Dr. Alan Luo's Research Group Awarded $1 Million, Two Projects from the REMADE Institute
The Ohio State University was awarded two projects from the REMADE Institute earlier this year. Dr. Alan Luo, professor in both the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering, is leading both projects. In addition, he is leading the Light Metals and Manufacturing Research Laboratory (LMMRL) and is involved with the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME), Center for Simulation Innovation and Modeling (SIMCenter), and Sustainability Institute at Ohio State. Luo, the PI on both REMADE projects, one post-doc, and three PhD students commenced their research on the projects at the beginning of the summer. Each project is described below.
Increasing Melt Efficiency and Secondary Alloy Usage in Aluminum Die Casting
The aluminum casting industry uses limited quantities of secondary alloys because of their poor quality (i.e. high concentrations of residual contaminants such as iron). In this project, thermodynamic and kinetic models coupled with experimental validation and testing will be used to develop holistic contaminant control techniques including alloy, flux, and refractory chemistries to increase melt efficiencies with higher levels of secondary materials use.
Development of New Cost-Effective Methods for Removing Trace Contaminants in Recycled Metals
Cost-effective technologies for the in-melt removal and/or neutralization of trace contaminants in metals is critical for secondary feedstocks to achieve cost parity with primary feedstocks. This exploratory project will experimentally evaluate the addition of “scoping” elements in molten aluminum to neutralize trace contaminants that would otherwise constrain the recycling of aluminum.
The REMADE Institute enables "early stage applied research and development of technologies that could dramatically reduce the embodied energy and carbon emissions associated with industrial-scale materials production and processing", (remadeinstitute.org. Accessed September 18, 2019). It exists to create and implement cost-effective technologies built on a reuse-remanufacture-recycle construct of metals, fibers, polymers, and electronic waste. Each of the twelve projects selected in May and funded by public-private investments addresses sustainable manufacturing and recycling. The $5.9 million is dispersed among 25 entities represented by academic researchers and innovators around the U.S. who are driven to sustain and improve the competitiveness of American manufacturing. Ohio State is an academic member of the REMADE Institute, and Professor Luo serves on the Technical Leadership Committee as Deputy Node Leader of Manufacturing Materials Optimization at REMADE.
