Increase in aluminum use saves 1 billion liters of fuel per year in Europe

Aluminum use in Europe has grown from 100 to 290 lbs per car since 1990 and is expected to add another 55 lbs by 2010. The weight reductions from replacing steel and other materials with the lighter metal have contributed to annual fuel consumption reductions of about 250 million gallons according to a new study. The European Aluminum Association and Knibb, Gormezano & Partners did a study with data from car-makers and suppliers based on the 15 million cars produced in 2005. Along with the reduced fuel consumption, CO2 emissions are reduced by 40 million tonnes over the life-cycle of the vehicles. Aluminum is being increasingly used in engine blocks and heads, suspension components and also in body panels and structures.

More detail can be found at the following link.

The calculations in the study are based on the following assumptions:

• Car lifespan of 200,000 km; yearly vehicle kilometers traveled 15,000 km.
• 0.35 liters of fuel saved per 100 km per 100 kg weight reduction.
• 1 kg of aluminum provides 1 kg of lightweighting.
• 2.835 kg of CO2 per liter of fuel, as the mean value for gasoline and diesel, including pre-combustion (i.e. CO2 generation for fuel production)
• 2.455 kg of CO2 per liter of fuel, as mean value for gasoline and diesel, excluding pre-combustion.
  

From picture: The VW Polo BlueMotion has been selected as a finalist for the 2007 World Green Car title.

The Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion has the lowest CO2 emissions of any car on sale in the UK, electric cars excepted. At just 102g/km, it's cleaner than any other petrol, diesel or petrol-electric hybrid currently offered. And its 72mpg on the official combined cycle beats them on fuel consumption too.

How does it manage it? A combination of highly efficient engine, light weight, high gearing and slick aerodynamics.

Energy Crisis really affects all industries, including aluminum

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. said it will add surcharges to all new orders of fabricated aluminum products beginning July 1 to offset rising costs for natural gas, electricity and diesel fuel.

The company said commodity prices for natural gas and diesel fuel was about 60 percent higher in May compared with the average 2007 price. The company said the charges will be based on indexes provided by the U.S. Department of Energy and will be updated monthly. The company believed that using a surcharge is the most transparent method to recover these costs.

Constricted supplies and robust world demand could push aluminum prices up to $3,600-$4,000 per metric ton by the end of the year and $ 4,250-$4,500/ton by the end of 2009, industry analysts said.

As China leads a surge in global demand for aluminum, the industry is attempting to keep up in the face of rising energy prices, increasingly prevalent speculation in commodities market, and uncertainly over approaches to curb global climate change. These factors, market analysts said, are buttressing the price of a commodity already in high demand given its relatively low price compared to copper -- a substitute for aluminum.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires and AP

Heat treatment for diecast parts supplies stronger castings

High pressure diecasting (HPDC) is one of the most cost-effective process for making large quantities of complex aluminum components in netshape. But while other cast aluminum parts can be heat treated to improve their mechanical properties, this had not been possible for many die castings.

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Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization's (CSIRO) Light Metals Flagship has developed a new heat treatment process for strengthening aluminum HPDC parts.

Standard die castings contain trapped gas pores that expand, blister and distort the casting when conventional heat treatment is applied, making the parts unusable. Previous attempts to make them heat-treatable have focused on removing porosity from the cast parts. But Flagship researchers developed a process that did not depend on reducing porosity, and they successfully tested the technology on large batches of parts purchased from the industry.

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"Components treated with the new process do not show surface blistering or dimensional changes," said Roger Lumley, metallurgist for Light Metals Flagship. "They retain an as-cast appearance." The process doubles the strength of parts made from the common diecast aluminum alloys. The heat treated components exhibit fatigue resistance as high as some wrought aluminum products and thermal conductivity about 20% above the as-cast status, meaning that for engine or transmission applications, heat can be transferred or removed more efficiently and quickly. This could mean that HPDC parts would operate with lower amounts of fluid in cooling and lubrications systems.

