This multimedia presentation is a component of the August 2000 (vol. 52, no. 8) JOM. To best experience this presentation, you should employ the latest version of RealPlayer. As the audio plays, images from the presentation will automatically load in the window to the right.

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Diran Apelian

Editor's Note: During the 2000 TMS Annual Meeting, the TMS Light Metals Division broke with tradition by striking all of the Monday morning sessions from its traditional programming grid in favor of presenting an all-division plenary plenary session. The goal of this session was to provide insight into critical issues in modern aluminum processing technology and industrial development. In further striking from tradition, the proceedings from that symposium are not available in print format. Instead, they are archived here in Real Audio format. Just click on the play button to hear the speaker and watch as the overheads from the presentation automatically click by in the right frame. The session was organized and moderated by Ray Peterson of IMCO Recycling. More detail, and other papers from this symposium, may be experienced by visiting the August issue's table of contents.

During the last 50 years, aluminum has evolved into one of the most important societal materials; it is used in a variety of diverse applications--construction, automotive, aerospace, packaging, furniture, jewelry and a vast number of products, which once were made from ferrous or other materials. Specifically, during the last decade, we have seen significant increases in the use of cast aluminum net-shaped manufactured components. For example, in 1980 there were 800,000 tons of aluminum casting shipments in North America versus 1,800,000 tons in 1998. In this plenary lecture, a prospective review of the science and technology of aluminum metalcasting is presented for both primary aluminum production and metalcasting. This is followed with a retrospective presentation of the emerging technologies and challenges we face. In total, the presentation is a holistic review of solidification processing of aluminum, addressing where we have been, where we are going, and what exciting frontiers are facing the industry.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diran Apelian is Howmet Professor of Engineering and director of the Metal Processing Institute at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.