A method of casting a semi-liquid or semi-solid iron-based alloy, the method including: applying, to a part or to the whole of an uppermost surface of an inner surface of a die, a lubricating die-release agent in which particles including at least one selected from molybdenum disulfide, graphite, tungsten disulfide, boron nitride, chrome oxide and boric oxide are dispersed in a solvent; and thereafter casting by using the die.

A casting core resulting from alkaline earth metal oxide particles having an average particle size of 0.8-4 mm being dispersed in a water-soluble alkali metal salt matrix. The casting core can be efficiently produced using a method of dispersing alkaline earth metal hydroxide particles having favorable disintegration properties and a particle size in the range of 1-5 mm in a molten water-soluble alkali metal salt, converting to alkaline earth metal oxide particles by means of dehydration, and casting in a mold, cooling, and hardening.

A method of pulsed-air compacting of mold-sand in combination with compacting by compression supplements the pulsed-air compacting of the mold-sand by an operation of re-compacting the mold-sand by pressing which is performed with the pattern plate containing the patterns by the plate moving inside the cavity of the filling frame in the direction of the latticed pressing element which is subjected to a counter-pressure force corresponding in its value to the prescribed level of the half mold compaction. The method is realized with a device in which the pattern plate containing the patterns is mounted with the possibility of a reciprocal motion inside the cavity of the filling frame, and the pressing cylinder is mounted with the possibility to apply a force against the movable pattern plate.

A casting apparatus having a main chamber connected to at least one casting tower. The main chamber may contain molten metal and the temperature within the main chamber may be maintained by a furnace. A pump may pump the molten metal up the tower and into an upper pool chamber. A feeder nozzle may feed the molten metal from the upper pool chamber and onto a chilling wheel, which may turn the molten metal into metal flakes.

A method for manufacturing a thin metal strip by pouring and rapidly solidifying molten metal onto a cooling roll rotating at a high speed to form a thin metal strip having a width of 50˜350 mm, blowing compression gas from substantially a tangential direction of the cooling roll toward the thin metal strip to separate the thin metal strip from the cooling roll, adsorbing the separated thin metal strip with a permeable belt of a suction type belt conveyor, and transporting to a take-up reel to wind in form of a coil, the thin metal strip is adsorbed by the belt under conditions that a nearest approaching distance L between the cooling roll and the suction type belt conveyor is 2˜50 mm and a suction width S of a suction box arranged in the suction type belt conveyor is 1.2˜2.5 times of a width W of the thin metal strip.

Provided in one embodiment is a method of forming a connection mechanism in or on a bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy by casting in or on, or forming with the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy, a machinable metal. The connection mechanism can be formed by machining the machinable metal.

Metal alloy injection molding techniques are described. In one or more implementations, these techniques may also include adjustment of injection pressure, configuration of runners, and/or use of vacuum pressure, and so on to encourage flow of the metal alloy through a mold. Techniques are also described that utilize protrusions to counteract thermal expansion and subsequent contraction of the metal alloy upon cooling. Further, techniques are described in which a radius of edges of a feature is configured to encourage flow and reduce voids. A variety of other techniques are also described herein.

A method for producing a metal part, the part including, in particular, a first set of elements having a small thickness, and a second set of elements having a large thickness, the method including: forming a peripheral portion of the elements of the second set of elements by selectively melting a powder by scanning the surface of the powder layer with a laser beam or with an electron beam; using the peripheral portion of the elements of the second set of elements as a mould by carrying out an operation of filling an inner area defined by the peripheral portion with liquid metal; cooling the metal part to solidify the inner area defined by the peripheral portion and filled with metal.

A copper alloy having an electrical resistivity lower than those of current copper alloys and a tensile strength higher than those of current copper alloys and a method of manufacturing such a copper alloy are provided. The copper alloy is produced by adding a predetermined amount of carbon to a molten copper in a high-temperature environment of a temperature in the range of 1200° C. to 1250° C. such that the copper alloy has a carbon content in the range of 0.01% to 0.6% by weight.

