PFI-TT: Making U.S. Aluminum Extrusion Manufacturers Greener and More Productive Through Tooling and Software Innovations

这一创新-技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力包括减少行业温室气体排放，并使美国铝制造商更具竞争力。成功实施的好处包括减少材料进口和更便宜、更轻的汽车零部件，从而更快地部署节能型汽车。该项目提高了对极端高温高压下铝制造的科学认识。这一新知识增强了对铝挤压行业硬件设计工具的技术理解，目标是最大限度地减少浪费，增加产能，并为美国制造商打开新的市场。该项目旨在通过提高材料的高效利用来降低挤压行业的环境影响和成本。这项技术可以为美国铝型材制造商平均每年节省约300万美元的材料成本，相当于为北美行业节省3.96亿美元，为全球每年节省42亿美元。此外，制造商可能会从新的市场和产品线中获得额外的收入，这些新市场和产品线可能是由该技术实现的更快的生产。该项目旨在提高美国铝制造的竞争力和环境可持续性。PFI团队已经展示了一种实验室规模的技术，可以将挤压废料减少25%-50%。然而，在该技术能够扩大规模之前，关键的技术知识差距仍然存在。该项目的目标是获得挤压加工铝合金裂纹的准确预测模型。该团队将把他们之前在铝固态焊接机械模型方面的工作扩展到更复杂的挤压情况，并通过真实样品的机械测试进行验证。该团队还寻求将这一新知识与金属成形、空气缠绕和工具变形模拟相结合的算法，以开发可将净废品减少预期25%-50%的挤压硬件。克服这些障碍可能会将技术转变为制造商可以轻松采用的交钥匙解决方案。该项目将在真实工业条件下的实地测试中达到顶峰。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project includes reducing industry greenhouse gas emissions and making U.S. aluminum manufacturers more competitive. The benefits of successful implementation include reduced material imports and cheaper, lightweight automotive components leading to quicker deployment of fuel efficient vehicles. This project enhances the scientific understanding of aluminum manufacturing under extreme heat and pressure. This new knowledge enhances the technological understanding of hardware design tools for the aluminum extrusion industry with goals of minimize waste, increasing throughput, and opening new markets for U.S. manufacturers. This project seeks to reduce environmental impacts and costs in the extrusion industry by increasing the efficient use of materials. This technology may save the average U.S. aluminum extrusion manufacturer about $3 million in material costs per year, translating to $396 million for the North American industry and $4.2 billion per year globally. In addition, manufacturers may gain additional revenue from new markets and product lines made possible by the faster production enabled by the technology.This project seeks to increase the competitiveness and environmental sustainability of U.S. aluminum manufacturing. The PFI team has demonstrated a lab-scale technology that reduces extrusion scrap by 25-50%. However, key technical knowledge gaps remain before the technology can be scaled-up. The project objectives are to derive accurate predictive models of cracking in extrusion-processed aluminum alloys. The team will extend their previous work on mechanistic models of aluminum solid-state welding to more complex extrusion case, validated through mechanical testing of real-life samples. The team also seeks to derive algorithms that combine this new knowledge with metal forming, air entrapment, and tool deformation simulations to develop extrusion hardware that reduces the net scrap generated by an anticipated 25-50%. Overcoming these hurdles may transform the technology to a turnkey solution that can be easily adopted by manufacturers. The project will culminate in field-tests under real-life industrial conditions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.