Publications

Most Recent Annual Report
Annual Report 2003-2004 in pdf format

Last Year's Annual Report
Annual Report 2002-2003 in pdf format

Information Sheets
What is CAST?
CAST3
CASTconsult
CASTtraining
Die Casting Best Parctice Project
Aluminium Casthouse Products
Ingot Casting
DC Casting
LPDC Die Design
CASTcoatTM
CASTvac
CASTvision

Refereed Journal Publications

Abbott, T.B. and Easton, M.E.
"Properties of magnesium die casting alloys for structural applications", Materials Forum, vol. 25, pp181-201, 2001.

Barnett, M.R.
"Influence of deformation conditions and texture on the high temperature flow stress of magnesium AZ31", Journal of Light Metals, vol. 1, no. 3, pp167-177, 2001.

Beggs, P.D. and Byrnes, D.
"Design study of magnesium and aluminium converter housings", Materials Australia, vol. 33, no. 5, pp15-18, 2001.

Cáceres, C.H.
"Hardness and yield strength in cast Mg-Al alloys", AFS Transactions, vol. 110, no. 02-001, pp1-7, 2002.

Cáceres, C.H. and Poole, W.J.
"Hardness and flow strength in particulate metal matrix composites", Materials Science and Engineering, vol. A332, no. 1-2, pp311-317, 2002.

Cáceres, C.H. and Rovera, D.M.
"Solid solution strengthening in concentrated Mg-Al alloys", Journal of Light Metals, vol. 1, no. 3, pp151-156, 2001.

Cáceres, C.H.
"Material properties and process assessment in Mg-Al casting alloys using strength - ductility charts", International Journal of Cast Metals Research, vol. 14, no. 3, pp185-197, 2001.

Cáceres, C.H., Davidson, C.J., Griffiths, J.R. and Newton, C.L.
"Effects of solidification rate and ageing on the microstructural and mechanical properties of AZ91 alloy", Materials Science and Engineering, vol. A325, no. 1-2, pp344-355, 2002.

Celotto, S. and Bastow, T.J.
"Study of precipitation in aged binary Mg-Al and ternary Mg-Al-Zn alloys using exp 27 Al NMR spectroscopy", Acta Materialia, vol. 49, no. 1, pp41-51, 2001.

Cleary, P., Ha, J., Alguine, V. and Nguyen, T.
"Flow modelling in casting processes", Applied Mathematical Modelling, vol. 26, no. 2, pp171-190, 2002.

Cleary, P.W. and Ha, J.
"Modelling the high pressure die casting process using SPH", Materials Forum, vol. 25, 2001.

Dahle, A.K. and StJohn, D.H.
"Die Ursachen von streifenformigen Fehlern in Magnesium-druckgussteilen (The causes of ribbon defects in magnesium die castings)", Giesserei-Praxis, vol. 7, pp284-290, 2001.

Dahle, A.K. and StJohn, D.H.
"The causes of ribbon shaped defects in magnesium die castings", Giesserei-Praxis, vol. 7, pp284-290, 2001.

Dahle, A.K., Sannes, S., StJohn, D.H. and Westengen, W.
"Formation of defect bands in high pressure die cast magnesium alloys", Journal of Light Metals, vol. 1, no. 2, pp99-103, 2001.

Davidson, C.J., Griffiths, J.R. and Machin, A.S.
"The effect of solution heat-treatment time on the fatigue properties of an Al-Si-Mg casting alloy", Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures, vol. 25, pp223-230, 2002.

Fraser, D.T. and Jahedi, M.Z.
"Economical surface treatment of die casting dies to prevent soldering in high pressure die casting", Materials Australia, vol. 33, no. 5, pp13-14, 2001.

Hisa, M., Barry, J. and Dunlop, G.
"New type of precipitate in Mg-rare earth alloys", Philosophical Magazine A, vol. 82, no. 3, pp497-510, 2002.

Ma, Q.
"The Gibbs-Thomson effect in dilute binary systems", Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, vol. 33A, pp.1283-1288, 2002.

Ma, Q., StJohn, D.H. and Frost, M.T.
"Characteristic zirconium-rich coring structures in Mg-Zr alloys", Scripta Materialia, vol. 46, no. 9, pp649-654, 2002.

Ma, Q., Taylor, J.A., Couper, M.J. and StJohn, D.H.
"A practical method for identifying intermetallic phase particles in aluminium alloys by electron probe microanalysis", Journal of Light Metals, vol. 1, no. 3, pp187-193, 2001.

Ma, Q., Zheng, L., Graham, D., Frost, M. and StJohn, D.H.
"Settling of undissolved zirconium particles in pure magnesium melts", Journal of Light Metals, vol. 1, no. 3, pp157-165, 2001.

