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By Jason H. Nadler, Jason A. Kulpe, Stephanie J. Lin

"A numerical method has been developed to predict the microstructural characteristics of reticulated metal foam. The porosity of this foam is derived from sacrificial template particles of known particle size distribution, which are incorporated with other precursor components. In this approach, a porous structure is numerically generated starting with Powell's sphere packing algorithm. The resulting stochastic structure has characteristics similar to those of corresponding metal foam. Deterministic inter-sphere connections are calculated to more accurately model the pore morphology that evolves during thermochemical synthesis. Estimations of pore morphology and specific surface area of the simulated material are compared to lab-synthesized materials composed of equivalent constituent compositions. In addition, the effect of template particle size, inter-sphere connections, and the geometric constraints on pore morphology and permeability are investigated to refine microstructural evolution and design.IntroductionReticulated foams, characterized by their interconnected pore network, can be obtained by incorporating spherical sacrificial template particles into precursor materials followed by template removal processes. The resulting structure is composed of contiguous spherical pores whose morphologies reflect those of the original templates. Based on some of the unique features of this synthesis approach, a methodology is introduced in this work whereby these foams are digitally constructed using experimental data from the template particle sizes and precursor formulation. Digitally constructed porous structures can then be compared to their laboratory synthesized counterparts through the quantification of structural features such as porosity and surface area per unit volume, which in tum are used to inform the foam's fluid transport propertiesThe spherical template particle packing algorithm developed here is adopted from Powell's work [1], which also includes approaches to obtain percolation and density in random packings [2]. Gervois gives a mathematical development for the stereological sectioning of packed hard spheres [3]. Stereological sectioning facilitates determination of relevant three dimensional morphological properties from two-dimensional data [4]. Studies on the sphere distribution size and the related particle packing density and coordination number results are studied in [5, 6]. Lastly, Kato describes a sintered neck structure, which is used with these packings [7]. This neck structure, as a model of the particle shape following heat treatment, is implemented here in a similar manner. A strong difference between the available literature and the methodology here is that spheres are packed to ultimately represent porous space, not rigid solid space."

Jan 1, 2011

By Saad Elias Kaskah

"The Box-Behnken Design (BBD) is used to model the sacrificial Cathodic Protection System (SCPS) to find the factors effectiveness behaviour. For protection potential assessment the BBD receives (resistivity of environment, sacrificial anode alloy, distance between anode and cathode and surface area for the structure to be protected) as input and gives the protection potential as output. By applying BBD with their analysis tools we get many results. The important results which are the factors individual effectiveness on the sacrificial cathodic protection (SCP) process are the resistivity which has the greatest effect on the potential protection (rank=l) followed by sacrificial anode alloy type (rank=2), surface area for structure protected required (rank=3) and distance between anode and cathode (rank=4). The interaction of sacrificial anode alloy and cathode area {X2X4 ) has significant effect on CP process with the limits which are used in this work while the other factors interaction (X1X2, X1X3, X1X4,X2X3, X3X4 ) has insignificant effect on the limits which used in this work.IntroductionFor carbon steel in seawater the normal corrosion potential E '°""_is in the range -550 to -600 mV vs. Ag/AgCI [1]. The most effective method to overcome the corrosion is cathodic protection {CP) which represents a control method in the steel wall corrosion. Cathodic protection has been used in several areas including marine and underground structures, storage tanks, and pipelines [2]. Sacrificial anodes system generates protective current which depends upon the inherent potential difference between the anodes and the structure to be protected. If the structure is made of iron or steel, any metal that is more active in the electromotive force series can theoretically be used as anode material [3]. There are many factors influencing on cathodic protection like resistivity (NaCl content), chemical composition of sacrificial anode alloy, distance between anode and cathode, surface area of cathode, temperature, humidity, velocity of solution, dust, impurities, bacteria and etc .. The present work studied four factors: NaCl content, resistivity), chemical composition of sacrificial anode alloy, distance between anode and cathode, surface area of cathode) with different three levels of values for each one. Then this work will find the optimum value from the factors levels that tacked to investigated there influencing on sacrificial cathodic protection system."

