August 23,2017--The American Foundry Society (AFS), as part of the American Metalcasting Consortium (AMC), has provided material design data properties for the incorporation of aluminum cast alloy A206 into the Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization (MMPDS) handbook.
Original equipment manufacturers are reluctant to use aluminum castings in the design of critical or structural applications because many of the alloys are not listed in the MMPDS handbook. This is problematic when making a decision on whether to replace forgings or weldments with a casting because the necessary data for weight, cost and lead-times is not readily available.
AFS generated and validated data for the A206 high strength aluminum alloy for the MMPDS so the material could be readily used for the design and manufacture of flight critical components in military and civilian aircraft. In addition, the AMS 4235 specification for A206-T71 heat treatment was revised to include step solution and aging at 390F. The project was leveraged on a previous AMC effort for aluminum E-357.
In the E-357 project, AFS designed a series of test specimens encompassing various section thicknesses utilizing simulation software, validating the approach metallographically, coordinating the collection of required samples from a consortium of qualified metalcasting facilities, and submitting the data for statistical analysis and approval by the MMPDS Board for incorporation into the MMPDS standards.
The development of statistically-based property data will permit the use of castings across a broader range of applications and will allow the Defense Logistics Agency Engineering Support Activities to make cast alloy conversion/replacement decisions using statistical data on tensile, compressive, and shear properties from the Federal Aviation Administration-recognized source, the MMPDS handbook.
The data AFS has developed will be presented at the MMPDS meeting in September for inclusion into the database.
The American Foundry Society is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1896. With its headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, AFS provides members and consumers with information and services to promote and strengthen the $30.3 billion metalcasting industry.