History
Preparing of foundry engineer in “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” has begun from the very beginning of Institute foundation. The Department of Metallurgy was organized by Professor V.P. Izhevsky in 1902 year on Chemistry Section, and the General Metals Technology Department was organized by Professor M.A. Voropaev in 1910 year on Mechanics Section. Several foundry engineers graduated from Mechanics and Chemistry faculties in accordance with Diploma design process up to 1925 year.
The Department of Foundry Practice was founded in October 1925 due to the dividing of the General Metals Technology Department. The Head of Department in 1925-1930 years was Professor K.S. Kalinenko, in 1930-1941 years – Professor Ye.P.Babych.
During the Great Patriotic War “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (Kyiv indsustrial institute then) moved to Tashkent where it was headed by assistant professor P.G.Berezin. Institute was moved back to Kyiv in 1944 year. Faculty of Engineering and Physics also was founded that year. It consisted of Steel Metallurgy and Industrial Furnaces Department, Cast Iron Metallurgy and Theory of Metallurgy Processes Department, Metallography and Heat Treatment of Metal Department and Foundry Production Department. As time passed the name department changed: Machinery and Foundry Production Technologies Department, Foundry Production of Ferrous and non-Ferrous Metals Department.
Honored Scientist and Engineer of the Ukraine, Prof. Konstantin Illyich Vashchenko, Doctor of Engineering Science, (1900-1992) made great contribution to the development of the Department. He worked at the Department in 1930-1992, and in 1944-1974 was the Head of it. He was simultaneously the Dean of Faculty of Metallurgy.
Prof. K.I.Vashchenko became a founder of the school of scientists-foundrymen. Six Doctors and almost 80 Candidates of Engineering Science were prepared under his leadership. Many of his students are still working in NTUU “KPI” (M.I. Prylutsky, , G.E.Fedorov, V.I. Kryvda, L.M. Syroporshnev, V.V. Zatsarny, V.O. Kosyachkov, O.I. Sheyko, A.S. Kocheshkov and others).
The Head of Department in 1974-1991 was Professor S.P. Doroshenko. For the time of his work, he prepared 4 Doctors and 27 Candidates of Engineering Science, among them for Germany, Bulgaria, Cuba, Vietnam. Monographs “Pouring form” (1980), “Form materials and mixtures” (1990) published with his co-authorship are still the best national textbooks and manuals. Professor S.P. Doroshenko was honored with the title of Meritorious Professor of NTUU “KPI”, and from 2008 year was honored with life State Grant of the President of Ukraine for outstanding figures in education.
In 1991-2000 years, the Department functioned under the direction of A.P. Syomyk, who was also the Dean of the Faculty, in complicated environment, when the planned economy was transforming into market-oriented economy. He was honored with the title of Meritorious Figure of National Education of Ukraine for his outstanding achievements in the sphere of higher education by the order of the President of Ukraine in 1998 year.
The Head of Department in 2000-2005 was Professor O.P. Makarevych. The outcome of his work was over 200 scientific publications, study-methodical developments, inventor’s certificates and licences.
In 2005-2006 excellent student of Education of Ukraine, Candidate of Engineering Science, assistant professor L.M. Syroporshnev was acting Head of Department. In 2006-2013 the Head of Department was Doctor of Engineering Science V.G. Mogylatenko, in 2013 Candidate of Engineering Science, assistant professor A.S. Kocheshkov became an acting Head of Department.
The Department trains engineers with a specialization in Foundry production of ferrous and nonferrous metals and mixtures. 306 foundry engineers was graduated from KPI up to 1941 year, after 1941 – over than 2400.
Nowadays there are 26 employees in the Department: 3 professors, 10 assistant professors and 1 assistant among them. The Department is characterized as one with high level of laboratory and practice training. In particular 13 educational subjects were complemented with laboratory classes, where producing of casting forms, smelting and filling the metal (steel, cast iron, mixtures of non-ferrous metals).
The Department consists of three specializations. The first of them is “Art and Jewelry Castings”, which was founded in 1994. It’s very popular among all students, every year above 80% of them want to study secrets of jewelry work. The second one – “Technology of Casting Dental and Orthopedic Prosthesis Production – was found in 1997, and was well developed after 2008 year. The third, and the youngest specialization – “Computerization of Casting Production Processes” – was found in 2011, first graduation was in 2013 year.
For the last ten years the Department’s collective have faced such difficulties as significant changes in higher education system of Ukraine, subsequent decrease of engineering science social function and its respect, economical and political instability. Nevertheless, the Department well passed the challenge: has accomplished all fundamental tasks, implemented development strategy, became more experienced and skilled.
Foundry Production was separated into stand-alone bachelor program under the implementation of Bologna process in 2006. The Department obtained accreditation successfully, and a license for preparation of specialists is valid up to 2023 year.
Over than 500 bachelors, 380 specialists and 120 masters have been graduated for the last 10 years.
Department professor’s performance is noticed in the university. In particular, A.S. Kocheshkov (2006), M.M. Yamshynsky (2006-2010), R.V. Lyuty (2012) became winners of annual awards “Lecturer-researcher” and “Young lecturer-researcher”.
Worldwide fund Faberge rewarded assistant professor A.S. Kocheshkov with honourable memorable sign for his outstanding achievements in preparing of highly qualified specialists in jewelry sphere in 2012 year.
