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By Atul Kurnar

In the present research a two-cell polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack (PEMFCS) with SS-316 bipolar plates has been tested. Different flow field designs were studied and a modified multi-parallel channel design is proposed. The stack is stable within ±3 mV even after 1000 hours of continuous operation, indicating efficient water management and effective removal of any metal ions from the stack. Also no iron is detected in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by EDAX analysis after 1000 hours of cell operation. Results indicate that high operating pressures beyond 138 kPa didn't significantly increase the performance of cell, however added much to the pressurization cost of the system. Tests at different temperatures showed that at temperatures below 80°C, external humidification could be completely removed. The prototype stack is also tested under variable load conditions simulating highway-driving schedule. The experimental efficiency of PEMFCS is 48%, which is in good agreement with the model predicted efficiency of 53.8 %. Results show that 59% of the total losses are due to ohmic polarization in the cell. Further analysis on applications of the stack in automotive transportation system is in progress.

Jan 1, 2002

By J. H. Corrigan

A series of six papers describing the Falconbridge Dominicana Ferronickel project were presented at the International Laterite Symposium held as a joint project of TMS-AIME in February 1979 at New Orleans. A review of the ore mineralogy, as well as. the processing and environmental practices as they exist today at Falcondo with emphasis on modifications put into practice since 1979 are presented in two papers: Part I.- Mineralogy and Ore Dressing E.W. Lithgow - General Superintendent ? Mines Falconbridge Dominicana, C. por A. Bonao, Dominican Republic Commercial volumes of nickeliferous laterite ores overlie part of a 90 km long belt of peridotites in central Dominican Republic. Protores are serpentinized harzburgites and dunites, with lesser serpentinite. The ore mineralogy consists mostly of goethite, serpentine-group minerals, quartz and poorly crystallized, X- ray amorphous materials. Minor constituents are hematite, gibsite, olivine and enstatite. In the Ore Dressing plant, the mine feed is subjected initially to proper sizing and blending to produce a homogenized mix. Subsequent drying and upgrading, by selective crushing and screening of rock kagments through a Barmac circuit, complete preparation of the ore for pyrometallurgical processing. Part II.- Pyrometallurgy, Fuel and Power Generation J.H. Comgan - Manager ? Production Falconbridge Dominicana, C. por A. Bonao, Dominican Republic Falcondo's energy requirements are based on oil which is refined on site to provide distillate to carry out drying and selective reduction of the nickeliferous ore in the shaft furnaces, plus bunker oil to produce electrical power for process melting, refining and ancillary use. The dryer product at 1.68% Ni is briquetted and passed counter current to hot reducing gas in 12 vertical shaft furnaces. The hot calcine discharge is melted in two high power electric furnaces at very high secondary voltage. The crude ferronickel is ladle refined and cast as 15 kg ingots or 125 gm ferrocones.

Jan 1, 1993

By J. B. W. Bailey

The Noranda Horne smelter in Quebec, Canada has change considerably during the last two decades to accommodate varying custom concentrate receipts, closure of the Horne mine, better working conditions, environmental programmes, new technology and increased energy and labour costs. This paper highlights the reasons for changing the smelter from two calcine charged and one wet charge reverberatory furnaces fired by coal to a smelter using. tonnage oxygen oil, natural gas and coal in a single wet charged reverberatory furnace and a Noranda Process continuous Reactor. The current operation 1 described, including three major topics; the use of oxygen/fuel burners on the charge banks of the reverberatory furnace which has increase the smelting rate from 680 to 1100 tonnes of concentrate per day; the oxygen enrichment of the Noranda Process converting air to achieve smelting rates of over 1800 tonnes of concentrate per day; the converting of the mixture of 73 percent copper matte produced from the Noranda Process and the 33 percent copper matte produced from the reverberatory furnace.