Jan 1, 2013

By Magdelinka Padenkova-Yaneva, Emilia Christova Kostakeva

"Environmental protection is becoming over the years an increasingly significant problem of mankind. Up to the last decade the only way to make the domestic waste harmless in Bulgaria was deposition on uncontrolled landfills without undertaking actions for protection of the soils. This also caused pollution to spread into the surface and underground waters and that is why actions are now undertaken for remediation of contaminated soils. This is achieved by developing projects for the closing down of polluted sites. In the present paper some projects for closing down of polluted areas are discussed. The actual conditions are examined and project decisions for preventing the surface waters from penetrating into the waste are presented. In this way the pollution of the soil is stopped and the soils are gradually remediate.IntroductionSoil is the topmost layer of the earth crust. It consists of mineral particles, organic substances, water, air and living organisms and is an extremely complex and changing living environment. Soil is a non-renewable natural resource which is of considerable importance in a number of crucial processes (production of foods, storing, filtrating and turnover of many substances, including water, carbon and nitrogen). It also serves as a basis for human activities, shaping the landscape, ground on which cultural heritage is built, and source of raw materials. These functions of soil must be protected both because of their social and economic significance and from the point of view of environmental protection.The processes of erosion, loss of organic substances, compaction, salination and contamination contribute to the degrading of soils accompanied by a negative impact on human health, natural ecosystems and changes in climate, as well as on the economy. All these make it necessary to protect soils from contamination. Over the last years intensive work started in Bulgaria for the construction of controlled sanitary landfills for rendering municipal solid waste harmless. Pursuant to Bulgarian legislation, in these controlled sanitary landfills measures are undertaken for protecting the soils from contamination through appropriate project decisions – the filtration of the products from the biological decomposition of waste into the adjacent sites (soils) and, therefore, the contamination of the surface and underground waters is prevented. At the same time the purity of air is maintained, human health is protected and conditions are created for including the controlled sanitary landfills into the surrounding landscape."

Jan 1, 2008

By Tzu-Chien Lin, Jack Tsai, Ming-Yu Lin, Der-Ray Huang, Jiin-Sen Chen, Jing-Xuan Lin

"In this paper, some DVD-R discs have been selected for long time light exposure test and high temperature and humidity test. Generally, recordable media under long time light exposure maybe be defected seriously. If we use Jitter value 8% as a reference to determine the life time of DVD-R samples, some discs defect after 5 hours of light exposure while some discs can endure over 25 hours. Also if we use reflectivity 45% to determine the life time, some discs defect after 30 hours light exposure while some discs can endure over 40 hours. From our results, the good samples show good characteristics of PI error. The absorption spectrum of recordable media is a good reference to justify the quality of dye media. These results can be used to estimate the life time of recordable discs.IntroductionIn general, the life time of DVD-R with a layer of organic dye recording layer is required for preservation in decades. In addition to optical characteristics and thermal properties, we still need to consider the stability of the dye in recording media. The presentation of the color on organic dye is not only related to the material's property but also related to the light exposure. In this study, we focus on the absorption characteristics and reflectivity of organic dye in optical recording layer after light exposure. The optical properties of discs depend on the functional groups and molecular structure [1]. According to ""DVD Specifications for Recordable Disc (DVD- R)"", the reflectivity should higher than 40%. From measured reflectivity, we can confirm that the important issue is whether dye be affected by light exposure or not. Because each specific functional group absorbs the specific spectrum, we can check the characteristics of functional groups from their UV/Visible Spectra. We also use High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to detect the different components of dye on the recording layer [2]. The jitter value test is to test the error cause by digital signal of recording media. If we use jitter value 8% as a reference to determine the life time of DVD-R samples, the purpose of this study is to investigate the jitter values of recording media after high light exposure and high temperature/humidity test. The results of these test will be helpful for the development of long-life optical storage media."

Jan 1, 2012

By Linli Wu, Guangchun Yao

"The influence of deformation on the properties of short-carbon-fiber reinforced 2024 alloy matrix composites was investigated in this study. It was found that the distribution of carbon fibers changed from the random state before deformation to the ordered state that carbon fibers arranged along the direction of rolling and extruding after deformation. Under the temperature range in control, the increase of rolling and extruding temperature would benefit to improve strength and elongation of composites, but was not conductive to improve the hardness of composites. With the increment of total deformation, all the strength and the hardness of composites became greater, nevertheless the elongation decreased. After being rolled and extruded, the strength and the hardness of composites were all bigger than those of composites before being rolled and extruded; moreover, the strength of extruded 2024 alloy matrix composites was higher than that of rolled 2024 alloy matrix composites under the same heat treatment conditions.IntroductionCarbon fibers have been reckoned as very important reinforcements due to the high specific strength, specific modulus, high thermal and electric conductivity, low expansion coefficient and good self-lubricant properties [1-4]. Light metal composites reinforced with carbon fibers, such as carbon fibers in an aluminum matrix, are widely used and studied. Some studies have concentrated on the interfacial characteristic of CF/Al composites in order to search for the way of improving the bonding between carbon fibers and the matrix alloy [5-8], and on the influence of the carbon fiber percent composition in the composites [9-11]. Some researchers began to take interest in the deforming characteristic and failure behavior of carbon fiber reinforced metal matrix composites [12-16]. However, the same with other metal materials, most of CF/AI composites were prepared by some single processes, such as powder metallurgy, extrusion casting and vacuum press infiltration, which caused that the composites products could not be manufactured directly. In order to cover the shortage of the mentioned above processes and get composites products with perfect mechanical properties and dimensional accuracy, the composites should be reworked by rolling, extruding or forging process. Compared with research about manufacturing process, the correlative investigation on the reworking of CF/Al composites was much less evidently, which restricted the application and the further development of CF/Al composites."