The teaching staff of casting laboratory is employees with the highest level of qualification, most of them are experienced in working at the precision and art casting factories: M.O. Morozov, Ye.O. Morozov, D.Yu. Lytvynenko, M.V. Kyrylenko, V.M. Blagoverny, V.Ye. Bilozertsev. They beard company such distinguished workers as D.F. Matsueva and A.T. Khomenko, who all their lives teach young students and help lecturers in their growth.
They made monuments of such important national figures of science and engineering – founder of national school of welding Ye.O. Paton, first European inventor of computer S.O. Lebedyev, famous mathematician M.P. Kravchuk, general designer of space rocket S.P. Korolyov and others. Most of monuments are located on the NTUU “KPI” territory, and bronze monument of princess Anna Yaroslavna, the Queen of France, decorates Paris suburb. Caster Association of Ukraine rewarded the Department with the diploma for the outstanding achievements in art casting.
Scientific achievements
Department workers have several significant scientific achievements worldwide recognized.
Highly strong cast iron with spherical graphite modified with magnesium became the main invention in foundry production in 1949. Foundry Production Department collective was the first among national collectives who investigated deeply and developed this mixture of metal. A range of works concerning technology of getting cast irons with different qualities was performed under direction of K.I. Vashchenko in 50-60 years of XX century.
The next revolutionary stage in improvement of highly strong cast iron production technology was shifting the process of modifying directly into casting form. Such cast iron modifying was unknown in USSR up to 1976 and K.I. Vashchenko’s researches.
K.I. Vashchenko and S.P. Doroshenko research of fundamentally new class of moulding mixtures – moulded self-hardening – and casting rods and forms technology development became a groundbreaking direction of Department’s work. Department was at the top position in solving this issue in Soviet Union.
Huge amount of researches is dedicated to creating steels for special assignment casts. L.I. Rostovtsev, K.I. Vashchenko, V.Ya, Juck, V.O. Lyuty have developed fundamentally new mixture – casting heat resistance chromium-aluminum steels for products, which are used in inimical environment where temperature is up to 1250°С. Research and development laboratory for wearproof and heat resistance mixtures for heat-and-power equipment of Ukraine MinEnergo was established in 1978 under the Department.
At the end of 50-th years of XX century collective consisting of K.I. Vashchenko and V.V. Zhizhchenko worked out bimetal casts of cast-iron-aluminum system production technology. In XXI century assistant professors V.O. Kosyachkov and M.A. Fesenko invented and then improved the world first technology of getting bimetal casts from cast iron through basic mixture modifying with two heterogeneous modificators in the casting form.
Department personnel has already defended 5 doctoral dissertation. Awarded 5 ranks of Professor, 25 – Assistant Professor. Above 30 graduates from the Department have defended their doctoral thesis. Above 140 graduates, postgraduates and workers have defended their candidate’s dissertations.
The Department always gives attendance to summing up of the scientific, studying, technical information.
In particular, in 2005-2014 several fundamental scientific researches and new modern studying manuals were published.
Monography “Production of special steels casts” (O.P. Makarevych, G.E. Fedorov, Ye.O. Platonov) was published in 2005, “Steel casting” (G.E. Fedorov, M.M. Yamshynsky, Ye.O. Platonov, R.V. Lyuty) – in 2013 year.
Studying manuals “Casting boxes” (S.P. Doroshenko, G.E. Fedorov, A.M. Fesenko, M.N. Yamshynsky, M.A. Fesenko) and “Quality control test of production in machinery construction” (G.E. Fedorov, A.M. Fesenko, M.N. Yamshynsky, M.A. Fesenko) were published in 2008, manual “Foundry hydraulics” (V.M. Drobyazko, A.M. Fesenko, R.V. Lyuty, M.A. Fesenko) – in 2010, manual “Theoretical basis of foundry production” (V.M. Drobyazko, A.S. Kocheshkov, M.M. Yamshynsky, V.G. Mogylatenko, O.I.Ponomarenko), which is fundamental for preparation of casters, – in 2011. Fundamental two-volume textbook “Designing of casting workshop” was published in 2012 (G.E. Fedorov, M.N. Yamshynsky, V.G. Mogylatenko, O.Y. Shynsky, I.M. Guriya), and four-language terminological foundry production vocabulary (over 20 thousands terms) was published in cooperation with the Department of Foundry Production Technology and Equipment (DDMA, Kramatorsk), authors: S.P. Doroshenko, A.M. Fesenko, R.V. Lyuty, G. Loibe, O.A. Chaykovsky, M.M. Fedorov, M.A. Fesenko.
Department scientific researches was honoured with 5 medals and diplomas VDNG USSR. Five employees became a KPI laureates. Above 200 inventor’s certificates and licences were received, above 1200 printed researches were published, over than 50 monographies and brochures among them, above 100 new developments were brought into production.
Students’ achievements
Students take part actively in scientific researching. Annual international scientific-engineering conference “New materials and technologies in machinery construction” is hold by the Department from 2009 year. The Department also publishes collection of theses, which contains 60-100 papers, almost 20 among them belong to the Department students.
Students-casters take part on regular basis in Ukrainian student competition of foundry production from 2008 year. The Department team got the third place for four times, won the competition in 2013 year. In individual trial for competition student V.Y. Sumenko got first place in 2010, student Ye.V. Kozachuk – third place in 2012, student M. Prokopchuk – second place in 2013, and student S. Misyura – second place in 2015 year.
Department students repeatedly became awardees of Ukrainian contest of research papers and master’s thesis.
Honouring the glorious past teaching staff, training experts, engineers and postgraduate students proudly adhere to their work, stay confident and responsible followers of glorious traditions of our predecessors, teachers and coryphaeus.