Jan 1, 1983

By Mehmet Bu daycı, Onuralp Yücel, Ahmet Turan, Murat Alkan

In this study, iron based alloys (Fe, Fe-Cr-Ni-Mo, etc.) were produced by using metallothermic methods starting from Mill Scales obtained continuous casting processes. During the process, the combustion was realized by ignition and the produced wave propagates throughout the reactant mixture yielding the desired product. In this work, Mill scale used as an iron source, which includes +2, +3 values iron oxides. Aluminum, Magnesium and Silicon were used as reductants. In these metallothermic experiments, different ratios of reductants were examined, and their effects on the metal recovery and alloy compositions were investigated. The samples were characterized by using chemical analysis (AAS), XRD and XRF techniques.

Jan 1, 2016

By Bhagyadhar Bhoi, Chitta Ranjan Mishra, Pravas Ranjan Behera

Red mud of Indian origin contains around 55% plus of Fe2O3 and is considered as a hazardous waste for the alumina industry. For production of one tone of alumina employing the Bayer’s Process, around two tones of red mud is generated from three tones of Bauxite. Conventional process of steel making is not devoid of environmental pollution. In the present investigation, efforts have been made to produce steel from red mud by adopting reduction roasting, magnetic separation and hydrogen plasma smelting route. Magnetic fraction, containing enriched iron oxide and minimal content of alumina, is produced following the first two stages which is then subjected to hydrogen plasma smelting process for production of steel. This novel concept follows a green path way for production of steel free from pollution and is termed as green steel. Further, the only by-product that is produced in the process, is water, which is eco-friendly and recyclable.

Jan 1, 2015

By F. M. Wang, J. P. Lin, G. Y. Tang, H. C. Zhou, Y. F. Liang, F. Ye

"Fe-6.5%Si alloy is a very excellent soft magnetic material compared with conventional Si steel (Si content ~ 3.5%), especially in high frequencies with reduced iron losses and noises. But it is hard to be fabricated due to its brittleness at room temperature. Dynamic electropulsing is applied to the cold rolled Fe-6.5%Si sheet during tensile deformation. Mechanical and microstructural properties are investigated with different electropulsing and strain rate. It is found that the yield stress decreases and the elongation increases dramatically with the application of dynamic electropulsing. It is indicated that the work hardening could be reduced with the dynamic electropulsing during deformation, which provides a promising way to fabricate this alloy sheet much easier.Introduction Fe-6.5%Si (weight percent, same as below) alloy has more excellent soft magnetic properties compared with conventional silicon steel (Si content ~ 3.5%), such as higher resistivity, higher permeability, near zero magnetostriction, etc. and exhibits much lower core losses and noises [1]. However, Fe-6.5%Si is very brittle at room temperature and hard to be fabricated in strip by conventional hot-cold rolling process [2]. This lack of low-temperature ductility has been generally attributed to structural ordering ofB2 and D03 phases [3]. Several methods have been developed to avoid its brittleness, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [4], rapid quenching [5, 6], dipping and diffusion [7, 8], direct powder rolling (DPR) [9], etc. However, hot-cold rolling method is still of interest for industrial applications. In our previous work, this alloy can be cold rolled after certain thermomechanical process and heat treatment [10-13]. The cold rolled sheet exhibits some extent of ductility [11]. However, side cracks are common for the rolled sheet, it is very necessary to improve the ductility of this alloy by other technical applications."

Jan 1, 2012

By J. D. McCain

Magma's San Manuel smelter has adopted new operating techniques resulting in 21% increased productivity and 87% reduction in lost time accidents. Reverberatory furnaces were converted to coal firing from expensive natural gas and fuel oil. Slag and matte flow problems and safety were improved by implementing hydraulic slag stopping and matte tapping machines. Coordination of furnaces, converters and acid plant was improved by using a computer-aided converter controller/scheduler function. Manual mudding of converter lips after each collar pull was replaced with a gunning system for coating the mouth castings. One converter punch car was automated using robotic technology. An automatic anode take-off was installed with fewer moving parts and a mechanism for ear twisting one cell contact. Anode copper refining was improved by replacing propane/hydrogen mixtures with high pressure/velocity natural gas tuyeres. Improved converter scheduling increased acid plant production 43% with more autothermal operation time. Six dedicated computers/microprocessors are utilized for automation, data acquisition, process monitoring and on-line air quality information for the Supplementary Control System.

