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By Napisporn Memongkol

Syntheses of Al-TiC-Al2O3 and Al-SiC-Al2O3 composites were obtained in situ by carbothermal reduction of mixtures of Al powder, TiO2 powder and activated carbon powders and Al powder, SiO2 powder and activated carbon powders. The reductions were carried out in a horizontal tube furnace under flow of inert gas. The standard Gibbs energy minimization method was used to calculate the equilibrium composition of the reacting species. The synthesized products were mixtures of aluminum reinforce with titanium carbide and alumina and aluminum reinforce with silicon carbide and alumina. The effect of the reaction temperature (1000 o C ? 1200 o C) and condition of precursors on the Al powder, TiO2 powder and activated carbon powders and Al powder, SiO2 powder and activated carbon powders were investigated using XRD and SEM method. The synthesized products showed those composites with aluminum matrix and titanium carbide and alumina as reinforced phases and aluminum matrix and silicon carbide and alumina as a reinforced phase was formed.

Jan 1, 2006

By D. Norman, D. J. Hughes, R. Dashwood, I. McGregor, N. D. Raath

"This paper develops a methodology for predicting spot weld fractures in automotive boron steel grades, such that fracture modes can be predicted accurately in a vehicle or sub-assembly structure. To achieve this, it was necessary to understand the range of complex fracture modes observed in boron steel spot welds and how these are linked to the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) microstructures and hardness distributions and residual stress.Material data for the HAZ was extracted by simulating the spot welding process using a Gleeble machine; achieving specific weld microstructure in a larger volume which was used in destructive testing. Neutron diffraction was employed to accurately characterize the post-weld residual stresses found inside the weld. The constitutive relations of specific areas in the HAZ where fracture is thought to occur is being incorporated into finite element software to improve fracture prediction of boron steel welds.IntroductionWith the drive for light-weighting and improving passenger safety, lighter and stronger materials are being continuously sought in the automotive industry. The application of boron steel in the Body-In-White (BIW) meets both these criteria by down-gauging thickness of the steel and increasing the strength. As an example, when applied to crash-relevant areas in cars, components have an ultimate tensile strength of 1500 MPa, minimum springback and reduced sheet thickness.To achieve high strength and low springback, boron steel components must be formed and hardened at the same time. This is typically achieved by austenitizing the steel around 900 °C and simultaneously quenching and forming, usually with a hydraulic press and tool-set. Trace amounts of boron, typically 0.005wt%, increase the hardenability of the steel dramatically. This is attributed to the grain boundary segregation of boron, which hinders the formation of ferrite during cooling and forces the transformation of austenite to martensite at high cooling rates, a minimum of25 °C/s."

Jan 1, 2013

By Chikabumi Yamauchi, Masami Tashiro, Toshiharu Fujisawa, Hiroyuki Snano

"Rare earth metals usually contain large amount of oxygen because of their reactiveness, and therefore oxygen removal is one of the major problems on the purification of rare earth metals. In the present research work, halide flux treatment at high temperature under inert gas atmosphere was applied to the oxygen removal from neodymium. NdF3 was used as a halide flux. Deoxidation reaction and its mechanism were discussed based on the experimental results. Halide flux treatment is very effective for oxygen removal from rare earth metals.IntroductionSolid Sate Electrotransport (SSE) process has been successfully applied for the elimination of interstitial gaseous impurities from chemically active metals[l]-[5]. However, to achieve a higher effectiveness of the SSE process, it is required a very low initial impurity content in the metal. In case of rare earth metals, it is known that they usually contain large amount of oxygen that should be lowered as much as possible before applying the SSE process. In addition, if effective oxygen removal is achieved by simple process, it is significant also from the industrial viewpoint. In the present work, the application of a halide flux treatment is investigated to remove oxygen from neodymium by using NdF3 as a flux. At first, deoxidation reaction and its mechanism were discussed based on the phase diagram of the Nd-NdF3-Ndp3 quasi-ternary system. Based on the results, oxygen content in deoxidized neodymium was calculated theoretically and it was verified by deoxidation experiments."

