U.S.-Korea Cooperative Research: Synthesis and Properties of Light Weight Alumina Particle Reinforced Ductile Iron Castings

University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI

Investigators

Abstract

0352314 Rohatgi This award enables Dr. Rohatgi and junior members of his research group from the Center for Composites at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) to collaborate in research on metal-matrix composites with Dr. Chang Ok Choi and others of the Metallurgical Engineering Department of Dong-A University in Pusan, South Korea. They plan to develop optimum processing conditions for synthesizing low-cost lightweight ductile iron composites reinforced with alumina The collaborative research plan joins the complementary expertise of Dr. Rohatgi in developing various nonferrous metal-matrix composites and that of the Korean research group in the area of ductile iron castings. Dispersal of alumina particles in ductile iron castings is expected to improve the stiffness and hardness, reduce the weight and increase the wear resistance of ductile iron components in a variety of mechanical systems. The challenges in this project are to develop new metallurgical techniques to incorporate alumina particles in ductile iron melts, to prepare very fine graphite nodules with improved spheroid shape and to inoculate them into in composite melts. Once this has been achieved, the investigators plan to cast a selected prototype component using the process developed to demonstrate improved performance in a component at Dong-A University. The project work will lead to an increased understanding of the incorporation of alumina particles in molten ductile iron and their interaction with transitional phases formed during solidification. Broader significance: The development of metal matrix composites has been one of the major innovations in materials in the past 25 years. However the use of cast composites has been limited because techniques did not exist to blend the components well enough to achieve improved materials behavior. The alumina-reinforced cast ductile iron to be developed with new techniques in this project will be lighter and stronger than widely used ferrous materials in cars, trucks, mining equipment and small engines. Adoption in the automobile industry could contribute to energy conservation. The improved characteristics of this composite material can also make it useful in other manufacturing industries. The collaborative arrangement also will benefit students and postdoctoral fellows of the U.S. and Korea. The U.S. team includes undergraduate and graduate students and a postdoctoral fellow; several of them will travel to Korea for research experience. The Korean team also has several students. The students will benefit from their interaction and also from being exposed to state-of-the-art research and the metal castings industries of both countries.