Jan 1, 1983

By Richard A. Shulkosky

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AlSO, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) jointly funded the development of a mechanical properties model for Hot Strip Mills. INTEG process group, inc. validated an enhanced version of the model under a project funded by the AlSI/DOE Technology Roadmap Program (fRP). The Hot Strip Mill Model (HSMM) version 6.0 allows users to easily set-up their mill configuration, simulate a rolling mill schedule and calibrate the model for a variety of grades of steel. Starting from reheat furnace drop out, the model simulates roughing mill stands (reversing and continuous), heat retention equipment (coil box and covers), finishing mill stands (tandem and Steckel mills), the run out table and the mill exit area. The HSMM uses a series of physical models to calculate both the thermo-mechanical and the microstructure evolution of steel being processed in a hot mill to predict its final mechanical properties. The enhanced HSMM was validated using a multitude of samples from several steel companies. Excellent agreement was obtained for tensile strength. The supporting steel companies have utilized the model for a variety of practical applications. Keywords: Process Modeling, Microstructure Evolution, Mechanical Properties

Jan 1, 2003

By Liangying Wen, Feng Xia, Chenguang Bai

"The situation of the Ti-V-Magnetite samples reduced with microwave has been investigated in laboratory. Firstly, the paper focuses on the heating behaviors of vanadium-titanium magnetite and characteristics of carbothermic reduction of V-Ti-magnetite in the microwave field. The effect of concentrate's size, quality on heating behaviors and reduction processes were researched. Results show that microwave heating may be a new heating resource replace of carbonic combustion reaction in reducing reaction. When the allocation of carbon is (16.7-30)%, carbothermic reduction of V-Ti-magnetite in the microwave field can proceed; with the increasing of carbon mixed, the metallization rate increases; and Fe, V can be reduced from their oxides in the microwave field; Titanic low oxide can be reduced from TiO2.1. IntroductionThe resource of Ti-V-Magnetite is abundant in the western area of Panzhihua in China, so far a mineral deposit of 4.64 billion tons have been proved up, it contains 14.75 million tons of V2O S which accounted for 87% of the vanadium and 5.93 hundred million tons of TiO2 accounted for 94% of the titanium resource respectively in China. The previous study proved that the major composition of mineral of the Ti-V-magnetite are Ti-magnetite, limonite, iron spinel, magnesium spinel etc, and the main elements of the Ti-V-magnetite in this area are Fe, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Ga, Sc etc[1] Due to the restrict of the BF-BOF process technical, during the smelting of the iron, the level of extracting the vanadium, titanium as well as other metal elements is limited. This results serious wasting of resources. To develop a new reduction process of Ti-V-magnetite is on the agenda, the microwave assistant reduction could meets this need, based on its characteristic of easy controlling of heating rate. To make use of the microwave energy to substitute the released heat sources of carbon combustion with air, use the solid phase state reduction at a relative lower temperature, make the beneficial element in Ti-V-magnetite transferred into the metal phase, then separated from the impurity. It is well worth to point out that once the microwave based reduction method has its industrial scale, it will take an outstanding position by its less release of carbon dioxide. This new environment-friendly process will play a vital role in the development of social industry and economy."

