To meet changing heat-treating process and product requirements, two new standards were developed to replace an industry staple, ASTM B 597, Standard Practice for Heat Treatment of Aluminum Alloys, which originated in 1974. Available next month from ASTM Committee B07 on Light Metals and Alloys, are:

• B 917, Standard Practice for Heat Treatment of Aluminum-Alloy Castings from All Processes; and
• B 918, Standard Practice for Heat Treatment of Wrought Aluminum Alloys.

Approved June 10, ASTM Standard Practice B 917 was developed by metallurgists and casting engineers in Subcommittee B07.01 on Aluminum Alloy Ingots and Castings. “ASTM B 917 is a new heat treat specification devoted entirely to the heat treatment of aluminum castings,” said Harold D. Bushfield, senior specification metallurgist, Alcoa Inc., Alcoa Center, Pa.

Bushfield, who co-chaired the development of B 917 with Jaswant G. Patel, technical director, Fort Wayne Foundry Corp., Fort Wayne, Ind., described advantages of the new standard: “ASTM B 917 is specific to castings, therefore it is focused on aluminum alloys used in the casting industry. It is easier to use as it contains only information pertinent to the heat treatment of castings. In addition it contains more detail relevant to the heat treatment of castings than did its predecessor.”

“Content has been updated to include currently available alloys and tempers” said Milton W. Milner, who drafted ASTM Standard Practice B 918. Approved on July 10, Milner said the document will provide purchasers/ users, materials and metallurgical engineers, quality assurance/systems auditors, and pyrometry personnel with:

• Clarification that it is intended for wrought-aluminum heat treating of materials for “general purpose,
non-aerospace applications”;
• An overhaul, expansion, and upgrading of critical
sections defining pyrometry and furnace survey requirements (that verify furnace temperature uniformity
capability) to reflect current industry practice and
material requirements;
• Updating of a critical section on quenching that
accompanies solution heat treatment;
• Updating and clarification of various quality assurance requirements including minimum retention time
for records; and
• Updating and clarification of required process
verification tests.

Milner, a metallurgical engineer and manager, Technical Standards and Quality Systems, Alcoa Inc., Alcoa Center, Pa., created the standard with metallurgical engineers in Subcommittee B07.03 on Aluminum Alloy Wrought Products.

For information about B 918, contact Milton W. Milner, Metallurgy & Quality Systems, Alcoa Inc., Alcoa Center, Pa. (phone: 724/337-2074). Comments about B 917 may be directed to Harold D. Bushfield, Alcoa Technical Center, Alcoa Center, Pa. (phone: 724/337-2960), or Jaswant G. Patel, Fort Wayne Foundry Corp., Fort Wayne, Ind. (phone: 219/244-5700).

Committee B07 meets Nov. 6-7 in Dallas, Texas. For meeting or membership details, contact Dan Schultz, manager, ASTM Technical Committee Operations (phone: 610/832-9716). //

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