A method for heat treating cast aluminum alloy components that includes obtaining a casting formed from an aluminum alloy having a silicon constituent and at least one metal alloying constituent, and heating the casting to a first casting temperature that is below but within 10 C. of a predetermined silicon solution temperature at which the silicon constituent rapidly enters into solid solution. The method also includes increasing the rate of heat input into the casting to raise the temperature of the casting to a second casting temperature that is above but within 10 C. of a predetermined alloying metal solution temperature at which the at least one metal alloying constituent rapidly enters into solid solution, maintaining the casting at the second casting temperature for a period of time that is less than about 20 minutes, and then quenching the casting to a temperature less than or about 250 C.

A method and its related plant for the thermal treatment of iron containing oxide, in which fine-grained solids are heated in a preheating calcining stage and are exposed to a reduction gas in a subsequent reduction stage. Off-gas from the reduction stage is guided through a separation device wherein the water originating from the reduction stage is separated. The off-gas from the preheating calcining stage is guided through a venturi scrubber and a packed bed section downstream of the venturi scrubber to condense water vapor.

A hot stamped member has a steel, an AlFe intermetallic compound layer formed on the steel, and an oxide film layer formed on the AlFe intermetallic compound layer, in which the oxide film layer is made up of one or more A group elements selected from the group consisting of Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn, Al, oxygen, and impurities, a proportion of the A group element in the oxide film layer excluding the oxygen is 0.01 atom % or more and 80 atom % or less, a thickness t of the oxide film layer is 0.1 to 10.0 m, and, in the case of measuring the A group element in the oxide film layer in a thickness direction from a surface of the oxide film layer using a GDS, a maximum value of a detection intensity of the A group element in a range from the surface to one-third of the thickness t is 3.0 times or more an average value of detection intensities of the A group element in a range from two thirds of the thickness t to t.

A system for supporting castings during thermal treatments, such as solution heat treatment, quenching and aging, that includes a tray defining a horizontal base plane and having a plurality of tray openings therethrough, and a fixture extending over one or more of the tray openings. The fixture is formed by a plurality of support plates oriented vertically with lower portions extending across the tray opening and top edges extending above the tray opening with shaped profiles along the lengths thereof. The plurality of support plates form an open lattice having a plurality of top edges that together define an open support surface that is substantially complementary with an underside surface of a casting and configured to loosely support the casting atop the lattice and align the casting in space above the tray opening.

A system and method for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferrochrome from chromite and low carbon ferrochrome produced therefrom. A stoichiometric mixture of feed materials including scrap aluminum granules, lime, silica sand, and chromite ore are provided into a plasma arc furnace. The scrap aluminum granules are produced from used aluminum beverage containers. The feed materials are heated, whereupon the aluminum in the aluminum granules produces an exothermic reaction reducing the chromium oxide and iron oxide in the chromite to produce molten low carbon ferrochrome with molten slag floating thereon. The molten low carbon ferrochrome is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of low carbon ferrochrome. The molten slag is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of slag.

A brake disk includes a basic material formed of gray cast iron, a decarburized layer formed on the basic material and formed via decarburizing, and a nitride compound layer formed on the decarburized layer and formed via nitriding of a nitride. A method of manufacturing a brake disk includes preparing a disk formed of gray cast iron, performing heat treatment of the disk to form a pre-decarburized layer and a base layer of gray cast iron over which the pre-decarburized layer is formed, and nitriding a portion of the pre-decarburized layer to form a nitride compound layer including a nitride and a decarburized layer over which the nitride compound layer is formed.

An iron-based alloy includes, in weight percent, carbon from about 1 to about 2 percent; manganese from about 0.1 to about 1 percent; silicon from about 0.1 to about 2.5 percent; chromium from about 11 to about 19 percent; nickel up to about 8 percent; vanadium from about 0.8 to about 5 percent; molybdenum from about 11 to about 19 percent; tungsten up to about 0.5 percent; niobium from about 1 to about 4 percent; cobalt up to about 5.5 percent; boron up to about 0.5 percent; nitrogen up to about 0.5 percent, copper up to about 1.5 percent, sulfur up to about 0.3 percent, phosphorus up to about 0.3 percent, up to about 5 percent total of tantalum, titanium, hafnium and zirconium; iron from about 50 to about 70 percent; and incidental impurities. The alloy is suitable for use in elevated temperature applications such as in valve seat inserts for combustion engines.

A forging method is provided. The forging comprises determining plans of second and third processes for each of a plurality of ingots, categorizing the plurality of ingots into first and second ingot sets, based on the plans of the second and third processes, evaluating the first and second ingot sets using a scoring function, determining an ingot set to be provided to a first heating furnace, based on the evaluating of the first and second ingot sets, and performing a first process, different from the second and third processes, on the ingot set provided to the first heating furnace.

Billets and methods for manufacturing them are disclosed. The billets include a cladding member including an alloy selected from the group including stainless steel, nickel-chrome, nickel-copper, and copper-nickel alloys, and a steel body that is positioned so that it has an interface with the cladding member, the steel body having a formation in which the scavenging metal is located and elements being provided for separating the scavenging metal from the cladding member at the interface.

A method for joining a valve member for use within a valve, the method including brazing a body portion having a head and a base, the base having a bore extending a depth therein, to a leg portion having a shaft, the shaft having a distal end, a proximal end opposite the distal end, and a plurality of legs extending radially and axially therefrom and away from the proximal end, the brazing including placing a braze material between the bore and the proximal end, inserting the proximal end into the bore such that a portion of an outer surface of the proximal end is adjacent to an inner surface of the bore, and heating at least the adjacent surfaces to a braze temperature.