National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Suggested Citation:"1 INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1997. Intermetallic Alloy Development: A Program Evaluation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5701.
×

1
Introduction

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Industrial Technology (OIT) sponsors research and development programs to improve energy efficiency and resource utilization in energy- and waste-intensive U.S. industries. The programs focus on materials processing industries and are aimed at developing technologies that reduce the use of raw materials and energy, reduce the generation of waste, and increase industrial productivity.

Since 1993, the OIT has been changing from a "technology push" program strategy, in which projects are selected and prioritized primarily for their potential for reducing energy consumption or waste generation, to a "market pull" strategy, in which industry needs and priorities are the primary criteria. The OIT program has focused on seven energy-and waste-intensive materials processing industries—steel, forest products, glass, metal casting, aluminum, chemicals, and petroleum refining. These industries, designated as "Industries of the Future" (IOF), use about 80 percent of the energy (Figure 1-1) and produce more than 90 percent of the manufacturing waste in the entire industrial sector.

As Table 1-1 shows, each industrial segment has (or will) develop a technology "vision" that identifies high priority needs, including the strategic goals and research priorities for each industry. Based on these visions, the industry groups will develop research agendas, devise implementation strategies to meet their high priority needs, and commit the resources to conduct and manage the research projects. OIT facilitates the IOF process by assisting with planning, coordinating participants and catalyzing industry interactions, providing access to the laboratories, and sharing the cost of selected projects.

Suggested Citation:"1 INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1997. Intermetallic Alloy Development: A Program Evaluation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5701.
×

FIGURE 1-1 Manufacturing energy use (1991). Total energy  use is 20.3 Quads (quadrillion BTUs). Source: OIT.

COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENTS

The OIT asked the National Research Council (NRC), through the National Materials Advisory Board, to conduct a study to evaluate their program strategy and to provide guidance during the transition to the new IOF strategy and assess the effects of the change on crosscutting technology programs, that is, programs to develop technologies applicable to several industries. The Committee on Industrial Technology Assessments (CITA) was established to review and evaluate the program and plans of the overall OIT program, review the plans and progress of selected OIT-sponsored research programs, and to conduct site visits and laboratory evaluations, when appropriate, to supplement program assessments. The committee will suggest improvements to the technical programs, methods of coordinating research with other agencies, and mechanisms for transferring technology to industry. To help the committee review the overall OIT program, CITA will establish and oversee topical panels to review selected aspects of the program, conduct the site visits, and bring in additional members with expertise in the topical areas to be evaluated.

PANEL ON INTERMETALLIC ALLOY DEVELOPMENT

The first topical panel established under CITA was the Panel on Intermetallic Alloy Development. This topic was selected because the intermetallic alloy program, which has been active at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) since 1981, is a mature program focused on crosscutting research and development projects. OIT, through the Energy Conversion and Utilization (ECUT) and Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) programs, has provided significant funding

Suggested Citation:"1 INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1997. Intermetallic Alloy Development: A Program Evaluation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5701.
×

TABLE 1-1 Status of IOF Vision Documents

Industry Sector

Vision Document

Date Released

Forest Products

Agenda 2020: A Technology Vision and Research Agenda for America's Forest, Wood, and Paper Industry

November 1994

Metal Casting

Beyond 2000: A Vision for the American Metal casting Industry

September 1995

Steel

Steel: A National Resource for the Future

May 1995

Aluminum

Partnerships for the Future

March 1996

Glass

Glass: A Clear Vision for a Bright Future

January 1996

Chemicals

Technology Vision 2020: The U.S. Chemical Industry

December 1996

Petroleum Refining

TBD

Not Available

(roughly one third of the total) to ORNL for alloy development and commercialization. The purpose of this report is to document and evaluate the progress of ORNL toward the development and commercialization of high temperature intermetallic alloys, to identify industrial applications and barriers to commercialization, and to recommend criteria for the selection and prioritization of future research projects. The panel was charged with the following tasks:

  • to review the progress and accomplishments of the intermetallic alloy research and development program

  • to describe program management strategies, including selection criteria, commercialization plans, and industry involvement

  • to describe successful and unsuccessful efforts to develop commercial applications for intermetallic alloys

  • to suggest potential applications in the OIT target industries, including steel, forest products, glass, metal casting, aluminum, chemicals, and petroleum refining

  • to recommend criteria for selecting and prioritizing future projects for the research and development of intermetallic materials and processes

The panel's evaluation included a site visit to ORNL on June 6 and 7, 1996, when panel members met with key ORNL researchers, program managers, and industrial participants to discuss progress and plans, review program strategies and accomplishments, and tour the laboratory facilities. The agenda for the evaluation meeting and a list of participants appears in Appendix A.

Suggested Citation:"1 INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1997. Intermetallic Alloy Development: A Program Evaluation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5701.
×
Page 7
Suggested Citation:"1 INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1997. Intermetallic Alloy Development: A Program Evaluation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5701.
×
Page 8
Suggested Citation:"1 INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1997. Intermetallic Alloy Development: A Program Evaluation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5701.
×
Page 9
Next: 2 OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY INTERMETALLICS PROGRAM »
Intermetallic Alloy Development: A Program Evaluation Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $47.00
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF
  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!