SBIR Phase I: Reinforcement of Lightweight Material Castings with Dissimilar Metals

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在推动金属铸造业生产轻质金属复合材料铸件的铸造技术。铸造法是一种经济有效的异种金属铸件强化方法，但存在铸件/增强体界面脱粘、氧化、气孔等缺陷。该项目结合了铸造法和最新的高强度超声波处理的优点。高强度超声振动技术在铸造过程中的应用，使镶件表面的氧化物和气泡分离，使其远离增强体/铸造界面处，增强了铸件与增强体金属的冶金相互作用。此外，粘结点附近铸件的晶粒度显著减小。该项目的边界影响/商业潜力将是铸造工艺的一项突破性技术，并将增加美国金属铸造、汽车和国防行业在全球市场上的竞争力，保留或创造新的就业机会。该技术可用于强化铝铸件、镁铸件或其他轻质材料铸件，以取代汽车、航空和国防应用中的重金属部件，从而显著节省能源、节约成本并改善排放控制。美国运输业继续关注增加轻质合金的使用，以减轻重量和节约能源。根据美国汽车材料伙伴关系(USamp)的数据，由于使用轻量化部件而减轻了15%的重量，提高了至少10%的燃油效率。燃料消耗减少10%，美国每年的汽油消耗减少100亿加仑。这将转化为每年节省1150万亿Btu的能源，减少2000亿磅/年的二氧化碳排放，以目前2.50美元/加仑的零售价计算，每年节省250亿美元的成本。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to advance the cast-on technology for the metal casting industry to produce lightweight metal composite castings. Cast-on method is a cost effective method for the reinforcement of casting with dissimilar metals but suffers from defect formation such as de-bond, oxidation, and porosity at the casting/reinforcement interface. The project combines the merits of the cast-on method and the latest high-intensity ultrasonic processing. The use of high-intensity ultrasonic vibration technique in the cast-on process detaches oxides and bubbles at the surfaces of the insert, drives them away from the reinforcement/casting interface, and enhances the metallurgical interaction of the castings with the reinforcement metal. Furthermore, the grain size in the casting adjacent to the bond is reduced significantly. As a result, a strong and defect-free metallurgical bond is produced between the reinforcement insert and the casting.The boarder impact/commercial potential of this project will be a breakthrough technology for the cast-on process and will increase the competitiveness of the U.S. metal casting, automotive, and defense industries in the global market, retaining or creating new jobs. This technology can be used to reinforce aluminum castings, magnesium castings, or castings of other lightweight materials for replacing heavy metal components for automotive, aviation, and defense applications, leading to significant energy savings, cost savings, and improved emission control. The U.S. transportation industry continues to focus on the increased use of lightweight alloys for weight reduction and energy savings. According to the data from the United States Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP), a 15% weight reduction due to the use of lightweight components improves fuel efficiency by at least 10%. Decreasing fuel consumption by 10% reduces gasoline consumption in the United States by 10 billion gallons per year. This would translate into energy savings of 1,150 trillion Btu/year, a reduction of CO2 emissions by 200 billion lbs/year, and cost savings of $25 billion/year at current pump prices of $2.50/gallon.