Provided in one embodiment is a method of making use of foams as a processing aid or to improve the properties of bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy materials. Other embodiments include the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy/foam composite materials made in accordance with the methods.

An aluminium-copper alloy comprising substantially insoluble particles which occupy the interdendritic regions of the alloy, provided with free titanium in quantity sufficient to result in a refinement of the grain structure in the cast alloy.

Apparatuses and methods of forming battery parts are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method of forming a battery part includes receiving a flowable material into a cavity, and reducing a volume of the cavity while a pin extending through at least a portion of the cavity remains at least generally stationary therein. The method further includes sealing the cavity by slidably engaging at least a portion of the pin with a recess in the piston proximate the end face of the piston.

The present disclosure is directed to a refractory metal core for use in forming varying thickness microcircuits in turbine engine components, a process for forming the refractory metal core, and a process for forming the turbine engine components. The refractory metal core is used in the casting of a turbine engine component. The core is formed by a sheet of refractory metal material having a curved trailing edge portion integrally formed with a leading edge portion.

Described herein are systems and methods for producing a hardwearing or wear-resistant material. In one aspect, a first group of materials comprising zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), and one or both of calcium oxide (CaO) and yttrium oxide (Y2O3) may be mixed, heated, and cooled to yield a first mixture. The first mixture may be used to generate granules that may then be mixed with a second group of materials comprising iron, nickel, manganese, titanium, carbon, chromium, and optionally, a paraffin, to yield a second mixture. The second mixture may then be compressed, cast, cooled, and heat treated to yield the hardwearing or wear-resistant material.

System and method of producing multi-layered aluminum alloy products are disclosed. A multi-layered aluminum alloy product may be formed by first heating a first aluminum alloy to a first temperature where the first temperature is at least about 5° C. lower than the eutectic temperature of the first aluminum alloy, second heating a second aluminum alloy to a second temperature where the second temperature is at least about 5° C. higher than the liquidus temperature of the second aluminum alloy, and coupling the second aluminum alloy to the first aluminum alloy to produce a multi-layered aluminum alloy product.

A rotor core for an electric motor includes a stack of laminations having peripherally spaced openings receiving copper bars with opposite end portions projecting from the stack. The core is mounted on an arbor and is inserted into a mold on a vertical die cast press having a shot chamber. The mold has upper and lower mold members defining annular cavities receiving end portions of the bars. Molten copper or aluminum is poured into the shot chamber and forced upwardly by a shot piston through passages in the lower mold member and into the cavity around the lower end portions of the bars. The pressurized molten metal solidifies and shrinks around the bar end portions to form an endring for the rotor. The core, endring and arbor are inverted and confined in the mold, and the casting steps are repeated to form the opposite endring.

Aluminum alloys are provided that have improved fluidity and elongation, as well as freedom of die soldering. The aluminum alloys are particularly suitable for die-casting of structural components. The aluminum alloy includes silicon at from about 8 weight % to about 11 weight %, manganese at from about 0.8 weight % to about 1.9 weight %, iron at from about 0.1 weight % to about 0.5 weight %, magnesium at from about 0.2 weight % to about 0.7 weight %, boron at from about 0.002 weight % to about 0.15 weight %, strontium at from about 0.006 weight % to about 0.017 weight %, less than about 0.25 weight % copper, less than about 0.35 weight % zinc, less than about 0.25 weight % titanium, and a balance of aluminum. Methods related to the aluminum alloys are also provided.

A die casting method and apparatus are provided, thereby making it possible to produce a thin diecast product that has hitherto been considered impossible to realize, and a diecast product is also provided. A semi-solidified metallic material is formed having particles in solid phase of a particle size less than 30 μm, and is thereupon injected into a die. A die casting machine has a sleeve into which a melt of metallic material is poured, and the semi-solidifying material there when it has a certain proportion of solid phase reached is injected into the die with a plunger to which pressure is applied. The melt of metallic material is poured into the sleeve so that the material occupies inside the sleeve at a proportion in vertical cross-sectional area of 30% or less. The particle size in this semi-solid material is held unvaried in a product as diecast.