Jan 1, 2012

By Jamil M. Khalifeh, Shadia J. Ikhmayies, Bothina A. Hamad

"We computed the optical properties of the cubic niobium nitride (o-NbN) compound using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FL-LAPW) method within density functional theory (DFT). The complex dielectric function and optical constants, such as optical absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, energy-loss spectrum, and reflectivity, are all calculated and compared with experimental results. The behavior of the computed quantities is similar to that obtained experimentally, but the optical positions are shifted to lower energies. This shift was related to the strong interband transitions, which are located at energies higher than 5 eV for NbN- as they are for IV B transition-metal mononitrides- and they appear in the computed spectra and not in the experimental spectra. These interband transitions simply shift the position of the reflectivity edge or the screened plasma frequency to the longer wavelength side.IntroductionIn recent years, NbN, as a transition metal nitride, has become a very popular material due to its high hardness, melting point, wear resistance, chemical inertness and temperature stability, which makes it suitable for use as emission cathodes in microelectronics and sensors, optical films and micro-mechanics etc [l]. Niobium nitride has long been known as highly polymorphic material, for which several crystalline structures have been reported in the literature [2]. These structures include the well known super-conducting rock-salt (Fm-3m, or Bl) structure (o-NbN), the hexagonal structure with space group p63/mmc and prototype Fe2N (18fuN), the hexagonalstructure with space group p63/mmc and prototype NiAs ~-NbN) and others.There has been a lot of computational studies for the structural and electronic properties ofNbN [3, 4-7], but according to our knowledge there is not any computational work that has been devoted to study the optical properties of this transition metal compound. At the same time a number of authors had performed experimental work in this direction. For example, Xin-kang et. al [l] studied the microstructure and optical properties of magnetron sputtered NbN thin films. Torche et. al [8] studied the composition, structure, electrical and optical properties of nonstoichiometric niobium nitrides. Newport et. al [9] investigated the reflection and transmission spectra of cubic niobium nitride films, and Tanabe et. al [10] had investigated the optical parameters and reflectivity of reactively sputtered NbN thin films by using in situ ellipsometry."

Jan 1, 2013

By A. V. Tarasov

In order to improve technical, economic and environmental performance of hydrometallurgical processing of intermediate products containing copper and nickel, the Gintsvetmet Institute and the IMET Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have conducted studies into the efficiency of the use of alternating current of industrial frequency on processes applied for hydrochemical leaching of various copper- and nickel-containing materials. It has been found that: 1.Imposition of alternating current over the process of leaching of softly reduced nickel oxide with recycled copper sulfate solutions resulted in an increase by 20 to 30% of the rate of the copper cementation process and reduced by 20% its activation energy. At the same time, the recoveries of nickel, cobalt and iron to the leach solution increased up to 82.2%, 78.5% and 57.1%, respectively, and that of copper to the cement precipitate up to 74%. Optimal process conditions have been identified with respect to the current density, electrode material, copper concentration in solutions and the process temperature. 2.In the process of hydroelectrochemical sulfuric acid leaching of nickel and copper sulfides, the grain size, the phase form of sulfides, the solution composition (H2SO4, Cl?, Cu2+, Fe3+)and the current amperage had an effect on the nickel recovery to the solution, which reached 90%, while the degree of copper transfer to solution did not exceed 20%. The process of hydroelectrochemical sulfuric acid leaching of nickel and copper sulfides with an addition of Cl? made it possible to selectively recover nickel into the leach solution along with concentrating copper in the leach residue. 3.When subjecting samples of commercial-grade magnetic fractions of converter matte to sulfuric acid leaching, the imposition of electric current, the concentrations of sulfuric acid and chloride ion in the solution and the duration of the reaction process had an effect on the process. The nickel recovery was 85% and that of cobalt and iron was 95% and the recoveries reached 97.5%, 98.3% and 99.8% as a result of repeated treatment of the primary residue under similar process conditions. Up to 75% of copper, 75% of sulfur and 99.0-99.5% of palladium was concentrated in the solid reach residues. The experimental data obtained indicates that the use of AC for hydroelectrochemical sulfuric acid leaching for separation of copper- and nickel-containing intermediate products has favorable prospects.

