Foundry and Solidification Processing Laboratory

Laboratory Profile

The UW-Milwaukee Foundry and Solidification Laboratory is a small-scale foundry that provides students with hands-on training in foundry processing techniques and foundry research.

The main objectives of the Foundry and Solidification Laboratory are to:

  • Train students at the bachelor, master’s, and Ph.D. levels to help them obtain employment in a foundry-related field
  • Conduct cutting-edge research in foundry technology to provide new materials and processes for foundry industries to remain competitive
  • Train students through research activities that prepare them to be leaders in the foundry industry
  • Be a source of well-trained engineers for foundry-related industries, especially those in Wisconsin

Milwaukee has one of the largest concentrations of foundry industries in the country. The foundry education program at UW-Milwaukee has been accredited by the Foundry Education Foundation (FEF), which acts as a liaison between the foundry industry and the university, and provides support to the program, students, and the laboratory.

Foundry and Solidification Processing Research Activities:

  • Solidification modeling and pouring, feeding, heat and fluid flow; predicting solidification sequence and structure-properties
  • Developing new solidification processes and novel casting techniques
  • Developing metal matrix microparticle and nanoparticle composites
  • Developing metal matrix-carbon nanoparticle and nanotube composites
  • Characterizing and measuring physical and mechanical properties
  • Computer-aided design and manufacturing
  • Post-casting treatments
  • Statistical quality and process control, statistical design of experimentation, and reliability in foundries
  • Environmental control, recycling waste sand from foundries
  • Austempered ductile iron, steel castings
  • Aluminum alloy castings
  • Grain refinement, modification, slag, and inclusion control
  • Surface analysis and surface coatings
  • Failure analysis
  • Structural analysis
  • Phase diagrams and alloy development
  • Interaction between electromagnetic wave and solid or liquid metals

For more information please contact:

Pradeep Rohatgi Ph.D.
Wisconsin Distinguished Professor
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
College of Engineering & Applied Science
P.O. Box 784
Milwaukee, WI 53201
Phone: 414-229-4987
Email: prohatgi@uwm.edu