A method of forming a cast product (30) by providing a core (52) having a plurality of sections (54) and one or more gaps (55) there-between. The core further includes an insert member (60) spanning the gap (55) between adjacent sections (54). The core (52) is located within a mold (68) and a liquid phase material is introduced into gap (55) between the core sections. The liquid phase material is solidified in the gap so as to form a cast feature of a resulting solid product and the core sections (54) are removed from the solid product (30) such that the insert member (60) remains securely held within the feature (74).

A method of producing a trailing arm of a torsion beam axle in which an integrated drive unit of a wheel-adjacent electric drive has an electric machine and a transmission. By using the method, the trailing arm is produced in the form of a casting with a box profile. The contours for producing the area that accommodates the transmission, the connection point to the vehicle body, the bore that receives the cross-member which connects the two trailing arms to one another, the U-profile of the trailing arm, the box profile and the area that accommodates the electric machine, are modeled by cores such that the contours for producing the connection point of the trailing arm to the vehicle body, the bore that receives the cross-member and the U-profile of the trailing arm are modeled by one core.

A foundry mixture for making molds used for molding cast metal parts includes foundry sand, a non-aqueous binder, and a cleaning agent that includes calcium oxide. Residual foundry mixture remaining on the cast part after removal from the mold is removed by electrolytic cleaning of the cast part.

A titanium based, ceramic reinforced alloy ingot for use in producing medical implants. An ingot is formed from an alloy having comprising from about 5 to about 35 wt. % niobium, from about 0.5 to about 3.5 wt. % silicon, and from about 61.5 to about 94.5 wt. % of titanium. The alloy has a hexagonal crystal lattice α phase of from about 20 vol % to about 70 vol %, and a cubic body centered β crystal lattice phase of from about 30 vol. % to about 80 vol. %. The ingot has an ultimate tensile strength of about 940 MPa or more, and a Young's modulus of about 150 GPa or less. A molten substantially uniform admixture of a niobium, silicon, and titanium alloy is formed, cast into a shape, and cooled into an ingot. The ingot may then be formed into a medical implant and optionally annealed.

Various embodiments provide systems and methods for casting amorphous alloys. Exemplary casting system may include an insertable and rotatable vessel configured in a non-movable induction heating structure for melting amorphous alloys to form molten materials in the vessel. While the molten materials remain heated, the vessel may be rotated to pour the molten materials into a casting device for casting them into articles.

Apparatuses and methods for level control in a fluid purification apparatus. The apparatuses and methods include a fluid purification apparatus and a level sensor that regulates operation of the fluid purification apparatus. The level sensor may further operate a bypass valve or a heater.

A method and apparatus for recovering oil from oil-containing sorbents, such as drill cuttings obtained from drilling with an oil-based mud. The method includes peptizing the substrate with an acid reagent and direct thermal desorption with combustion effluent gases at high temperature under turbulent mixing conditions. Another method disclosed includes upgrading the oil in the substrate to improve one or more of the properties of the recovered oil relative to the oil in the substrate, such as, lower aromatics content, lower sulfur content, lower functional group content, higher saturates, higher viscosity, higher viscosity index, and any combination thereof. The apparatus provides for efficient recovery of oil from the substrate with a short residence time, high throughput, low residual oil content in the treated solids and/or high percentage of oil recovery. The apparatus may be transported to a remote location for on-site treatment of drill cuttings or other oil-containing solids.

An inline bitumen froth steam heater system including steam injection and static mixing devices is provided. The system heats and de-aerates input bitumen froth without creating downstream processing problems with the bitumen froth such as emulsification or live steam entrainment. The system is a multistage unit that injects and thoroughly mixes steam with bitumen resulting in output bitumen material having temperature of about 190° F. The system conditions a superheated steam supply to obtain saturated steam at about 300° F. The saturated steam is contacted with bitumen froth flow and mixed in a static mixer stage. The static mixers provide surface area and rotating action that allows the injected steam to condense and transfer its heat to the bitumen froth. The mixing action and increase in temperature of the bitumen froth results in reduction in bitumen viscosity and allows the release of entrapped air from the bitumen froth.