Jan 1, 2003

By Derek J. Fray

"In order to extend the application of fused salts in\the electrowinning and electrorefining of metals, it is necessary to maximise the current density, minimise the voltage drop and greatly increase the area of electrode surface so as to compete with the space-time yield of pyrometallurgical reactions. The various designs of electrowinning cell are reviewed and it is shown that by the application of a modest centrifugal field it is possible to reduce the anode to cathode interelectrode spacing to 4 mm whilst still maintaining a current efficiency of 85-90%.The thermodynamic potential for electrorefining is far less than for electrowinning yet fused salt electrorefining is only applied in limited cases. The reasons for this are discussed and the important design parameters evaluated. It is concluded that by using packed bed electrodes, separated by a diaphragm, the possibility of electrorefining with very low energy consumption can be achieved. Carbothermically-produced metals are always cheaper than those produced by electrolysis but suffer from the disadvantage of low purity. It is proposed that fused salt electrorefining may offer an energy efficient way of upgrading the metal. IntroductionThe majority of metals can be deposited from fused salts (1,2) but as commercial production is restricted to the more reactive elements, it is worthwhile considering the advantages and disadvantages of fused salt electrolysis as' compared to smelting and aqueous electrolysis. The advantages over aqueous extraction are as follows:1) the much higher conductivities and diffusivities result in much lower IR losses and higher current densities can be achieved at modest voltages;2) the elevated temperatures of operation result in larger exchange currents which give rapid kinetics and lower activation polarisation for the electrode reactions;3) the absence of water as a solvent means that it is not necessary to consider the evolution of hydrogen as a competing cathodic reaction. Furthermore, alkali halide salts, often used as solvents in fused salt electrolytes, have high deposition potentials;4) molten salts generally are mutually soluble and, therefore, concentration polarisation effects are minimised."

Jan 1, 1988

By Vaughan R. Voller

"The wide range of length and time scales found in solidification processes are outlined and discussed. Methods for Direct Microstructure Simulation (DMS) are introduced. Key features in sharp interface and phase field models are presented. Concepts in micro-macro solidification modeling are covered. Basic details of microstructure and segregation models are provided. A description of a recent segregation micro-macro model is presented in detail.IntroductionA solidification process involves the containment of a liquid region, which, due to cooling, transforms over time to form a fully solid product. The development of the solid microstructure and the segregation of solute components during this transformation are controlled by phenomena that occur across a wide range of length and time scales. A ""successful"" model of a given solidification process needs to account for these phenomena. Standard models of solidification employ a discrete grid of node points and associated volume elements in the special domain, with a discrete time step to track the transient changes of nodal values, describing the composition and microstructure. Through the use of such models significant progress has been made towards a complete understanding of solidification process and phenomena (see the conference proceedings in Refs [1-9]). As solidification models become more sophisticated, however, they all run into the problem of resolving the full range of disparate space and time scales.Two approaches can deal with this problem1. Direct Microstructure Simulation (DMS) where the grid size and time step are chosen to scale with the smallest length and time scales of the given problem.2. Micro-macro modeling where the grid size and time step scale with the macroscopic process scale and phenomena at smaller scales are accounted for via sub-grid modeling and volume averaging.Currently full DMS of solidification is beyond the reach of available computer power and the application and development of micro-macro models is an important and critical research area."

