ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MAY/JUNE 2023 6 METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will renew funding for its Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), one of DOE’s six Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. IACMI will receive federal funding for five fiscal years, with a first-year investment of $6 million. This builds on initial DOE funding of $70 million and over $180 million from IACMI’s member partners. energy.gov. A new steel called “Military-Steel” from AMD Corp., Toronto, reportedly features the same impact toughness as USAF-96 steel at higher strength, while its raw material cost is 25-35% lower. Due to its high strength and high impact toughness, the newly designed steel could be a good candidate for use in automotive gears and powertrain components as well as in military applications such as cases for deep penetrating bombs. For more information, email info@amdoncorp.com. BRIEFS parts failure. In particular, the products had no signs of large metal clusters— impurities that can cause material deterioration and have hampered efforts to use secondary recycled aluminum to make new products. The patented ShAPE technology is available for licensing for other applications. pnnl.gov, magna.com. SOURCING RARE EARTH ELEMENTS FROM WASTE A team of researchers at Washington University, St. Louis, developed a method to extract rare earth elements (REEs) from coal fly ash—a fine, powdery waste product from the combustion of coal. The researchers say their process is ultimately a pathway toward reduction and remediation of waste products. With more than 79 million metric tons of coal fly ash generated in the U.S. annually, the team reports that the potential value of the REEs that could be extracted is estimated at more than $4 billion per year. The novel extraction process uses supercritical fluid, commonly used to decaffeinate coffee, to recover critically needed REEs from material that would otherwise be discarded in a landfill. The team’s work is the first to show that common and accessible supercritical fluids, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and air, were able to extract RECYCLING ALUMINUM FOR EV PARTS An innovative manufacturing process that collects and transforms scrap aluminum directly into new vehicle parts was unveiled by collaborators from the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., and mobility technology company Magna, based in Troy, Mich. The process is being developed specifically for the electric vehicle sector and the resulting lightweight aluminum could help extend driving range. The method reduces more than 50% of embodied energy and more than 90% of carbon dioxide emissions by eliminating the need to mine and refine the same amount of raw aluminum ore. The patented and award-winning Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) process collects scrap bits and leftover aluminum trimmings from automotive manufacturing and transforms it directly into suitable material for new vehicle parts. By reducing the cost of recycling aluminum, manufacturers may be able to reduce the overall cost of aluminum components, better enabling them to replace steel. For their experiments, the research team worked with an aluminum alloy known as 6063, or architectural aluminum. This alloy is used for a variety of automotive components, such as engine cradles, bumper assemblies, frame rails, and exterior trim. Researchers examined the extruded shapes using scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. Results showed that the ShAPE products are uniformly strong and lack manufacturing defects that could cause This microstructure within an aluminum trapezoid shows highly refined and uniform grain size, key to achieving a strong and reliable product. Courtesy of Nicole Overman and Cortland Johnson/PNNL. Ribbon cutting at funding announcement, April 11, IACMI Collaboration Facility in Knoxville, Tenn.
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