The recent celebration of a new technical meeting of the European Cast Iron Group and the CASTCON Congress organized by the Cast Metals Federation (United Kingdom), have brought together technicians and specialists from the foundry sector from all over Europe. The AZTERLAN Metallurgical Research Center has shared some of its latest developments at both international benchmark meetings.
In the first of the events, the meeting of the European Cast Iron Group, Jacques Lacaze presented the work “Intermediate temperature brittleness of a high-silicon spheroidal graphite cast iron”. The work, carried out by AZTERLAN researchers Jon Sertucha and Rodolfo González-Martínez, studies the effect of high temperatures on the properties of spheroidal cast iron. After verifying that there is a loss of ductility between 350°C and 500°C, the research team has identified the embrittlement mechanism at intermediate temperatures that relates the rise in temperatures and the magnesium content. “The higher the temperature and the higher the magnesium content, the greater the risk of embrittlement. This is because ambient oxygen diffuses across the grain boundaries during the tensile test, trapping all available magnesium to precipitate MgO whose size becomes critical above 350°C.”
On the other hand, the representation of AZTERLAN in the CASTCON congress was carried out by Susana Méndez, Director of Foundry Technologies of Azterlan. In the plenary session of the meeting, Susana presented the paper “Productivity optimization by understanding your data” in which she explained the opportunities offered by process monitoring tools and Artificial Intelligence to advance efficiency and ensure the final result of the production. The AZTERLAN foundry expert indicated that, in addition to controlling the relevant parameters of the process in real time, it is essential to know the interactions between them and their effect on the final result. “Artificial intelligence and predictive control models allow us to generate alerts and corrective messages when any parameter is out of control, in order to implement corrective actions.”
Dr. Susana Méndez during her presentation at the plenary session of CASTCON congress
Upcoming events: Metalcasting Congress (USA) and Forum NewCast (Germany)
The Metalcasting Congress meetings, organized by the American Foundry Society, and the Forum Newcast, organized within the internationally known GIFA foundry fair, will be the next relevant meetings in which the AZTERLAN Foundry Technologies team will present some of its main technological developments.