Jan 1, 2001

By Tetsuro Ohashi, Tooru Matsumiya, Yoshio Abe

"The three-dimensional deformation of a continuously cast slab was modeled into two-dimensional deformation by developing the solidified shell of the slab. The developed solidified shell was divided into rectangular elements. The thermal strain produced as the slab is wi thdrawn over one roll spacing in the casting direction was calculated from the temperature change during that time and the increment of the geometrical unbending strain during the time was calculated from the change in the radius of curvature of the slab by assuming that the neutral axis of bending is located at the mid-thickness of the slab and that the transverse section of the slab is kept in a plane during unbending. These strains were imparted to each element as initial strains. The interaction between the elements and the overall deformation of the solidified shell were analyzed by the finite element method.The analysis was performed on a slab being cast on a machine of the circular arc type with progressive unbending. The following findings were obtained as a result. The effect of unbending is spread in the upstream and downstream directions of the slab by the shear deformation of the narrow and wide faces. As the shear deformation increases, the strain in the unbending zone decreases and the strain outside of the unbending zone increases. The effects of secondary cooling conditions, slab size, radius of caster circular arc section, compression casting, etc., were also analyzed. IntroductionTo develop a method for preventing the internal cracking of continuously cast slabs, it is important to acurately analyze the deformation of the slab and this subject has been extensively investigated. Many researchers, including the present authors, have analyzed slab bulging. (1)- (11) Analysis has also been made of thermal deformation that assumes importance in continuous casting of small-section blooms.(12)-(18) However, unbending deformation, an extremely important subject for continuous casters of the circular arc type, has not been fully analyzed."

Jan 1, 1986

By Devon A. Hannan

Thermodynamic modeling calculations were undertaken for the recovery of mercury from HgTe using a vacuum retort reactor. However, discrepancies were noted in the available thermodynamic data which introduced uncertainty in the model results. Consequently, a series of transpiration experiments were first undertaken on the thermal decomposition of HgTe into an inert carrier gas stream according to the following reaction: HgTe(s) Hg(g) + Te(s) From the measured weight loss of the HgTe samples, the Gibhs free energy change for the above volatilization reaction was determined as a function of temperature. The experimentally determined Gibbs free energy values were found to be approximately 30% larger (more posi-tive) than the values available in databases such as HSC Chemistry. By conducting a second-law analysis on the experimental data, the heat of formation of HgTe at 298.15 K and the en-tropyat 298.15 K were determined, which then formed the basis for a new database for the modeling calculations. The results of this study showed that HgTe was more stable at elevated temperatures than was generally indicated in the literature. The new database is given in a for-mat for direct insertion in HSC Chemistry. Using the new database, modeling calculations were conducted to examine the effects of the re-tort pressure and the molar ratio of purge gas to HgTe on the volatilization of mercury from HgTe. A diagram is presented that shows the minimum temperature for 100% volatilization of mercury from HgTe as a function of retort pressure for different molar ratios of purge gas (N2) to HgTe. For example, it was found that the minimum temperature for 100% volatilization could be decreased by 175 K, at a retort pressure of 0.05 bar, if the molar ratio ofN2 to HgTe is increased from 1.0: 1 to 100.0: I.

Jan 1, 2003

By C. Beckermann

"A diffuse interface model is derived for the direct simulation of two-phase flows with surface tension, density differences between the phases, and phase change. The derivation starts from the balance equations for a sharp interface and uses a formal averaging procedure on an atomic scale to obtain diffuse interface versions of the equations. Two approaches are considered: (i) the two phases have different velocities inside the interface and separate conservation equations are solved for each phase, and (ii) the two phases have the same velocity inside the diffuse interfuce and mixture conservation equations are solved. Based on a superposition of microscopic (atomic-scale) and macroscopic interface morphologies, an expression for the interfacial momentum source term is introduced that models surface tension effects and accounts for immiscibility between the phases.IntroductionDiffuse interface methods have been a popular tool in the direct simulation of two-phase flows [I]. In diffuse interface approaches, the interface between the two phases is characterized by a rapid but smooth transition in the properties, such as density and viscosity. Usually, a phase function ? is introduced to represent this transition, and the evolution of ? in the domain is computed from a separate equation or recipe. A unique set of conservation equations (e.g., mass and momentum) is solved on the entire domain, irrespective of the phase present, by accounting for the transition in the properties and introducing terms that account for interfacial sources. The continuum surface force (CSF) model of Brackbill et al. [2], which accounts for surface tension, is an example of the latter. The volume-of-fluid (VOF), level set, and phase-field methods are all examples of diffuse interface approaches. The major advantage of diffuse interface methods is that explicit tracking of the interface and the application of traditional sharp interface conditions are avoided. A disadvantage can arise from the artificial smearing of what is in reality an interface of atomic-scale width; however, techniques have been developed to overcome this problem."