Jan 1, 2008

By Makoto Ohtsuka

The ternary Ni2MnGa intermetallic compound is an intelligent material which has both a ferromagnetic property and a shape memory effect (SMB), The use of the shape memory alloy films for an actuator of micro-machines is very attractive because of its large recovery force, The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of fabrication conditions and to clarify the relationships between these properties and fabrication conditions of the Ni-Mn-Ga films, The Ni-Mn-Ga films with a thickness of nearly 5 um were deposited with a radio-frequency magnetron sputtering apparatus using a NisoMn2sGa25 or Nis2Mn24Ga24 target. They were heat-treated at various temperatures between 873 and 1273 K for homogenization and ordering and then cooled in a furnace, The composition of the films depended on the sputtering power. The as-deposited films were crystalline and had columnar grains, After the heat treatment the grains widened and the grain boundary became indistinct with the increasing heat treatment temperature, The martcnsitie transformation temperature of the heat-treated films increased with increasing nickel content. Furthermore the effect of plastic deformation and constraint aging on SME is also investigated, After plastic deformation, the two-way SME was shown through the martensitie transformation and its reversion, The intensity of X-ray diffraction peaks from stress-induced martensitie phase was found, The constraint-aged films also showed the two-way 5MB by thermal cycling,

Jan 1, 2003

By Edgar E. Vidal

The deposition of ceramic materials onto substrates is of special interest in the development of surface related technologies. Research interest has been placed on using thermal plasma as the deposition method, specifically inductively coupled plasmas. Many different modifications to the same basic principle of deposition have been performed through out the materials research community. Such a technique may have many advantages over more conventional techniques, such as high deposition rates, high surface area coverage, clean energy source, no contamination from electrodes and operation near atmospheric pressures. Materials deposited vary from simple oxide systems like TiO2 to more complex structures like ternary oxides and nitrides. This paper reviews recent developments relative to the inductively coupled plasma deposition of thin films.

Jan 1, 2003

By I. S. Blair

The introduction of the 36 MVA smelting furnace at Mufulira, and the experience gained during the first five years of operation have been described previously (6). Based on this experience the furnace was rebuilt in 1977., Details of the modifications made during this rebuild are described. Subsequent to the rebuild, refractory failures, particularly in the electrode ring bricks of the sprung arch roof, continued to cause concern, and repair and improved roof control methods are described. Electrode breakages continued, but developments in casing design and electrode preparation have resulted in significant improvements. Modifications in the electric furnace gas handling system are outlined, together with details of further changes to be implemented in the near future. The systems developed for metallurgical control of the furnace and the thermo-dynamics of the process are discussed. The electric furnace at Mufulira is now operating at above design production levels, and has decisively justified the choice of this technology in situations with inexpensive electric power. The potential for further increases in production capacity from the Mufulira unit, and improvements in design for new units are discussed.

Jan 1, 1983

By Günter Petzow, Hans Leo Lukas, Hans Jürgen Seifert

"The CALPHAD method (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) has been extensively developed in the last 25 years and became a useful tool in materials science. Thermodynamic descriptions for the functions of state of unary, binary and ternary phases are derived by the optimization of phase diagrams. These functions are stored in computerized thermochemical databases and can be combined to extrapolate to multi component systems. Depending on special demand, the actually most advantagous presentations of the calculated results can be chosen: tables or in a clear graphical form as phase diagrams, phase amount diagrams or volatility diagrams. The method will be desribed by the system Ti-Si-C-N-O including the ceramic subsystem Si3N4-SiC-TiCi,N1_1,-C-N-O which is very important for the development of ceramic composites. The calculations give the thermodynamic stabilities of the condensed phases as function of temperature, concentration and partial pressure of different gas species. Adjusting the sintering conditions to these results the formation of unfavourable compounds or liquid phases can be suppressed.IntroductionThe CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD-method) of multicomponent systems provides the possibility to plan experiments very efficiently and avoid the experimental trial and error approach for the development of materials. The main problem for best use of calculated results is their interpretation with regard to the specific applications under consideration. Tables give the exact quantitative data for the treated phenomena. However, most important to make best use of these thermodynamic data is their graphical representation especially designed for the solution of specific problems, scientific as well as application oriented. Only well chosen graphical representations support a comprehensive understanding of the thermodynamic interrelationships and the transfer to the problem."