Oil sands ore containing bitumen is treated in a reactor chamber by ultrasonic oscillations impact such that cavitation of ore molecules occurs. The disintegration of the pulsating bubbles in the cavitation results in the separation of the oil, water, sand and air fractions of the oil sands. The oil fraction may be continuously extracted for subsequent refining processes.

The invention is a process and apparatus for removing a contaminant from an aromatic selective solvent. A feed stream comprising an aromatic hydrocarbon and a non-aromatic hydrocarbon is contacted with the aromatic selective solvent in an extractive distillation zone to produce a raffinate stream comprising the non-aromatic hydrocarbon, and a rich solvent stream comprising the aromatic hydrocarbon and the solvent. The rich solvent stream is separated in a second distillation zone to produce an extract stream comprising the aromatic hydrocarbon, and a lean solvent stream comprising the contaminant and the aromatic selective solvent. At least a portion of the lean solvent stream is washed with a non-aromatic hydrocarbon to produce a clean solvent stream, at least a portion of which is passed to at least one of the extractive distillation zone and the second distillation zone.

An improved system for removing bitumen from tar sands comprises a pre-treatment system utilizing a vibratory load hopper for classifying and sizing said tar sand particles communicating with a dryer for heating and drying said tar sand particles to a predetermined temperature thereby controlling the moisture content of said tar sands. An extraction system is also included for accepting said tar sands from the dryer comprising a plurality of extraction vessels arranged in series for transporting said tar sands from a first extraction vessel to a final extraction vessel. Furthermore, a solvent system for supplying a predetermined volume of solvent flow through said extraction vessels is employed, whereby solvent is supplied to the last extraction vessel and a solvent and bitumen mixture is withdrawn from the first extraction vessel.

A system for producing an auxiliary fuel stream containing a low concentration of sulfur compounds from a primary fuel stream includes a first separation stage to separate a portion of a primary fuel stream into a first vapor permeate stream and a first retentate stream, a first separation stage partial condenser connected to the first vapor permeate stream condensing a portion of the first vapor permeate stream into a first liquid stage stream and a first vapor stage stream, and a second separation stage partial condenser condensing a portion of the first vapor stage stream into a second liquid stage. The stream may then be processed through a sorbent bed to effectively remove the sulfur compounds.

The present invention features a center feed system in combination with a coking vessel of a delayed coking system, or any other similar system. The center feed system features an inlet sleeve which slidably engages a retractable nozzle, with inlet and outlet, in fluid connection with a feed source of residual byproduct, allowing residual byproduct to flow from the feed source into the interior of the vessel, thus effectuating or inducing even thermal distribution throughout the vessel. The retractable nozzle is structured to extend through an opening in the coking vessel while introducing the residual byproduct into the coking vessel and retract out of the coking vessel and cover the opening for at least a portion of a coking cycle.

A process comprising receiving a hydrocarbon feed stream comprising carbon dioxide, separating the hydrocarbon feed stream into a light hydrocarbon stream and a heavy hydrocarbon stream, separating the light hydrocarbon stream into a carbon dioxide-rich stream and a carbon dioxide-lean stream, and feeding the carbon dioxide-lean stream into a hydrocarbon sweetening process, thereby increasing the processing capacity of the hydrocarbon sweetening process compared to the processing capacity of the hydrocarbon sweetening process when fed the hydrocarbon feed stream. Included is an apparatus comprising a first separation unit that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream containing carbon dioxide and produces a heavy hydrocarbon stream and a light hydrocarbon stream, and a second separation unit that receives the light hydrocarbon stream and produces a carbon dioxide-rich stream and a carbon dioxide-lean stream, wherein the apparatus is configured to feed the carbon dioxide-lean stream to a physical solvent, membrane, or carbon dioxide recovery process.