Rometsch, P.A. and Schaffer, G.B.
"An age hardening model for Al-7Si-Mg casting alloys", Materials Science and Engineering, vol. A325, no. 1-2, pp424-434, 2002.

Rometsch, P.A., Schaffer, G.B. and Taylor, J.A.
"Mass balance characterization of Al-7Si-Mg alloy microstructures as a function of solution treatment time", International Journal of Cast Metals Research, vol. 14, no. 1, pp59-69, 2001.

Tian, C., Law, J., Van der Touw, J., Murray, M.T., Yao, J.-Y., Graham, D. and StJohn, D.H.
"Effect of melt cleanliness on the formation of porosity defects in automotive aluminium high pressure die castings", Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 122, pp82-93, 2002.

A further 17 refereed journal papers are currently in press or in review.

Conference Papers

Abbott, T. and Easton, M.A.
"Magnesium for automotive structural applications", Engineering Materials 2001, Melbourne, 23-26 September 2001.

Abbott, T., Easton, M.A., Prior, G., Lizama, Y., Pitsaris, C. and Song, W.Q.
"Tensile properties of pressure die-cast magnesium alloys: Effects of thickness and strain rate", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 10.

Ahuja, V. and Jahedi, M.Z. "
Heat checking - a comparison of five hot work tool steels for use in high pressure die casting dies", 21st International Die Casting Congress & Exhibition (NADCA), Cincinnati (USA), 29 October - 1 November 2001.

Beer, A.G. and Barnett, M.R.
"The hot deformation of wrought magnesium alloy AZ31", Engineering Materials 2001, Melbourne, 23-26 September 2001.

Beer, A.G. and Barnett, M.R.
"The hot working flow stress amd microstructure in magnesium AZ31", Magnesium Technology 2002 (131st TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition), Seattle (USA), 17-21 February 2002, pp193-198.

Beggs, P.D.
"Some design methods and considerations for magnesium alloys", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 17.

Beggs, P.D., Byrnes, D. and Fitch, D.
"A comparative design study for aluminium and magnesium automatic transmission converter housings", 2001 Automotive Transportation Technology Conference and Exposition (ATTCE) SAE, Barcelona (Spain), 1-4 October 2001.

Boot, D., Cooper, P., StJohn, D.H. and Dahle, A.K.
"A comparison of grain refiner master alloys for the foundry", Light Metals 2002 (131st TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition), Seattle (USA), 17-21 February 2002, pp909-915.

Cáceres, C.H
"Strength-ductility charts for Mg-Al casting alloys", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 5.

Cáceres, C.H., Davidson, C.J., Griffiths, J.R. and Svensson, R.
"Cyclic stress/strain behaviour of AM60 and AZ91 at low strains", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 7.

Cashion, S.P. and Ricketts, N.J.
"Replacing SF6 with the hydrofluorocarbon gas HFC-134a for magnesium melt protection", COM2001 - The Conference of Metallurgists, Toronto (Canada), 26-29 August 2001.

Davies, C.H.J., Barnett, M.R., Lapovok, R. and Yao, J.-Y.
"Simulation-based evaluation of wrought magnesium alloys for extrusion", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 14.

Dunlop, G.L.
"Australian R&D on the production and application of magnesium alloys", Magnesium Technology 2002 (131st TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition), Seattle (USA), 17-21 February 2002, pp233-240.

Easton, M.A. and StJohn, D.H.
"The key factors controlling grain refinement", COM2001 - The Conference of Metallurgists, Toronto (Canada), 26-29 August 2001.

Grandfield, J.F.
"Hot tearing defect formation during horizontal direct chill (HDC) continuous casting of magnesium", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 18.

Grandfield, J.F., Nguyen, T.T., Redden, G. and Taylor, J.A.
"Aspects of heat transfer during production of remelt ingot using chain casters", 7th Aluminium Cast House Technology Conference, Hobart, 23-26 September 2001, P. Whiteley ed., TMS 2001, pp263-271.

Grandfield, J.F., Taylor, J.A. and Davidson, C.J.
"Tensile coherency in semi-solid AZ91 alloy", Magnesium Technology 2002 (131st TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition), Seattle (USA), 17-21 February 2002, pp207-213.

Jahedi, M.Z. and Fraser, D.T.
"Prevention of soldering in high pressure die casting dies using aluminium and iton oxide surface treatment", 21st International Die Casting Congress & Exhibition (NADCA), Cincinnati (USA), 29 October - 1 November 2001.

Ma, Q., StJohn, D.H. and Frost, M.
"Zirconium alloying and grain refinement of magnesium alloys with Zirmax®", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 15.

Mandagie, M., Brandt, M., Durandet, Y. and Jahedi, M.Z.
"Laser cladding of magnesium alloys with metal matrix composites to increase wear resistance", IRIS Innovation Week, Swinburne University, Melbourne, 16-20 July 2001, pp133-138.

