1. Aluminium @ Birmingham
Mark Jolly
27th March 2009

2. Academic Staff
Dr Mark Jolly
Dr Bill Griffiths
Prof Nick Green

3. Dr W.D Griffiths
Heat transfer coefficients for modelling of gravity and low-pressure die casting
Life-cycle of double oxide film defects in Al alloy
Improving the quality of Lost Foam castings
Positron Emission Particle Tracking of radioactive inclusions during mould filling.

4. Professor Nick Green
A holistic approach to development of high performance components
Development of a quiescent metal casting technology
Optimisation of heat treatment cycles for high performance castings
Alloy and process development for structural aluminium components operating at 250 °C

5. Professor Nick Green
Casting technique for thin wall (0.4 mm) aluminium components
Characterisation of life cycles of bifilm defects in cast aluminium alloys 
Research on term ambition to predict casting performance based upon filling and everything that follows

6. Dr Mark Jolly Modelling shape casting (and other) processes
PhD developing software techniques for identifying entrainment events in liquid aluminium
From October £800k project. Energy usage in the foundry industry
Discussion with GKN

7. Possible “healing” of a “bifilm”?
Dr Bill Griffiths Studying the life-cycle of double oxide film defects in Al alloy.
Possible “healing” of a “bifilm”?
Rate of consumption of an air bubble trapped in liquid Al studied using real-time X-ray imaging.

8. Dr Bill Griffiths Improving the quality of Lost Foam castings.
Porosity and C-rich films
Thermal degradation of polystyrene leads to defects.
Polystyrene at
400 °C (703 K)
Slow (counter-gravity) filling reduces defects

9. Casting of a sand mould in Al surrounded by γ-ray detectors.
Dr Bill Griffiths Positron Emission Particle Tracking of radioactive inclusions during mould filling.
Casting of a sand mould in Al surrounded by γ-ray detectors.
Particle track of a 400 µm alumina particle in an Al plate casting.