Jan 1, 2004

By H. Saint-Raymond, F. Gruy, P. Gardin, M. Cournil

"The control of inclusion elimination is getting more and more important to obtain clean steel. This paper presents a methodology under development for predicting cluster growth and elimination in ladle - RH system. The first key point is to express the collision efficiency, which is very specific for alumina cluster due to the non-wetting fluid. Second, a description of the two-phase flow in the system is necessary. In our calculations with Fluent CFD package and Lagrangian approach for bubbles, bubble growth is implemented, which improves the predictions. Using global reactor decomposition makes possible the prediction of the time evolution of cluster distribution. Important effect of fractal dimension is demonstrated.IntroductionElaboration of new steel grades requires not only to have a high purity in terms of C, O and N content but also to eliminate particles such as alumina or slag droplets. Flow optimisation making easier inclusion elimination is then a key figure to satisfy cleanliness requirements. Mathematical models of flow and inclusion behaviour are widely used for this purpose (1, 2). But having a predictive tool is still a challenge, because the number of phases is important in steelmaking industry: liquid steel, slag layer, bubbles and inclusions (with a large range of composition and rheology). The paper presents the methodology which is developed at IRSID to predict oxygen content evolution during RH degassing.The main mechanisms which have to be considered are :-inclusion growth by turbulent aggregation of elementary inclusions (keeping in mind that liquid steel is a non-wetting medium for inclusions); the difficulty is to express collision efficiency for alumina particles,-inclusion removal by flotation; the difficulty for alumina clusters stems from the complex morphology of particle; fortunately, the use of fractal concept makes it possible to cope with this problem.The paper describes the general modelling of inclusion removal taking into account the previous mechanisms. Hydrodynamic parameters are obtained by means of Fluent CFD package and a specific coding is developed for cluster growth."

Jan 1, 2001

By I. C. Howard, E. J. Palmiere

"Heat transfer and friction in hot flat rolling have traditionally been characterised by an average heat transfer coefficient (h) and an average friction coefficient (p.). However, the presence of oxide scales and asperities at the interface question the use of such averages. The apparent irregularity and lack of pattern of interactions at the interface has prompted this present investigation to move away from averaged h and 11 values, and to study their local evolution based on probabilistic rules. The approach is based on the probability of finding the workpiece surface in a specific configuration at a particular instance of time in the roll gap. These rules are based on observations of surface phenomena such as scale behaviour during hot rolling. The model is implemented using user-subroutines integrated with the commercially available finite element program ABAQUS™. The results show the strong dependence of h and u on the local scale interactions. In particular, the effect of scale thickness, material behaviour and processing conditions on the evolution of hand 11 are discussed. Finally, the development of a Cellular Automata based Finite Element (CAFE) model is proposed to model the combined interfacial phenomenon of friction and heat transfer at the tool-work piece interface.IntroductionIntricate interactions between process variables in hot rolling of steels make it a challenge to the modelling community. For a given material and geometry combination, reducing interfacial power losses can increase the efficiency of the rolling process. The roll-strip interface, therefore, forms the critical zone and is currently the domain of intense investigation, especially to characterize interfacial frictionl • 2 and heat transfer3 • 4 . These interfacial phenomena are inter-related and cannot be studied in isolation. However, very few mathematical models4 • 5 combine an analysis of friction and heat transfer and deformation of the strip-roll interface taking into account the role of asperities and oxide scales."

Jan 1, 2001

By Marco Zurco, Claudia M. Mendez, Alicia E. Ares, Carlos E. Schvezov, Carlos M. Rodriguez

"Zinc-Tin alloys were solidified in horizontal form and the obtained results were analyzed. During solidification the distribution of temperatures were measured by using thermocouples located strategically along the length of the samples. From the measured temperatures the following parameters were derived; the local temperature gradient, the cooling rate and the velocities of the liquid and solids fronts. Comparing the structure of the samples and the values of these parameters it was found that the temperature gradient reaches minimum values of as low as - 0.6 °C/cm, and velocities of the fronts of around 0.1 cm/s. In addition, the grain size was measured along the samples. The results are presented and discussed in the frame of the results previously obtained for other alloys.IntroductionGenerally solidification leads to two types of grain morphologies: columnar and equiaxed. The origin of each one has been the subject of numerous theoretical and experimental researches in the field of metallurgy for many years [1-7]. The columnar-to-equiaxed transition, CET, is considered as an object of high technological relevance with respect to the directional solidification of metallic alloys. This structure transition may be sharp or gradual and it has been reported to be dependent on thermal conditions associated with the casting process, including melt convection, heat transfer coefficients at the metal-mold interface, growth rates, thermal gradients, cooling rates, transport of solute, alloy composition, melt superheat, mold temperature, mold design, casting size, casting geometry, and the concentration of nucleating particles. As a consequence, it is critical for industrial applications to understand the physical mechanisms which control this transition during solidification. Many studies highlight the importance of the relative growth of the equiaxed and columnar grains and develop expressions or numerical procedures to describe a criterion for the CET. A number of experimental investigations reported in the literature suggest that the CET occurs when GL in the melt reaches a minimum critical value [5-7]."