Jan 1, 1996

By Xia Hong-ying, Peng Jin-hui, Zheng Zhao-qiang, Zhang Li-bo

"Preparation of activated carbon from the walnut shell by microwave assisted steam activation was studied. Influences of the three parameters, activation temperature, activation duration and steam flow rate on the adsorption capacity and yield of walnut shell activated carbon(WSAC) were investigated,optimization process was obtained by the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimum preparation conditions were as follows: activation temperature of 980°C, activation duration of 41 min and steam flow rate of 1.66 ml/min. The optimum conditions resulted in an activation carbon with an iodine number of 1025 mg/g and a yield of 52.17%, while the BET surface area, total pore volume and average pore diameter of WSAC were 1328m2/g, 0.72ml/g and 2.2nm respectively. The study supported the potentiality of comprehensive utilization ofWalnut shell and the benefits of the microwave heating.IntroductionActivated carbons are one of the most important adsorbent materials in modern society because of its abundantly developed pore structure, strong adsorption ability, high surface area and thermo stability. They have extensive application in many industries fields which include gas purification [1], catalyst supports [2] and other pollutants [3]. However, in recent years, the industrial production of activated carbon is facing the problem of raw material scarcity and high cost, which limit to be widely used. Therefore, the selection of an appropriate precursor plays an important role and it has become hot sport to seek cheap raw material to lower preparation cost. As a kind of reproducible resource, the waste from agriculture and forestry is a high-grade raw material for preparing activated carbon due to is high carbon content, such as palm shell [4], rice hull [5], and coconut shell [6]. At present Walnut shell is widely accepted to be a renewable source of biomass. According to statistics, there is more than 1000,000 tonnes of walnut shells are produced in China annually [7]. As a good precursor for activated carbon production, Walnut shell is a major agricultural waste, to make better use of the cheap and abundant agricultural waste, it is proposed for activated carbon production."

Jan 1, 2014

By G. G. Richards

The zinc slag fuming process is used to recover zinc from molten iron-calcium silicate slags by treatment with pulverized coal and air. The rate of zinc fuming is controlled by the complex interaction of several kinetic factors including the rate of entrainment of coal in the slag, the extent of the coal-slag reaction and the rate of ferrous oxide oxidation to ferric oxide. This paper briefly outlines the mechanism of fuming and, on this basis, optimization of process parameters is discussed. Modelling analysis and recent industrial trials at Cominco show that coal entrainment in the slag, bath temperature, and bath depth are critical variables affecting process rate and efficiency. The first step in process optimization is to assess coal bypass of the bath. In general, changes which promote operation at a higher temperature, greater coal entrainment in the slag and extended residence time of the coal in the bath increase fuming performance. Coal entrainment is controlled by injection conditions whereas bath temperature is a function of coal combustion and ferrous oxide oxidation. Residence time of the coal is largely a function of bath depth. The implication of model predictions for continuous fuming is shown.

Jan 1, 1994

By James C. Sever

The mode of operation of dolomite kilns at a magnesium reduction plant using the Magnatherm process was designed to minimize operation cost and maximize kiln refractory life. Analysis of downstream operation issues shows the quality metric for dolime changed from loss on ignition to specific surface area. This produced a complete change in kiln operation; the net results being major plant productivity increases decrease in operating cost, and increases in both kiln operating costs and reline frequency.

Jan 1, 2015

By M. Hashimoto

The equilibrium distribution ratios of sulfur between molten copper and CaO-fluxes containing caF2 and caC12 were determined in the range of 1300° to 1400° C under carbon monoxide. The rate of approach to equilibrium is rapid and increases with increasing CaCll concentration. In CaO-CaFl-CaCl2 fluxes, the distribution ratio varies in a complex way with temperature and CaFl concentration. The results are compared with those obtained with the binary fluxes of CaO with BaFZ and MgFl ?