McDonald, S.D., Dahle, A.K., Taylor, J.A. and StJohn, D.H.
"Eutectic solidification in strontium-modified hypoeutectic aluminium-silicon alloys", Engineering Materials 2001, Melbourne, 23-26 September 2001.

Nie, J.F.
"Creep mechanisms in magnesium alloys containing aluminium", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 9.

Palanisamy, S., Nagarajah, R. and Iovenitti, P.
"Ultrasonic inspection of sub-surface defects in aluminium die castings", IRIS Innovation Week, Swinburne University, Melbourne, 16-20 July 2001, pp310-322.

Patrzalek, M., Shayan, E., Toncich, D. and Savage, G.
"Control of cooling in casting dies based on thermal feedback and modelling", IRIS Innovation Week, Swinburne University, Melbourne, 16-20 July 2001, pp12-22.

Ricketts, N.J. and Cashion, S.P.
"Cover gas protection for molten magnesium", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 3.

Savage, G., Gershenzon, M. and Rogers, K. J.
"The role of pressure in high pressure die casting", 21st International Die Casting Congress & Exhibition (NADCA), Cincinnati (USA), 29 October - 1 November 2001.

Shi, Z., Song, G.L. and StJohn, D.H.
"A method for evaluating the corrosion resistance of anodised magnesium alloys", Corrosion and Prevention 2001, 18-21 November 2001.

Song, G.L. and Atrens, A.
"Magnesium corrosion mechanisms", 12th Asia Pacific Corrosion Control Conference (APCCC), Seoul (Korea), 8-12 October 2001, pp499-516.

Song, G.L. and StJohn, D.H.
"A comparison of corrosion performance of zirconium grain refined MEZ and AZ91 alloys", 12th Asia Pacific Corrosion Control Conference (APCCC), Seoul (Korea), 8-12 October 2001, pp1296-1365.

Song, G.L. and StJohn, D.H.
"Corrosion of magnesium - Rare earth alloy MEZ", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 12.

Song, G.L., Atrens, A. and StJohn, D.H.
"An hydrogen evolution method for the estimation of the corrosion rate of magnesium alloys", Magnesium Technology 2001 (130th TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition), Seattle (USA), 11-15 February 2001, pp255-262.

Song, W.Q., Beggs, P.D. and Brandt, M.
"Wear performance of cast magnesium alloys", Engineering Materials 2001, Melbourne, 23-26 September 2001.

StJohn, D.H. and Dunlop, G.L.
"Australian research on magnesium alloys and processes", Australia-Japan Workshop on Advancements in Magnesium Alloys and Processes, Brisbane, Noosa and Central Qld, 23-26 January 2002, Paper 1.

StJohn, D.H. and Easton, M.A.
"Recent developments in the prediction of grain refiner performance", 7th Australian Asian Pacific Conference on Aluminum Cast House Technology, Hobart, 23-26 September 2001, pp151-160.

Tang, C., Brandt, M. and Jahedi, M.Z.
"Simulation of soldering reactions in HPDC of magnesium alloy by immersion tests", IRIS Innovation Week, Swinburne University, Melbourne, 16-20 July 2001.

Taylor, J.A. and StJohn, D.H.
"A cooperative process for conducting R&D in the aluminium casthouse products sector", Light Metals 2002 (131st TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition), Seattle (USA), 17-21 February 2002, pp659-666.

Winkelman, G.B., Chen, Z.W., StJohn, D.H. and Jahedi, M.Z.
"The effect on the iron content of an aluminium die casting alloy on the rate of reaction between the molten alloy and H13 die steel", 21st International Die Casting Congress & Exhibition (NADCA), Cincinnati (USA), 29 October - 1 November 2001.

Book Chapters

Dahle, A. K.
"Heat treatment of Al alloys", in "Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology", Eds. Buschow, K.H.J., Cahn, R.W., Flemings, M.C., Ilschner, B., Kramer, E.J. and Mahajan, S., Elsevier Science, pp111-113, 2002.

A further 2 book chapters are currently in press.

Theses

John Grandfield
Hot tear defect formation during horizontal direct chill casting of magnesium, PhD, The University of Queensland.

James Hutt
The origin of equiaxed crystals and the grain size transition, PhD, The University of Queensland.

Greg Morwood
Dimensional changes in investment cast tool steels: Measurement and numerical modeling, PhD, The University of Queensland.

Mark Nave
Eutectic solidification in hypoeutectic Mg-Al alloys, PhD, The University of Queensland.

Hao Wang
Semi-solid processing of aluminium alloys, PhD, The University of Queensland.

Other

Grandfield, J. F.
"Australian cast shop technology developments", Light Metal Age, August, pp.84-85, 2001.