Jan 1, 2012

By R. Hamar, G. Lamanthe

"To realize complex shaped pieces, like turbine blades, superalloys are cast with the lost-wax process. The end properties of these parts depend upon their microstructure as well as upon the occurence of casting defects such as micropores and hot tears. Such features are governed by the local solidification conditions which may be describe by the calculation of thermal transfers between alloy and mould. It needs the evaluation of numerous parameters which are fitted from experimental measurements in real castings. In further simulations, any parameter may be changed, in order to determine its influence. Such a single modification is quite impossible to realize in real castings, which shows that numerical modeling is a very good way to study casting processes.This modeling technique of casting is applied here to the real study of a typical low pressure turbine blade of a civil engine.IntroductionAircraft engine manufacturers use superalloys to produce turbine blades. They have to obtain a given microstructure and to avoid solidification defects to give good mechanical properties to theirs castings. For example, microporosity is induced by a large shrinkage that cannot be completely fed with the remaining liquid alloy .The optimization of casting processes needs a good Knowledge of the solidification process, that must be controlled at every place in the casting, and at every time of its freezing. Material and heat transfers that occur during the solidification, can be estimated from rather complex calculations. To model these physical phenomena, the evaluation of many parameters must be made. In this aim, some casting experiments are fitted with numerous thermal captors. The identification of experimental and computed thermograms let us estimate these parameters.A long-range scientific cooperation between SNECMA and INPG has enabled the realization of such studies on this topic. From all of them, this paper describes an experimental and computed investigation which has been led on a typical low pressure turbine blade of a civil engine."

Jan 1, 1986

By Yang Jian-guang, Deng Zi-xiang, Zhang Xu-liang, Li Jun-yuan

"Hyperaccumulator biomass harvested after heavy-metal phytoremediation must be considered as hazardous waste that should be contained or treated appropriately before disposal or reuse. As a potential method to detoxify the biomass and to convert this material to a suitable bio-energy resource, the hydrothermal upgrading process was applied to remove heavy metals and upgrading crude bio-oil from Pteris vittata stems and leaves harvest. Parameters such as material granularity, temperature, Liquid/Solid (L/S, ml/g), pressure, duration and catalysts were examined for their effect on the removal efficiency of heavy metals and upgrading efficiency of crude bio-oil. Maximum heavy metal removal efficiency of>99% and crude bio-oil upgrading efficiency of 83% were attained with an 200 mesh (75 µm) granularity, LIS 40:1and23 MPa at 380°C in the presence ofO.l mol L-1 K2C03 for 30 min. GC-MS analysis results show that the resulting bio-oil mainly consists of benzene 11 %, ketone 42%, alcohols 14%, alkene 15% and ester 11 %, etc., and the relative molecular weight distribution lies in 94-282, carbon number distribution lies in 6-18, calorific value is 32MJkg-1.IntroductionPhytoremediation of soil or water with hyperaccumulator has been extensively explored in recent years [1-4]. Living plants can clean up soils or waterways. This approach exploits the ability of various plant species to thrive in high metal environments where large amounts of toxic elements are accumulated, such as heavy metals, and is particularly appropriate when slow remediation of relatively low metal concentrations is acceptable. Advantages compared with existing remediation methods include the minimal site destruction and destabilization, low environmental impact, and favourable aesthetics; advantages compared with biosorption include continuous in situ regeneration of the biomass, and the ability of living plant cells to supplement passive sorption of metals with metabolic mechanisms of metal uptake and detoxification [5-8]."