Systems and methods for coal liquefaction are provided. According to one embodiment, coal is introduced into a plasma furnace. A plasma energy field is generated within the plasma furnace by causing an electrical discharge between a pair of arc rods located within the plasma furnace and positioned above the coal. Hydrocarbons contained within the coal are separated from the coal by causing the plasma energy field to penetrate the coal and heat the coal to a temperature sufficient to liquefy the hydrocarbons by focusing and drawing the plasma energy field through the coal with a magnetic field created proximate to the coal. The liquefied hydrocarbons are then captured.

A system for separating contaminants from wellbore cuttings that includes a processing chamber, a heat source connected to the processing chamber adapted to vaporize hydrocarbons and other contaminants disposed on the material, a condenser operatively connected to an outlet of the process chamber and adapted to condense the vaporized hydrocarbons and other contaminants, and an ozone source operatively connected to the condenser.

A tailings solvent recovery vessel substantially without conventional internals utilizes nozzles for forming very fine solvent-containing hydrocarbon droplets from a solvent-containing tailings feedstream. The hydrocarbon droplets are discrete from water droplets. The hydrocarbon droplets are small enough to result in a large surface area and a desired fall residence time but sufficiently large that they are not entrained with the rising vapor in the vessel. The feedstream is introduced to the vessel with a pressure drop to result in an initial flashing of the solvent from the solvent-containing droplets. Heat from the vessel atmosphere or from steam flowing countercurrent to the falling hydrocarbon droplets is transferred to the falling hydrocarbon droplets resulting in vaporization of any residual solvent therefrom. A substantially solvent-depleted pool is collected in the bottom of the vessel and retained only so long as is required to pump the underflow stream from the vessel.

The process and apparatus are for removing a solute from a solute-bearing solid product by means of a solvent which remains in liquid state throughout the entire oil extraction process. In one embodiment, the solvent is normally in gaseous state at ambient temperature and pressure values, but is used mainly in liquid state within the method and apparatus of the present invention by maintaining such pressure and temperature values within the apparatus so that the solvent will remain in this liquid state.

In one aspect, the present techniques include a heat exchange apparatus including: a) a body comprising an interior cavity, the body including: a first surface and a second surface defining at least a portion of the body and the first surface positioned exterior with respect to the second surface and the interior cavity, and the second surface positioned exterior with respect to the interior cavity and interior with respect to the first surface; b) a first conduit for conveying a fluid to the body; c) a second conduit in fluid communication with the first conduit wherein the second conduit is positioned at least partially within the interior cavity of the body; and d) a joint between the first conduit and the second conduit, wherein the joint moves between a first location and a second location based on the temperature within the interior cavity, wherein at least one of said first location and said second location is positioned intermediate the first surface and the second surface.

The invention relates to improved bitumen recovery processes and systems. One process provides for operation of a bitumen froth treatment plant at optimum shear rates in the feed pipe carrying the bitumen froth to the froth settling unit. Another process provides for optimizing the design of a bitumen froth treatment plant by optimizing the diameter of the feed pipe to impart an optimum shear rate to the bitumen froth mixture and further optimizing the volume of the feed pipe to impart an optimum residence time for the bitumen froth stream in the feed pipe. An optimal plant design is also disclosed, the plant including optimal diameter and volume of the feed pipe.

Processing scheme and arrangement for increasing the relative yield of light olefins involves integration of the cracking a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to produce an effluent comprising a range of hydrocarbon products including C4-C7 olefins and the subsequent cracking at least a portion of the C4-C7 olefins to produce additional light olefins.

A crude treatment system includes a primary and second distillation tower for treating crude containing corrosive material. The primary distillation tower fractionates first crude into a target fraction. The secondary distillation tower fractionates second crude having a corrosive material content greater than that of the first crude into a light fraction and a remaining heavy fraction. Corrosive material in the light fraction is insufficient to corrode the primary distillation tower. A light fraction supply line supplies the light fraction from the secondary distillation tower to the primary distillation tower for treatment. The secondary distillation tower and the supply line are made from a corrosion resistant material.

