Melting group stresses research and education.

The AFS Melting Methods and Materials Division 8 was organized into its present form in 1973. Before that time, melting subjects had been covered by committees of a division called "Related Interests." Currently, Division 8 has eight active committees that concentrate their efforts on research and education.

The division's responsibility is to keep abreast of changes in melting methods and materials used in the industry. Development of research ideas and promotion of studies and innovations emerging from the work of special committees provide significant opportunities to improve the melting phase of the casting process. Highlights of the division's activities are discussed in the remainder of this report.

AFS Casting Conggress-Division 8 organized three sessions at the 95th Casting Congress in Birmingham, Alabama, last month. Topics included reviews of committee research projects on cupola modeling and refractory buildup in channel furnaces, alternate fuels for cupolas, thermal characteristics of refractories, and cupola desulfurization.

Special Meetings-The seminar "Advances Toward Control of the Cupola" was held September 25-26,1990. Cosponsored by the American Coke & Coal Chemicals Institute and AFS, the seminar attracted 200 attendees. Similar seminars are being planned.

Cupola Research-A project titled

"The Process Modeling of Cupola Furnaces" is under way, and a progress report on this study was presented at the Birmingham Congress. A quarterly meeting was held in July 1990, followed by distribution of the Phase I Final Report in early October. Phase II is under way, and several test heats have been run at Michigan Technical University's demonstration plant in Negaunee, Michigan, under the direction of Seymour (Sy) Katz of GM Research Laboratories.

Channel Furnace Research-The primary project of the Channel Induction Furnace Committee is research on inductor throat and channel clogging. Phase II of this work, being conducted at the University of Missouri-Rolla, was completed in September 1990. A progress report was presented at the 94th Casting Congress in Detroit and subsequently published in the August 1990 modem casting. Follow-up work on the laboratory analysis of refractory buildup was presented in Birmingham.

A third phase of the work, involving actual plant trials, is under development, with possible partial sponsorship by the EPRI Center for Materials Production.

CMI Courses-Division 8 member's have been very active in teaching and monitoring Cast Metals institute courses that involve melting methods and materials. The goal is to assist CMI's staff in developing course content and instructional materials that reflect the latest technology in the division's sphere of reference.

Operator Manuals-Another ongoing effort of several committees is the development of practical, operator-oriented manuals covering proper operation of the various melting processes. Recognizing the difficulty in obtaining trained melters, the division has undertaken this effort with the goals of assisting foundries in the orientation and training of new personnel and in updating experienced personnel.

Charge Materials-Recognizing the current problems faced by foundries in obtaining proper charge materials, the charge Materials Committee has been reestablished. This committee will address the problems of availability of desirable scrap and of the impact of mini-mill buying on broker grading of scrap.

Arc Furnace-Work on a series of articles is underway by the Arc Furnace Committee. The title of the series is "Reeducating the Industry on Basic Arc Melting." It is expected that there will be about 13 articles in the series to be published in modem casting. Another article from the division, "Avoiding High Bottoms in Brick-lined Arc Furnaces," was published in the October 1990 issue of modem casting.

Refractories-The Refractory Materials Committee contributed a manuscript for the Refractories Manual published by AFS in 1989. With its job complete, this committee was disbanded last year.

Considering the benefit of participation on the various AFS technical committees, anyone interested in participating is invited to do so by contacting the new division chairman, John Svoboda, through AFS.

Bill Provis retired as chairman of the AFS Melting Methods & Materials Division in May after serving two terms. John Svoboda succeeded him as chairman.