Research

Lightweight Metals Processing

Lightweight metals of significant industrial interest include titanium, magnesium and aluminum, including metal matrix composites using these metals.  ORNL’s research thrusts for lightweight metals include reduction technologies, powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing, alloy design, and novel processing methodologies such as shear rolling to modify texture to promote improved low-temperature formability.

ORNL has been developing new, lower-cost titanium powder processing technologies and manufacturing methodologies nearly a decade. Extensive research has been performed in the areas of new titanium powder characterization, roll compaction to develop affordable sheet, and solid state consolidation and additive manufacturing of powders to fabricate net shape components in collaboration with industry.

ORNL has vast capabilities in lightweight low cost materials synthesis and processing with the ultimate goal of weight reduction for energy efficiency and performance for military platforms.  These capabilities include metal casting, forming, forging, extrusion, drawing, joining, shear rolling, powder processing, and all relevant characterization.

Capabilities

  • Furnaces and Casting
  • Holding Pot Furnace (18-22 kg of Mg)
  • Electric Furnaces – 0.5 m to 1.5 m (up to 1400°C)
  • Custom Built Arc Furnace (1500 Amps)
  • Induction Furnace (>45 kg of Steel)
  • Vacuum Induction Furnace (14 kg of Steel)
  • Hydraulic Tilt Pour Machine Vacuum Furnace
  • Arc Remelt Furnace (10,000 Amps and 15 cm dia. ingots)
  • Electron Beam Melting Furnace (150 kW)
  • Hydrogen Annealing Furnace
  • Brew Vacuum Furnace (High vacuum or inert atmosphere up to 2000° C)
  • Flat Bed, Circular, and Boxed Infrared Furnaces
  • 114,000 kg Die Casting Machine
  • Microwave Processing
    • Presses and Drawing
  • Forging – up to ~1400°C, 45,000 kg Press, 320,000 kg press
  • Extrusion – 1M kg hot extrusion press, billets up to 14 cm in diameter, up to 2000oC
    • Powder Processing
  • 4 Ball Mills, 3 Attritors
  • Gel Casting – allows for creation of parts too complex to be manufactured by other processes
  • Tape Casting - Mistler tape caster – produces tapes up to 30 cm wide x 180 cm long
  • Sweco DM-1 (30 cm chamber volume)
    • Rolling Mills
  • Fenn Mills - 4-High, Up to 30 cm width, tungsten carbide and steel rolls
  • Reusch Hot Mill – 20 cm wide x 25 cm dia., capable of 100°C - 1500°C
  • Asymmetric Rolling Mill – 12 mm to 0.25 mm thickness capacity x 30 cm wide, capable of temps to 300°C
  • Vertical Roll Compaction Mill (40 cm dia. X 18 cm wide rolling capacity)
  • Shear Rolling Mill - one of a kind mill with capability of asymmetric rolling, rolls independently driven, heated rolls
  • International Titanium Powder (Armstrong process) 4.5 kg experimental reactor (ORNL MDF spur)

Research Activities

Documents

Video