A tube coil for a double fired coker heater wherein the tube coil has at least two independent flow passes in an intertwined serpentine pattern. The tubes are located in a common plane and plumbed in parallel with one another. These tube coils can be used in a number of configurations within the radiant section of a coker heater.

A device for processing a hydrocarbon resource may include a hydrocarbon processing container configured to receive the hydrocarbon resource therein and having a pair of opposing ends with an enlarged width medial portion therebetween. The device may also a spirally wound electrical conductor surrounding the hydrocarbon processing container, and a radio frequency (RF) circuit coupled to the spirally wound electrical conductor and configured to supply RF power to the hydrocarbon resource while tracking a load resonance of the RF circuit. The RF circuit may be configured to generate magnetic fields within the hydrocarbon processing container parallel with an axis thereof.

A method is provided for producing vacuum in a vacuum oil-stock distillation column and includes pumping a gas-vapor medium out of a column by an ejector into a condenser; feeding a gas mixture and a high-pressure gas into a second gas-gas ejector from which the vapor-gas mixture is fed into a second condenser. A condensate is directed from the condensers into a separator in which the condensate is separated into a water-containing condensate and a hydrocarbon-containing condensate. The hydrocarbon-containing condensate is removed while the water-containing condensate is fed into a steam generator in which heat is supplied to the water-containing condensate from a hot distillate removed from the vacuum column and steam is produced from the water-containing condensate, the steam is fed as a high-pressure gas into the gas-gas ejectors. A plant for carrying out the method is also provided.

The invention relates to a process for the purification of crude and apparatus for its implementation. This process comprises a separation into gas and degassed emulsion and separation of the degassed emulsion into water and oil. The invention also relates to a process of separating a hydrocarbon emulsion and apparatus for implementing this. This process comprises washing of the emulsion at an oil/water interface.

A method of produced water treatment in an in-situ recovery method of producing bitumen from oil sand, the method has the steps of: separating bitumen from bitumen-mixed fluid so as to leave produced water, the bitumen-mixed fluid having been recovered from the oil sand wells; and filtering the produced water via a microfiltration membrane made of polytetrafluoroethylene.

Embodiments of extraction unit and an analysis method are provided. In one embodiment, the analysis method includes the steps of providing a feed stream and a species-selective solvent to the distillation column, drawing a vapor sample from the distillation column, condensing the vapor sample, and analyzing at least a portion of the condensed vapor sample.

A method is described to excite molecules at their natural resonance frequencies with sufficient energy to break or form chemical bonds using electromagnetic radiation in the radio frequency (RF) and microwave frequency range. Liquid, solid, or gaseous materials are prepared and injected into a resonant structure where they are bombarded with electromagnetic energy in the RF or microwave range at resonant frequencies of the molecules of the materials. Alternatively, electromagnetic energy tuned to dielectric particles prepared from the materials may also be supplied to further enhance the reaction.

A device for processing a hydrocarbon resource may include a hydrocarbon processing container configured to receive the hydrocarbon resource therein and having a pair of opposing ends with an enlarged width medial portion therebetween. The device may also include a radio frequency (RF) source, and a first spirally wound electrical conductor surrounding the hydrocarbon processing container and coupled to the RF source. The device may further include a second spirally wound electrical conductor carried within the hydrocarbon processing container. The first spirally wound electrical conductor may be configured to generate magnetic fields with the hydrocarbon processing container that are parallel with an axis thereof.

Provided is a dividing wall distillation column. The dividing wall distillation column includes a main column having a dividing wall. The main column includes a pressure equalization unit for pressure equalization between a preliminary divisional section and a main divisional section which are divided by the dividing wall. The dividing wall distillation column has an effect of enabling easier operations due to the uniform pressure drop between the two divisional sections divided by the dividing wall.

An improved apparatus strips HPNA's from hydroprocessed streams in a fractionation column having a split shell configuration. Only one vapor stripping feed is required to the split shell of the fractionation column. The resulting reduction in steam requirement provides a superior fractionation in the column.