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New Industry Consortium Looks to Improve Steelmaking's Efficiency, Sustainability
10/05/2015 - A year in the making, the U.S.-based Steel Manufacturing Simulation & Visualization Consortium at Purdue University Calumet is ready to take on research projects -- and new partners.
“We are eager to begin identifying and advancing research projects that will benefit the domestic steel industry,” said consortium director and Purdue professor Chenn Zhou in a statement.
“The mission of our consortium is to support the competitiveness of the American steel industry by using simulation and visualization technologies as research tools to make steel manufacturing more viable across its value chain."
The consortium is made up of more than 15 steel producers, industry suppliers and associations, including the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.
The consortium also includes the university's Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS). The center is an interdisciplinary facility that combines advanced simulation and visualization technologies to provide solutions to industrial challenges.
By employing the CIVS research facility’s technologies, the consortium's goal is to identify ways to make steel production more efficient, competitive and sustainable.
The consortium was launched through a US$480,000 federal grant that was awarded to Zhou, who also is the director of CIVS. The grant was one of 19 funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to advance U.S. manufacturing technology.
“Purdue Calumet is proud of its role as a leader and responder to one of the most crucial economic development challenges our nation has faced this century,” Purdue Calumet Chancellor Thomas Keon said in a statement.
“Through technical resources, intellectual capital and collaboration, this consortium is poised to make a huge contribution in helping redirect a vital regional and national industry.”
During the past year, consortium leaders have been setting research priorities in eight areas: operational efficiency, energy efficiency, reliability and maintenance, workplace safety, workforce development, environmental impact, raw materials and smart manufacturing.
The consortium plans to launch its first group of projects in January. Supervised by industrial collaborators and university faculty members, Purdue Calumet students will apply CIVS technologies to conduct research projects selected by consortium members.
Companies and organizations that enroll in the consortium as charter members will be able to participate in the research selection process.
“Everyone who invests in our consortium as a charter member will have opportunities to shape the direction of research,” Zhou said. “For that to happen, members must be enrolled by December, so I encourage producers, suppliers and users throughout the steel value chain to follow up with us as soon as possible.”
“The mission of our consortium is to support the competitiveness of the American steel industry by using simulation and visualization technologies as research tools to make steel manufacturing more viable across its value chain."
The consortium is made up of more than 15 steel producers, industry suppliers and associations, including the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.
The consortium also includes the university's Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS). The center is an interdisciplinary facility that combines advanced simulation and visualization technologies to provide solutions to industrial challenges.
By employing the CIVS research facility’s technologies, the consortium's goal is to identify ways to make steel production more efficient, competitive and sustainable.
The consortium was launched through a US$480,000 federal grant that was awarded to Zhou, who also is the director of CIVS. The grant was one of 19 funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to advance U.S. manufacturing technology.
“Purdue Calumet is proud of its role as a leader and responder to one of the most crucial economic development challenges our nation has faced this century,” Purdue Calumet Chancellor Thomas Keon said in a statement.
“Through technical resources, intellectual capital and collaboration, this consortium is poised to make a huge contribution in helping redirect a vital regional and national industry.”
During the past year, consortium leaders have been setting research priorities in eight areas: operational efficiency, energy efficiency, reliability and maintenance, workplace safety, workforce development, environmental impact, raw materials and smart manufacturing.
The consortium plans to launch its first group of projects in January. Supervised by industrial collaborators and university faculty members, Purdue Calumet students will apply CIVS technologies to conduct research projects selected by consortium members.
Companies and organizations that enroll in the consortium as charter members will be able to participate in the research selection process.
“Everyone who invests in our consortium as a charter member will have opportunities to shape the direction of research,” Zhou said. “For that to happen, members must be enrolled by December, so I encourage producers, suppliers and users throughout the steel value chain to follow up with us as soon as possible.”
