Sarah Jordan

Despite the embrace of aluminum and other nonferrous materials, steel is still a widely used material in the vehicle industry. However, it is not produced in the vehicle industry by the lost foam casting (LFC) method despite the tremendous potential benefits. These include the elimination of machining due to tolerances equal to investment casting and part consolidation which allows for the elimination of components and joining technologies. Both of these are financially and operationally… Show more

Despite the embrace of aluminum and other nonferrous materials, steel is still a widely used material in the vehicle industry. However, it is not produced in the vehicle industry by the lost foam casting (LFC) method despite the tremendous potential benefits. These include the elimination of machining due to tolerances equal to investment casting and part consolidation which allows for the elimination of components and joining technologies. Both of these are financially and operationally beneficial by allowing for the creation of a leaner supply chain. Show less

Significant research has been conducted with the goal of obtaining thin walled ductile iron for use in lighter weight designs. A review is made of the past efforts to achieve thin walled ductile iron. Most past efforts resorted to costly processes or non-standard production practices. Lost Foam Casting (LFC) is an alternate foundry process which used in conjunction with standard melt shop practices results in a massive carbide free structure when used with thin section size. Chemistry, hardness… Show more

Significant research has been conducted with the goal of obtaining thin walled ductile iron for use in lighter weight designs. A review is made of the past efforts to achieve thin walled ductile iron. Most past efforts resorted to costly processes or non-standard production practices. Lost Foam Casting (LFC) is an alternate foundry process which used in conjunction with standard melt shop practices results in a massive carbide free structure when used with thin section size. Chemistry, hardness tests, microstructures, and design improvements of a case study are reviewed. Show less

The objective of this work is to compare the ability of three texture analysis methods—conventional, FFT, and scale-sensitive fractal analysis—to differentiate measurements of polyethylene ski bases (i.e., sliding interfaces) that were stone-ground under different conditions. Ski base grinds allegedly influence the gliding of skis on snow, which is a complex and poorly understood tribilogical interaction. No sufficiently sophisticated
models exist on which to optimize the design of a ski… Show more

The objective of this work is to compare the ability of three texture analysis methods—conventional, FFT, and scale-sensitive fractal analysis—to differentiate measurements of polyethylene ski bases (i.e., sliding interfaces) that were stone-ground under different conditions. Ski base grinds allegedly influence the gliding of skis on snow, which is a complex and poorly understood tribilogical interaction. No sufficiently sophisticated
models exist on which to optimize the design of a ski base texture. In this study, five polyethylene ski bases were ground, using different conditions, and were then measured multiple times with a scanning laser microscope at three different sampling intervals. The scales that could be used for
differentiation of the respective base grinds were determined from F-tests of significance applied to the results of area-scale analysis. Anisotropy of the grinds was characterized as a function of scale, using length-scale fractal analyses in transverse and longitudinal directions. Comparison
of the resulting length-scale plots in the two directions shows that anisotropy is most evident at scales below 1.5 mm. Area-scale analysis can differentiate textures when conventional and 2-D FFT cannot and indicates the scales over which the differentiation takes place. Only relative areas can differentiate any of the measurements at the finest scales, 0.2mm×0.2mm with at 1?m sampling interval, and then only in a limited sense.
This indicates greatest similarity between the textures may be at the finest scales, where the texture is formed by the interaction of an abrasive grit with the polyethylene. This also indicates that the surface textures at the finest scales tend to be the most independent of the dressing and grinding conditions. Show less

Thesis on three dimensional finite element and computational fluid dynamic modeling of the thin slab casting process utilizing FLUENT and ABAQUS.