 ALUMINUM
Touchstone has extensive capabilities in
Aluminum Alloy Research and Development.
Touchstone has earned numerous awards as an industrial problem-solver,
new product developer, and applied research laboratory for hundreds
of manufacturers in a wide range of business sectors. Our unique
capability as an industrial problem-solver is based on the diversity
of our highly experienced technical staff, supported by over $10
million worth of in-house laboratory equipment and testing facilities.
The following examples illustrate some of our contributions to this
business sector:
- Development of new brazing alloys: This includes alloy design;
casting and rolling of new or modified brazing alloys into sheet
to evaluate formability; and determination of tensile properties,
fatigue life, corrosion resistance, and brazeability as related
to core erosion and braze flow.
- Tested the effectiveness of various new grain refining additives.
- Performed evaluations on heat exchanger joint fillets in various
locations including tube-to-header and fin-to-tube locations.
This includes photographs of the various joints, image analysis
measurements of the fillet areas, and statistical evaluation of
the results.
- Performed field evaluations and laboratory tests of anodized,
decorative aluminum products to determine the cause of failure.
- Melted and cast laboratory-scale ingots using a 40 lb. capacity
induction furnace.
- Performed rolling of various aluminum alloys.
- Determined the cause of corrosion failures of aluminum products
to allow development of preventative systems to extend service
life.
- Aided in the design of various metallurgical experiments to
improve both brazing sheet and structural alloys. These include
changes in heat treat practice and mechanical processing of the
metal.
- Performed differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analysis
of alloys to determine the critical temperatures for new heat
treat practices.
- Performed corrosion potential measurements of various alloys.
This operation included the development of an electrochemical
machining system that allows the consistent and accurate removal
of aluminum from a surface in 0.5 mil increments.
- Provided chemical analysis of alloys and unknown gross materials
from casting using Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (ICP).
- Examined and identified inclusions in can stock and aircraft
alloys using SEM and/or electron microprobe to determine source
and prevent contamination of future product.
- Performed accelerated corrosion testing of alloys used for
heat exchangers, various decorative and structural materials,
and airframe applications.
- Performed failure mode analyses of various components of aluminum
reduction equipment and make design or assembly recommendations
to increase production, service life, and/or employee safety.
Items include: potline anode rods, pot cradles, siphon tubes,
breaker plates, lifting equipment, and crucible failures.
- Provided experimental heat treating of various alloys to develop
more time and cost- effective heat treat practices.
- Conduct literature searches to aid in the development of new
alloy combinations or new applications for existing alloys which
enhance revenue without increasing capital expenditures.
- Aided in the production of technical videotapes for marketing
and new product introductions.
The above examples are only a sample of our work in this area.
We would be pleased to provide any additional information you may
require. We also invite you to review examples on our website of
work that we have performed in support of other business sectors.
Please contact one of our Project
Managers to discuss your manufacturing problem. We would welcome
an opportunity to add you to our rapidly growing list of satisfied
customers.
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