Jan 1, 2014

By Christian Redl

"The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) solves fluid dynamics problems based on a discrete mesoscopic approach. It is based on the Lattice Boltzmann equation which is a special discretisation of the continuous Boltzmann equation. Its principle advantage is that it can handle complex physical phenomena (like interaction between different components and surface effects), complicated boundary and initial conditions very well, free from many gridding and stability constraints that plague conventional numerical methods used for fluid flow simulations. Complex structures like porous media can be resolved directly. The LBM algorithm has a simple structure and acts locally, which is favourable for parallel computing. Its potential for metallurgical process simulation is demonstrated in the present study which is concerned with the simulation of the fluid flow in a copper winning electrolysis cell. The electrolyte is modelled as the carrier fluid and the oxygen is considered via a so called active scalar equation. The modelling of buoancy, momentum exchange and the free surface requires special effort. The results of the simulation are validated against experimental data obtained by Laser-Doppler-Anemometry. Despite the simplifications made, good agreement between the simulation and the experiments was found.IntroductionThe hydrodynamics in an electrometallurgical cell is a complex, highly non-linear phenomenon. It includes the simulation of a two component system with high density ratio, gravity driven flow and a free surface. A general solution to this problem is currently unknown.The flow field is a result of the combination of various hydrodynamic effects [18]. Metal deposition at the cathode yields in a decrease in the ion concentration, which reduces the density of the electrolyte. At the anode molecular oxygen is formed as a consequence of the oxidation of water molecules. The oxygen is solved in the electrolyte and again the electrolyte density is decreased. Both effects lead to a free upwards directed convective flow, refered to as natural convection."

Jan 1, 2001

By Run Huang, Xuewei Lv, Songli Liu, Chenguang Bai

"Titanium alloy was prepared from titania-bearing blast furnace slag (Ti-BF slag) by aluminothermic process in an induction furnace. The effects of aluminum amount on the titanium silicon yield and titanium recovery ratio were studied. The phase transformation and chemical composition of the prepared alloy were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) respectively. It was found that the mass fraction of silicon and aluminum increased with increasing the aluminum amount, however, the mass fraction of titanium increased first and then decreased with increasing the aluminum amount. Furthermore, both the titanium alloy yield and titanium recovery ratio increased with the increase of aluminum amount. The main phases of the alloy were TixSiy and AlTi3. The titanium alloy samples prepared in various conditions had a composition (wt.%): 38–50% Ti, 29-34% Si, 4-11 Al%, 1.6-2.2 Mn%.IntroductionPanzhihua and Xichang regions in the southwest of China are rich in vanadium-titanium magnetite containing iron, vanadium, titanium and gangue. According to the characteristics of the resource, iron and vanadium are successfully recovered with a blast furnace process and a converter process. However, most content of titanium are entered in the blast furnace slag with TiO2 22% -26% and metallic Fe 2%–6% called Ti-BF slag. Due to the dispersed distribution of Ti in various fine grained mineral phases with a complex combination between Ca, Al and Si, it is difficult to recover the Ti components[1]. This slag is generated at a current rate of 3.6 million tons per year, which adds to the existing 70 million tons of slag produced so far[2]. The slag has had to be piled as large as the mountains, which not only waste of resources but also cause a pollution of the environment. Therefore, the study of integrated utilizing Ti-BF slag has become very significant."

Jan 1, 2012

By Jim Hardy, Tim McKnight

"The thermal mass flow controller, or MFC, has become an instrument of choice for the monitoring and controlling of process gas flow throughout the materials processing industry. In the semiconductor industry, these MFCs are used on over 70% of the processing tools. Reliability and accuracy are major concerns for the users of the MFCs. Calibration and characterization technologies for the development and implementation of mass flow devices are described. Sources of inaccuracy in process gas handling are described, and a model to correct for these inaccuracies is outlined. A gravimetric calibrator is described that allows flow sensors to be calibrated in corrosive, reactive gases to an accuracy of 0.3% of reading, at least an order of magnitude better than previously possible. All described capabilities are implemented in a Department of Energy User Facility which is available to industry and universities to test and develop gas flow sensors and controllers and evaluate their performance related to environmental effects, reliability, reproducibility, and accuracy.IntroductionMaterials processing is at the heart of semiconductor manufacturing. To make today's advanced integrated circuits, silicon wafers are subjected to over 200 process steps. Most of these steps involve processes such as etching, implanting, diffusion, annealing, deposition, and lithography (resist deposition and hardening). Often one or more process gases are used to complete the process step. To achieve the quality and performance required in the micro devices, accurate measurement and control of these gases is essential. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in conjunction with the semiconductor industry, has been working to improve process gas measurement and control accuracy and reliability. Standardized test methods have been developed to characterize and benchmark the performance of mass flow controllers (MFCs), the method of choice for monitoring and controlling gas delivery. Testbeds have been designed and fabricated to produce repeatable and accurate data using these standards. Baseline testing was performed along with development of a unique mass flow instrument, the gravimetric calibrator."

Jan 1, 1997