RAPID SOLIDIFICATION OF LOW DENSITY ALLOYS BY MELT OVERFLOW

AN EVALUATION OF THE COMBINATION OF MELT OVERFLOW FOR LIGHT WEIGHT, HIGH PERFORMANCE, REACTIVE ALLOYS LIKE ALUMINUM, MAGNESIUM, BERYLLIUM, AND TITANIUM WITH VACUUM INDUCTION MELTING IS DESIRED. THE NEED EXISTS TO DEMONSTRATE THE BENEFITS OF THESE TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE CURRENT OR DEVELOP NEW ALLOYS FOR STRUCTURES IN VEHICLES OR HIGH TEMPERATURE ENGINES. DUE TO THE COST OF DESIGN ENGINEERING AND FABRICATION ESTIMATES OF THESE HIGH TECHNOLOGY PROCESSING SYSTEMS, PHASE I OF THIS CONCEPT IS SO RESTRICTED. A PHASE II OF THIS PROGRAM WOULD BE PROTOTYPE FABRICATION AND CASTING OF SELECTED ALLOYS. USING THE VACUUM INDUCTION-DISPLACEMENT MELT OVERFLOW EQUIPMENT DESIGN ON PHASE I AND FABRICATED ON PHASE II OF THIS PROGRAM, ALUMINUM, MAGNESIUM, BERYLLIUM AND TITANIUM ALLOYS WILL BE CAST. THIS SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING FILAMENTARY AND FOIL PRODUCTS DIRECTLY FROM MOLTEN MATERIALS HAS A VERY HIGH QUENCH RATE AND IS THE RAPID SOLIDIFICATION TECHNOLOGY MOST SUITED TO APPLICATION IN DEEP SPACE OR ON THE MOON.