Jan 1, 1983

By Raymond E. Healy

Circuit samples from the HBMS concentrator were assayed for l5elements, and image analysis was done to determine the modal quantities, grain size distributions and liberations of the minerals. Material balancing was done on these data to determine distributions of the minerals in each concentrator stream. The ore was mined during the waning phase of mining and is diluted with backfilled copper smelter slag. The mill feed grades 1.0 wt% Cu and 1.8 wt% Zn. The slag silicate phases contain approximately 1.5 wt% Cu and 6.5 wt% Zn; therefore the Cu and Zn head grades due to chalcopyrite and sphalerite, are only 0.9 wt% Cu and 1.2 wt% Zn, respectively. The recovery of Cu in the Cu-concentrate (Cu-conc.) is only 77.5 %, whereas that of chalcopyrite is 89.2 %. Similarly, the recovery of Zn in the Zn-concentrate (Zn-conc.) is only 40.2 %, whereas that of sphalerite is 71.0 %. The slag accounts for approximately 60 % of the Cu, and 85 % of the Zn in the tailings. The main loss of chalcopyrite is as unliberated grains to the tailings, and the main loss of sphalerite is as free grains to the Cu-concentrate and as unliberated grains to the Cu-concentrate and tailings. Approximately 85 % of the chalcopyrite and sphalerite lost to the tailings. accounting for 8 % and 10 % of the respective minerals in the concentrator feed, occur as middling and sub-middling grains. Extremely fine regrinding would be required to liberate these minerals.

Jan 1, 1989

By H. Y. Sohn, S. PalDey

"A new chemical synthesis process for the preparation of intermetallic compounds has been developed. It involves the vapor-phase reduction of mixtures of constituent metal chlorides by magnesium vapor to produce intermetallic compounds in the form of fine powder. The advantages of the process include (a) the use of inexpensive raw materials, (b) low reaction temperatures, and (c) products in the form of fine particles. Titanium and nickel aluminides were prepared by this method. The effect of AlCl/TiCl3 partial pressure ratio on the formation of different titanium aluminides was studied. A two-phase mixture containing 80 mol % of TiAl and 20 mol % of TiA13 formed at an AlC13/TiC13 ratio of 10. The amount of TiA13 was maximized to 72 mol% at an AlC13/TiC13 ratio of 16. The maximum conversion of the limiting chloride TiCl3 was 94 % . In the case of nickel aluminides, NiAI, NiAl3, and Ni2Al3 were formed by reducing mixtures of NiC12 and A1Cl3 vapors. The effect of the partial pressure ratios AlCl3/NiC12 and Mg/NiC12 on the formation of nickel aluminides was studied. The maximum content of NiAl obtained was 98 mol % . At the AlC13/NiC12 ratio of 19, a two-phase mixture of 17 mol% of NiAl and 83 mol% of NiA13 was produced. The product particles were very fine in the size range of 0.05 to 0.2 µm.A. IntroductionIntermetallic compounds are attracting much attention [1]. Titanium and nickel aluminides have attracted a great deal of attention from the aerospace as well as automobile industries because of their potential for high-temperature application (e.g., low density, good oxidation resistance, and high-temperature strength retention [2, 3]). Gamma TiAl and two-phase (TiAl and Ti3Al) alloys [4] are used for gas turbine engine rotational components as well as automobile exhaust valves. TiAl3 is one of the most extensively investigated aluminum-rich intermetallics. Nickel aluminides are attractive because of their low densities, relatively high melting point and good high-temperature strength properties. For example, Ni3Al shows increasing rather than decreasing yield strength with increasing temperature [5]."

Jan 1, 1998

By E. Gutierrez-Miravete

Hot pressing processes are widely used to shape metallic, ceramic, and glass components. The process is an essential step in manufacturing ceramic fibre-glass matrix composites. The paper describes the use of computer simulation by the particle method, to the analysis of the deformation and flow of glass during hot pressing. The hot glass is represented by an assembly of interacting particles which deform in response to the applied pressure. The results, which should be regarded as complementary to continuum-based studies, provide useful insight about the hot pressing process.

Jan 1, 1990