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| Secat Expands ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Certification |
Consistent with the firm's mission of becoming the center
for excellence in aluminum research and technology, Secat recently
expanded its ISO/IEC 17025 Certification. (Click
here to view Certificate.) The Certification process evaluates
"general requirements for the competence of testing and
calibration laboratories" and provides the guidelines to
establish and implement a quality management system. Randall
Bowers has replaced Chirayu Garud as the new ISO management.
By successfully implementing the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Quality
Management System, Secat ensures the repeatability and reproducibility
of test results, adding confidence to data provided by Secat
to its customers. |
| Secat Hosts TMS Luncheon |
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The Sloan Foundation provided a networking travel grant to
partially support a luncheon on February 26, 2007, in Orlando,
Florida during the annual meeting of The Minerals, Metals
and Materials Society (TMS). The purpose of the luncheon was
to invite noted members from the academic and industrial committees
attending the annual meeting to showcase the Sloan Foundation
and especially the activities of Industry Studies. (Read
more . . .)
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| New Equipment added at Secat |
| ABAQUS Software
ABAQUS is a finite element modeling program designed for modeling
a variety of material behavior in both static and dynamic
situations. The program has an extensive material behavior
library that allows for using data obtained from the testing
laboratory to be directly input into the model definition.
ABAQUS is well suited to modeling of hot rolling, cold rolling,
deep drawing, stamping, extruding, etc. The advantage of ABAQUS
is in process optimization, material comparisons, and general
forming analysis. This allows for reducing time, effort, and
material costs involved with "trial and error" manufacturing
techniques.
ProCAST Software
ProCAST is a leading finite element solution for casting process
simulation. It can be sued for direct chill casting, high
pressure and low pressure die casting, investment and shell
casting, sand casting, and lost foam casting. ProCAST is a
powerful tool to industry for new casting process development,
process optimization, and problems solving and dies designing.
It can predict temperature, liquid metal fluid flow, solidification
and re-melting, heat transfer, distortion, cracking, shrinkage
and porosity.
Induction Heater
The Induction Heater is capable of heating up metals and alloys
to elevated temperature rapidly and is designed to simulate
industrial procedures. Its maximum output power is 25Kw. It
is programmable and is suitable for multiple segment heat
treatment schedules. The device can be widely applied in the
investigation of flash annealing, rapid solution treatment
and pre-aging treatment of aluminum alloys. Process and product
development can be achieved at a fraction of cost.
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| New Employee joins Secat Staff |
| Secat welcomes Yufu "Alfred" Wang as a new Materials
Engineer to the staff. Alfred joins Secat with over 10 years
of industrial experience indlucing Aluminum Casting, Extrusion,
Heat treatment, and modern industrial production management.
He has strong hands-on skills in materials characterization
by microstructure and mechanical properties using modern testing
and analytical methods and instruments including SEM with EDS,
X-ray diffraction and mechanical testing systems. He also has
strong skills in FEM modeling by using MAGMA software and performing
thermodynamic calulation. |
| UK/MIT Project |
| March 6, 2007 - Researchers at The University
of Kentucky (UK) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) have partnered to study how the increased use of aluminum
in automobiles could increase fuel efficiency and reduce emmissions
contributing to climate change.
The project, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, aims
to help sustain the viability of the automobile manufacturing
industry at a time when it faces increasing challenges. It
is of particular importance to Kentucky, a state whose economy
relies greatly on aluminum production and automobile manufacturing.
The grant was awarded to UK's Sloan Center for a Sustainable
Aluminum Industry (CSAI) and MIT's Materials System Laboratory
(MSL). Also partnering in the research is the International
Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP) at MIT and the Wharton School
at the University of Pennsylvania; the Aluminum Association
in Arlington, Va.; and Secat Inc., a for-profit company with
ties to UK.
"This research is especially critical in Kentucky, which
ranks fourth in the nation in automobile manufacturing and
third in truck manufacturing, and where aluminum represents
the state's sixth largest employer. Aluminum currently is
the second largest automotive material in terms of content.
Our study is intended to show whether additional use of aluminum
in automobiles can reduce the 'carbon footprint' generated
by vehicle use," said Subodh Das, executive director
of UK's CSAI and president and CEO of Secat. Das predicts
that consumers will become more focused on the materials of
automobile construction as awareness grows of the positive
impact that mass reduction has on improving fuel efficiency
and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Over the next year, the researchers will prepare a coherent
framework to evaluate the role of materials in automobile
economic and environmental sustainability. A second phase
of the project will apply the framework to evaluate the potential
strategic opportunities enabled by specific aluminum technologies.
Key researchers on the project are Das; Frank Field III, senior
research engineer at MIT's Center for Technology, Policy and
Industrial Development, which houses the MSL, and research
director for the IMVP; and Randolph Kirchain, assistant professor
at MIT with a dual appointment in both the Department of Materials
Science and Engineering and the Engineering Systems Division.
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