Jan 1, 1998

By F. Kongoli

Viscosity is an important parameter of copper smelting and converting processes. It affects the settling of matte or metal droplets in the slag, distribution of elements etc, Despite this importance, confusion exists on the viscosity of copper smelting slags as a result of disagreements found among the measured viscosity data of several authors especially in the slags of high ferric iron content and close to magnetite precipitation. In this work a critical review of the existing data on the viscosity of copper smelting slags has been first carried out and the effect of oxygen potential on the viscosity of copper smelting slags has been clarified through a coupled quantification of viscosity and liquidus temperature. The confusion in the literature has been clarified and the importance of the relation between the viscosity and the liquidus temperature is discussed,

Jan 1, 2003

By J. E. Jacoby

Scrap recycling has become an increasingly important source of metal units for the aluminum industry during the past 25 years. Aluminum scrap from the manufacture and recycling of cans, automobiles, buildings and other products has created an industry that melts these products and delivers the metal in molten or sow form to companies that make cast parts or fabricated products This rapidly developing recycling industry has contributed a large number of severe (Force 3) molten aluminum explosions (25) with associated fatalities (19) to the Aluminum Association data accumulated during the past nineteen years. The explosions that occurred in recyclers plants represent 17% of the total explosions, 33% of the Force 3 explosions and 37% of the fatalities reported. These explosions can be prevented! This paper will identify causes of these explosions and procedures that can be used to prevent them.

Jan 1, 2000

By P. Maraboutis

Iron removal by precipitation as jarosite from Fe-Ni-Co sulfate solutions, (synthetic or real, resulting from laterites leaching) has been investigated. Precipitation was carried out at 95 C, and at an initial pH 1.6, which was either kept constant with CaCO3 or Li2CO3 additions, or left to drift with the evolution of the reaction to lower values. The precipitation of K-, NH4- and Na- jarosite was initially examined using synthetic solutions. In all cases, hydronium ions were incorporated into the precipitate as well. Residual iron in solution was lower (0.2-1 g/1) and equilibrium was achieved faster (within 4-8 h) when precipitating K¬jarosite at constant pH, using CaCO3 for neutralization. Nickel and cobalt losses were small. Na- jarosite precipitation was also studied from real solutions with high initial iron content, under constant pH=1.5, controlled with CaCO3 additions, and it was shown that low residual iron concentration in solution (0.3-0.5 g/1) can be achieved again, with relatively small nickel and cobalt losses. The thickening and filtration characteristics of the precipitates were excellent in all cases examined.

Jan 1, 1988

By J. Etay, S. Daugan, Y. Fautrelle

"New type of electromagnetic parametric instabilities arising at the free surface of liquid metal in the presence of a low frequency magnetic field are presented. First, the mechanism of the instability is analysed in an idealised case. Then, the experimental device working with mercury is described. Various shapes, both regular and irregular, of free surface are found. A experimental stability diagram is obtained. Measurements of the deformation performed on photographs are compared with physical orders of magnitude.IntroductionWhen a liquid metal pool of electroconductivity a is submitted to an A.C. magnetic field B = B0 cos mt, electrical currents j are induced in the liquid metal and interact with the applied magnetic field to create electromagnetic body forces F = j x B. Those Lorentz forces comprise both a mean value (time average) and an oscillating part. Those forces are widely used in many metallurgical processes to stirr a liquid metal or to control its free surface, e. g., in aluminium continuous casting or electromagnetic levitation problems (1-3). When liquid metal free surfaces are submitted to AC. magnetic fields, the shape of those interfaces may interact with the applied field and leads to a various instabilities. A review of these instabilities may be found in Fautrelle (4). That instabilities may be a problem for the control of processing as electromagnetic levitation or quasi-levitation."

Jan 1, 1999

By Ricardo Ponce

In recent years, ENAMI implemented modernisation plans at its two smelters in order to meet the government's environmental regulations introduced in the early 1990s. The modernisation plans defined the new SO2 and particulates emission targets, deadlines for compliance, and the revised treatment capacities of the smelters. At Las Ventanas smelter, the principal process change consisted of eliminating the reverberatory furnace. All the smelter feed is currently processed in a 4m diameter, 14m long Teniente Converter, using up to 34% oxygen enriched air. Dry concentrate is injected into the bath through tuyeres. A fuel oil burner compensates for any process heat deficiency. The Teniente Converter high copper content slag is cleaned in an electric furnace. This furnace is also used to melt internal reverts. This paper will discuss the successful operation of the slag cleaning electric furnace.

Jan 1, 1999

By K. Morsi

Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced metallic composites have been recently generating significant scientific interest, due to their expected superior properties compared with other composites. Out of the metallic matrices investigated for reinforcement with CNTs, aluminum has received considerable attention. A major problem has been the dispersion of CNTs in metallic matrices. This paper discusses preliminary results on the mechanical dispersion of CNTs in aluminum powder, powder processing, stability and characterization of aluminum dispersed with CNTs at reinforcement levels equal to and below 5 wt.%.

Jan 1, 2009

By Peter C. Hayes

"The high temperature reduction of solids through the use of reactive gas atmospheres has application in a wide range of industrially important processes. Whilst significant advances have been made in understanding and describing these processes, some key aspects of the chemical reactions and reaction mechanisms operating in these systems, for example, the transformation from metal oxide to metal, remain poorly understood. A number of different product morphologies have been identified in these reaction systems and the reaction rates have been shown to be critically dependent on the product structure.Theoretical examination of the elementary process steps taking place in the region of the gas/metal/metal oxide interface, combined with electron microscope studies of the resultant product microstructures, have enabled the key process and material variables responsible for the development of the various product morphologies to be identified. By considering i) established criteria for the stability of moving interfaces in a thermodynamic potential gradient, ii) the relative rates of chemical reactions on the oxide and metal surfaces, and iii) key process phenomena and physico-chemical properties of the solid phases, the mechanisms and conditions for the formation of various product morphologies are identified. Interestingly the analysis points to direct analogies between these phase transformations and, the phenomena and microstructures observed in metal solidification, and the potential to develop generic models of these fluid/solid reaction systems."

Jan 1, 2013

By W. G. Davenport

Chapter 6 examined autotherrnal smelting of pure chalcopyrite concentrate with 50 mass% O2-50 mass% N2 blast. It showed that production of 1500 K products with this blast requires: 181 kg of pure oxygen 337 kg of air per tonne, of concentrate. It also showed that the grade of matte produced with this blast is 58% Cu. This chapter re-examines autotherrnal smelting by asking: (A) WHAT COMPOSITION BLAST (MASS% 02 -MASS% N2), 298 K, WILL AUTOTHERMALL Y PRODUCE 65% Cu MATTE 1500 K FROM PURE CHALCOPYRITE CONCENTRATE? (B) HOW MUCH PURE OXYGEN AND AIR WILL BE NEEDED? These are important questions for flash? smelting because furnace operators usually want to send specific composition matte to converting. This chapter shows how a specified matte can be produced autotherrnally with 298 K oxygen-air blast. Later chapters show how it can be done with hot blast, hydrocarbon combustion, different concentrates etc.

Jan 1, 2001

By C. Hecker, J. A. Garcia

To determine the kinetic reaction mechanism, electrochemical experimental techniques of stationary polarization, linear voltammetry and faradaic impedance were used. Gold electrodeposition experiments were realized using an electrolysis cell, provided· by a rotary disk of vitreous carbon and or' platinum counter electrode of platinum mesh and reference electrode. Using an automatic measurement system voltarnmograrns and Nyquist faradaic impedance spectra were obtained. In this paper, responses for different cases were analyzed through faradaic impedance criteria, considering several kinds of diagrams obtained. The importance diffusion influence of aurocyanide ions and adsorption as controlling steps previous charge transfer was verified. A model of proposed mechanism is discussed.

Jan 1, 1997

By Fabiola Alvarez, Ana E. Bote, Daniel Pasquevich

"The oxidation of aluminum and its alloys was extensively studied for improving the corrosion resistance in structural materials having high specific strengths. But this reaction involves the formation of a very thin barrier layer on the metallic pieces. Furthermore, the ·recent development of the directed melt oxidation process for producing metal-ceramic; composites has renewed the interest in the study of interaction between gases and metals. Oxidation experiments in the presence of different chlorine partial pressures and at different temperatures were performed in ·a thermogravimetric balance, and microstructures were analyzed by electronic microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The oxy-chlorination kinetics was determined and the oxide formed W(IS amorphous at temperatures below 600 °C and crystalline .at higher temperatures. The appropriate experimental conditions for the fastest completed oxidation was further determined.IntroductionThe use of fine powders for the manufacture of ceramic components has significant advantages. They include excellent sinterability; low sintering temperature and better microstructure leading to improved mechanical properties. The conventional method of producing fine oxide powders involves controlled precipitation and pirolysis of suitable salts. The main limitation of the high temperature decomposition route is the evolution of environmentally unacceptable and corrosive gases. Controlled precipitation of hydroxides from solutions of salts, followed by thermal treatment involves large volumes of solutions and the calcination step that can induce grain growth (1).Direct oxidation of aluminum metal for producing alumina powder requires high temperatures for the direct oxidation of molten Al alloys by a vapor phase oxidant process (2, 3) or high technological process like thermal plasma reactor ( 4).Oxidation of high purity aluminum (5, 6) below the melting temperature· is initially characterized by a nearly linear reaction rate, followed by a rate which decreases rapidly with further weight gain. However, the oxidation rate of an aluminummagnesium alloy is much faster and it does not conform to any common oxidation law, but it is nearly parabolic at temperatures between 200 and 400 °C, an nearly linear· above 400 °C."

Jan 1, 2000

By Yong-ming Chen, Chao-bo Tang, Yun Li, Long-gang Ye, Sheng-hai Yang, Hao-tian Xue

In order to achieve high recovery of Cu and Co during cobalt-bearing copper sulphide ore smelting process, reducing agent (coke) and sulphidizing agent (pyrite) were added into molten smelter slag for reducing-sulphidizing smelting to product Cu-Co matte. Effects of reductive atmosphere, pyrite dosage, smelting temperature and smelting duration on Cu, Co, Fe distribution behaviours were investigated. The results show that the distributions of Cu and Co are mainly enriched in Cu-Co matte, and the distribution ratio, LCu and LCo, improve with increasing of coke amount or pyrite addition, whereas above 6 wt.% coke or 20 wt.% pyrite, Cu and Co tend to transfer from matte to cleaned slag. A properly high temperature(1300) and smelting duration(3h) are beneficial to the enhancement of the distribution ratio of valuable metals, and under the given set of conditions, LCu > LCo generally. However, an undesired high Fe contents in matte limit further increase of LCu and LCo.

Jan 1, 2015

"An experimental study has been performed to investigate the dispersed phase holdup induced by a high-strength submerged gas injection in a bottom blown air-stirred one-seventh water model of CLU (Creusot-Loire Uddeholm) reactor using two different tuyere configurations. The air flow rates varied from 0.00599 m3/sec to 0.01312 m3/sec. In these series of experiments, water height and kerosene height were kept constant at 0.23m and 0.02m respectively. The dispersed phase holdup was determined at various gas flow rates, and tuyere orientations by using water and kerosene.The dispersed phase holdup increased with gas injection rate and decreased with vertical distance from the original interface. At constant gas flow rate, as the vertical distance increased in the centerline, off-center configuration of nozzles displayed higher values of the dispersed phase holdup than those of the center configuration. The variation of the dispersed phase holdup with the dimensionless axial distance and the gas injection rate was correlated by using the Modified Froude Number. The experimental values of the dispersed phase holdup were found to be in good agreement with the calculated values obtained from the correlation equations."

Jan 1, 1999

By Jiangtao Li, Zhongwei Zhao, Xingyu Chen, Xuheng Liu

In order to produce good quality ammonium paratungstate, Sn needs be removed efficiently from the tungstate processing solution. The nascent hydrous ferric oxide has excellent adsorption ability and is often used as an adsorbent to remove metal ions from aqueous solution. In this paper, nascent hydrous ferric oxide is used to remove Sn from tungstate solution. Through experimental, the effects of pH value, reagent amount of adsorbent, reaction temperature and reaction time on the Sn removal are investigated. The study shows that 98% of Sn can be removed effectively from sodium tungstate solution and only 2% of W is lost during process under the conditions of pH 9~12, reagent amount of Fe addition 40 times Sn amount, reaction time 30min and room temperature. As the Fe addition reaches 90 times of Sn concentration in the ammonium tungstate solution, 99% of Sn is removed and APT with zero level purity national standard is obtained.

Jan 1, 2014

By Patrick M. Eduafo, Brajendra Mishra, Mark L. Strauss

Direct acid leaching of rare earth metals (REMs) from waste lamp phosphors is non-selective, leading to co-dissolution of impurities mainly calcium, phosphorus, silicon, iron and zinc. Calcining the phosphor powder at different temperatures followed by leaching with HCl isn’t efficient for the extraction of all the chief rare earths especially cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La) and terbium (Tb). Therefore, multi-stage leaching operations are required for the separation of the REMs in phosphor dust. This paper will outline a new process for extracting Ce, La, Tb, Eu and Y from waste fluorescent lamps using a three-stage leaching and separation process. A flowsheet has been developed which shows this process is selective and efficient.

Jan 1, 2015

By Yousef Mohassab, Hong Yong Sohn, Mohamed Elzohiery

As part of the development of a novel flash ironmaking process at the University of Utah, a labscale flash reactor was used to produce iron directly from iron oxide concentrate. This work tested the feasibility of the novel flash ironmaking process using the partial combustion of hydrogen as fuel and reductant. In this flash reactor, the energy required to reduce concentrate particles was obtained from the internal combustion of hydrogen and oxygen with complementary energy from electrical resistance heating to compensate for the heat loss. After the reaction shaft was electrically pre-heated, hydrogen and oxygen streams produced a non-premixed flame inside the reaction shaft. Various conditions such as flame configuration, flame power, positions of concentrate feeding ports, excess hydrogen amount and residence time were tested. More than 90% reduction of magnetite or hematite was achieved at temperatures as low as 1175 oC with < 100% excess hydrogen in <10 s of residence time.

Jan 1, 2016

By Young-Geun Park

A new decarburization model for the RH system was constructed for calculating the decarburization reaction using a three-dimensional fluid dynamics program. The entire fluid flow in the RH process was calculated by evaluating the shape and volume of the plume zone, formed by Ar gas blown through multiple nozzles on the wall of the snorkel. On the basis of this fluid flow, the decarburizaiton reaction was calculated through establishing the decarburization reaction model, which considers the thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, and the decarburization sites (Ar bubble surface, bath surface, and the CO bubble fomtation at inner sites). The results from this model were compared with a real RH operation results with good agreement. Because it is possible to predict the carbon concentration at various conditions using this model, it may be useful in increasing the decarburizaiton rate. Key words : RH process, plume zone, decarburization, Ar bubble surface, bath surface, inner site, circulation flow rate.

Jan 1, 2001

By Min Chen, Cui-huan Huang, Zhen Tian, Jian-hong Dong

"The present work studied the production of Fe-Si-Mn alloy from adjusted converter slag by thermodynamic analysis. The results showed that solubility of SiO2 in the molten slag increased with increment of temperature, and it is about 80% at 1800 ?. With increment of SiO2 content, a(MnO) and a(CaO) decreased, and a(FeO) increased to the maximum when w(SiO2) is about 30%. As a result, the reduction of the slag was in the order of Fe?Mn?P before SiO2 reduction, the reduction order was Fe?P?Mn?Si when SiO2 content in the slag was from 46.4% to 54.2%, and changed to Fe?Si?P?Mn when SiO2 content exceeded 54.2%. The mass fraction of Si in the alloy phase increases with increasing of w(SiO2) in the slag, and the mass fraction of Si in the alloy reached to 62.2% at 1800 ?.IntroductionFerroalloy production is a high energy consumption and high pollution industry[1-2]. If ferroalloy production could be produced from molten slag by addition of carbon-reducing agent, the valuable metal and oxide in the slag can be recycled, most importantly, if the high-temperature resource carried by molten slag can be made full use in the field of ferroalloy production, the power consumption of ferroalloy production could be cut down greatly.Converter steel slag is a kind of byproduct in steelmaking processing increasing rapidly with the increment of crude steel, but the utilization ratio is low. Most heat recovery research is still in the experimental stage except the heat recovery of blast furnace slag by water quenching method, at present[3-4]. It is of great significance for enterprises to energy saving and emission reduction if the molten steel slag could be utilized directly. Not only the reuse methods of liquid steel slag material can be promoted, but also the use of heat carried in the slag could be achieved. The basicity of converter slag is high and the activity of SiO2 is low so the reduction of SiO2 in the slag is little. The compositions of slag and metal phases were calculated by Factsage program on different conditions to explore the reduction of converter slag for recovery of valuable metals and an efficient new way to use the high-temperature heat combining with the current reuse and research status of converter slag. Further, the improvement of components activity in slag and the increase of Si concentration in the metal were also dicussed."

Jan 1, 2012