The new heat treating process also may substantially raise energy absorption during fracture when heat treated for this purpose, which has significant implications for crash-sensitive structural components. For example, one common secondary alloy almost doubled in energy absorption when heat treated for that purpose. "We envisage that this will make it possible to use HPDC components more widely in load carrying structural and safety applications," Lumley said. The heat treating process is designed to be implemented in existing manufacturing facilities using conventional heat treatment equipment, such as continuous belt furnaces, fluidized beds or furnace systems designed specifically for rapid heat treatment.

After the success of the trials for HPDC parts up to 66 lbs. (30 kg), the Light Metals Flagships is looking for companies to collaborate on developing lightweight products through component design and implement the new procedures in the diecasting industry.

Visit http://www.csiro.au/ for more information.

"Heat treatment for diecast parts supplies stronger castings" The Free Library 01 March 2008. 20 May 2008 <http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Heat treatment for diecast parts supplies stronger castings.-a0177175205>.

ALCAN COMPACT DEGASSER

IMPROVED METALLURGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE ALCAN COMPACT DEGASSER AFTER TWO YEARS OF INDUSTRIAL IMPLEMENTATIONIN ALUMINUM CASTING PLANTS

Peter D. WaiteAlcan International LimitedArvida Research and Development Centre1955 Mellon Blvd., P.O. Box 1250Jonquike, Quebec, Canada G7S 4K8

Abstract Over the past two years, industrial implementation of the Alcan compact degasser has continued, and it is presently being used inmore than half a dozen casting facilities. During this period, further quantification of the process metal treatment efficiency has been undertaken for a wide range of alloys and casting conditions. The extensive plant data that has been collected was analyzedusing the underlying metallurgical principles as guidelines. This has led to an improved understanding of the ACD specifically, and of multi-stage in-lint treatment processes in general. The relationship between the metallurgical principles used for data analysis and the dcgasser metal treatment performance arediscussed, and factors affecting hydrogen removal performance were identified. Examples illustrating these findings are presented using plant data for the Alcan compact degasser and for conventional in-line degassers.

Aluminum in Cars

Today's European cars contain an average of 132 kg of aluminium components. In the short term, many additional aluminium applications could be realised without significant re-engineering and extensive cost impact (e.g. by the use of more aluminium hang-on parts). This could easily reduce the average weight of the cars produced in Europe by 40 kg.

Aluminium is the ideal light-weighting material as it allows a weight saving of up to 50% over competing materials in most applications without compromising safety.
Because the average mass of passenger cars has dramatically increased since the 1970's and because vehicle weight directly impacts fuel consumption, light-weighting is necessary more than ever to reduce CO2 emissions per km at the exhaust pipe.

The EAA brochure "Aluminium in cars" highlights numerous advantages of aluminium applications in passengar cars.

Grain Refinement of Aluminum Casting Alloys

Grain Refinement of Aluminum Casting Alloys, G. Sigworth and T. Kuhn

The mechanisms and benefits of grain refinement are described.

Abstract

An overview is given of grain refinement in aluminum casting alloys. The mechanisms involved and the benefits of refinement are described. The review shows that current practices were developed long before modern Al-Ti-B refiners became available, and are employed now largely for historical reasons. The results of tests in Al-Si, Al-Si-Cu, Al-Cu, Al-Mg and Al-Zn-Mg alloys are presented. The grain refining response is different for each alloy system. It is important to
understand that titanium can be present in two forms. One dissolves in aluminum; the other is nearly insoluble. Each must be controlled separately. With today's powerful Al-Ti-B refiners, there is no reason for large additions of soluble titanium in most alloys. In fact, it is better to say we grain refine with boron, not titanium. The recommended addition is 10-20 ppm of boron, preferably in the form of Al-5Ti-1B or Al-3Ti-1B rod. Lower dissolved titanium levels provide better grain refinement and an improved resistance to hot cracking in some alloys. Al-Si casting alloys which contain copper are an exception. In alloys such as 319 or 355, it is best to have a minimum of about 0.1 % Ti.

AFS Transactions 2007 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA