinder in India

Parallel to a slew of launches, Yamaha Motor India is aiming to demonstrate its technological prowess with the launch of DiASil Cylinder in the Indian market. Yamaha “DiASil Cylinder” is used on the new 150cc YZF-R15 which was unveiled at Auto Expo 2008 and will be released in the market later this year.

Developed in 2002 by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd, Yamaha “DiASil Cylinder” is an all-aluminum die-cast cylinder with 60% better cooling performance and 30% cheaper production cost than a conventional cylinder. Yamaha “DiASil Cylinder”, is the world’s first all-aluminum die-cast cylinder and it achieves cooling performance equivalent to that of a nickel-plated cylinder, which is currently recognized as the best in the industry, but at a significantly lower production cost than a nickel-plated cylinder.

“DiASil", an abbreviation for "Die-casting Aluminum-Silicon", is a technology which brings together an ideal combination of material, manufacturing technology and environmental friendliness. The material used is a 20% silicon content aluminum alloy, the manufacturing technology is the Yamaha CF Aluminum Die-cast Technology, which enables the production of an all-aluminum die-cast cylinder. It is Yamaha’s exclusive CF Aluminum Die-cast Technology that enables the mass production of a die-cast cylinder made completely of 20% silicon content aluminum alloy, something that could not be done with conventional die casting methods.

According to Mr. Sanjay Tripathi, Head of Dept- Product Planning & Strategy, “Conventional engine cylinders have a steel liner to reduce the friction resulting from the piston's movement. The "DiASil" cylinder is made by the exclusive Yamaha Aluminum Controlled Forging (CF) technology. Because the "DiASil" Cylinder is all aluminum, it has excellent heat dissipation qualities and reduces engine weight at the same time. In comparison to cast steel liner type aluminum cylinders, the DiASil cylinder has 60% better cooling performance at 30% lower manufacturing cost and enables 30% lighter design which results in better power to weight ratio besides excellent recyclability”.

“Considering the environment-friendly nature of aluminum, we have made aluminum technologies part of our core technology and actively increasing the use of aluminum in our products. Our CF Aluminum Die-cast Technology enables the mass production of die-cast aluminum parts that are both thinner and larger than was possible in the past. This same technology has been applied to the manufacture of engine parts. This is also a technology that can be easily transferred to overseas Yamaha manufacturing bases. Yamaha also plans to apply to new areas automobile and outboard motor engine parts”, he added.

This next-generation technology promises to contribute to improved function and product quality for the majority of Asian market motorcycles and automobiles that presently use conventional pistons with cast steel liners.

Sourced From: Mavcomm Consulting Pvt Ltd

Honda Says Aluminum Use May Increase on Steel Price

By Naoko Fujimura and Hiroshi Matsui

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., Japan's second- largest automaker, said competition won't allow carmakers to pass on higher steel costs to consumers, which may accelerate the use of more aluminum in cars.

``The consumer won't accept price increases,'' President Takeo Fukui told reporters in Tokyo today. ``We may see a quicker shift to aluminum.''

Nippon Steel Corp., JFE Holdings Inc., and Posco, Asia's three largest steelmakers, agreed to a 65 percent increase in iron ore prices with Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the companies said separately on Feb. 18. Honda, Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Japan's other vehicle makers may pay a total of 200 billion yen ($1.87 billion) more for steel next fiscal year, according to analysts.
``We need to lower costs with our production process and procurement,'' as steel will remain as main material for autos for the time being, Fukui said.

Tokyo-based Honda plans to offer more fuel-efficient vehicles as the price of oil rises. Honda aims to make hybrids accounting for 10 percent of its global volume around 2010, Fukui said. Honda's sales goal for 2010 is 4.5 million vehicles.

Hybrid Plans

Honda will release a five-seat hybrid in 2009, aiming to sell 200,000 vehicles a year. Fukui also said sales of a hybrid sports car based on the CR-Z prototype unveiled in Tokyo in October may total about 100,000 units a year. The only hybrid Honda sells now is a version of its Civic small car.

The U.S., where Honda gets 41 percent of vehicle sales may not be entering a recession, as the company keeps posting record sales in areas including the East Cost and the Midwest, Fukui said. Still, sales in California and Florida, two states heavily affected by the crisis in subprime mortgages, have dropped, he said.

``I expect auto demand in the U.S. to remain firm,'' Fukui said. ``A shift to smaller cars from light trucks will probably continue''