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By Wolfgang Oberaigner

Primetals Technologies has always been a driver of innovation in steelmaking, especially by providing sophisticated process expert models for continuous casting machines. This capability is demonstrated by recent advancements in automation solutions that include: DynaPhase, Dynacs 3D, and DynaGap. This state-of-the-art suite of dynamic secondary cooling and soft-reduction packages take into account thermodynamic effects such as shrinkage and phase transitions, and thereby significantly contribute to direct quality improvements during the solidification phase in the continuous casting process. Speed Expert calculates an optimum casting speed for every casting situation, and additionally recommends a strand speed so that the point of final solidification is positioned at the end of a segment for optimum soft reduction. In the case of steel grade changes, the Intermix Expert precisely calculates the chemical properties of the mixed steel, thereby minimizing losses due to deviations from required specifications. The Nozzle Expert is a new model that detects clogged nozzles and broken hoses in secondary cooling systems. The first installations were highly successful and customers are pleased with impressive reductions in maintenance costs and improved steel quality. This paper describes these innovative process automation solutions and gives an overview about the successful results achieved within the first installations.

Aug 16, 2017

By Piotr Kula

Vacuum carburising with pre-nitriding (PreNitLPC® technology) involves feeding ammonia during the charge heating stage before carburising. The purpose is to restrict the growth of grain in the surface layer of the carburised steel. The article presents the influence of nitrogen on restricting austenite grain growth during vacuum carburising and on mechanical properties (fatigue strength, impact resistance) of layers that underwent such treatment in comparison with traditional carburising methods.

Aug 16, 2017

By Karl Berger, Michael Steinkogler

The evolution in Metal Cutting: Inventors around the world have been successfully developing innovations for decades, but only some of these developments have had „GAME CHANGING“ potential. One of these innovations is the new developed saw blade LINCUT®, a patented changing system that paves the way for a fundamental reorientation of the entire saw blade industry worldwide through a simple and economical concept for rolling mills or heavy forging lines. Cost efficiency starts with the raw material: Circular saws equipped with a standard saw blade are expected to have a necessary 2 percent standstill per year due to required tool changing. The applied technology reduces this unnecessary loss of production by more than 50%. The ROI can therefore be reached faster which immediately lowers your production costs. No matter what material, conventional carbon steel or highly alloyed stainless steel, the coating and shape of carbide plates is perfected for extended tool life up to 25% with increased performance. Due to LINSINGERs own tool-technology-centre in Austria specialized in research and development of tools, constantly expanding R&D activities, best results are achieved in quality and cost efficiency: a (r)evolution in metal cutting.

Oct 1, 2019

By Arlindo Lopes Faria

O Drop Weight Tear Test (DWTT) é comumente empregado para avaliar a capacidade de um material impedir a propagação de fratura frágil na temperatura de projeto. Esse ensaio quando aplicado a aços modernos de elevada tenacidade, produzidos via resfriamento acelerado, para aplicação em dutos, pode não exibir o mesmo comportamento à fratura dos aços convencionais, por apresentar um tipo de fratura anormal, denominada fratura inversa. Esse tipo de fratura, por sua vez, invalida os resultados de DWTT segundo os critérios estabelecidos pela API RP 5L3. Neste trabalho, são apresentados os resultados obtidos em ensaio de DWTT, utilizando corpos de prova full-size e sub-size, de um aço de elevada tenacidade, produzido com distintas condições de processamento termomecânicas evidenciando o fenômeno de fratura inversa. De uma forma geral, observou-se uma correlação entre os resultados de DWTT e as propriedades mecânicas em tração. Os testes também apontaram que a geometria do corpo-de-prova (full-size ou sub-size) possui uma influência direta no resultado do ensaio de DWTT.

Aug 16, 2017

By Carolline Serafim da Silva

Com o objetivo de avaliar as condições estruturais via comportamento mecânico associada ao efeito TRIP realizou-se estudo comparativo das propriedades mecânicas de dois aços inoxidáveis austeníticos comerciais de graus 304L e 201LN. A martensita induzida por deformação foi formada durante a laminação a frio a temperatura ambiente até percentual de redução de espessura de 80% e avaliada via nanoindentação com cargas máximas de ensaio de 1, 20, 50 e 100 gf. Observou-se que as propriedades decresceram com o aumento das cargas utilizadas e apresentaram tendência de estabilização com as maiores cargas.

Oct 30, 2017

By Geraldo Lúcio de Faria

Os aços IF são livres de elementos intersticiais, como o C e o N, na matriz ferrítica. Estes elementos são controlados no processo de refino na aciaria, a partir da aplicação de técnicas de desgaseificação a vácuo, juntamente com a adição de elementos estabilizantes, como Ti e Nb. Durante a fabricação e em algumas aplicações dos aços IF, como por exemplo soldagem, a transformação de fase austenita?ferrita e o efeito dos elementos de liga na sua cinética têm forte influência na microestrutura final.Neste contexto, este trabalho caracterizou microestruturalmente e comparou as cinéticas de transformação de fase de dois tipos de aços IF com composições químicas diferentes, sendo eles o IF-Ti e o IF-TiNb. Por meio dos resultados obtidos, foi possível concluir que o aço IF-TiNb, como fabricado, possui uma microestrutura mais refinada devido à presença do Nb e seu papel na laminação controlada do aço. Além disso, observou-se que as temperaturas críticas Ar3 e Ar1 do aço IF-TiNb são sistematicamente menores do que as temperaturas medidas para o aço IF-Ti. Como a fração dos elementos microligantes em solução sólida é muito pequena, atribui-se este efeito à diferença no teor de Mn dos aços estudados, que parece potencializar o refino de grão na etapa final de resfriamento da chapa de aço laminada.

Oct 30, 2017

By Pedro Jorge Walburga Keglevich de Buzin

The steel production in mini mills generates several process residues, among them the electric arc furnace dust (EAFD). This residue has as main elements Fe, O, and Zn, being classified as hazardous by the presence of Pb and Cd. In recent years, a rise in the chlorine content of this residue was observed, motivated by the increased use of scrap with impurities bearing this element. In this work, a qualitative assessment of the presence of chlorine in the electric steelmaking process is made. Complementing it, theoretical considerations based on the computational thermodynamics tool FactSage show the effects of the chlorine on the mineral species in EAFD and on gaseous species in the gas phase (HCl and Cl2). For this study, PVC polymer was used as the chlorine carrier substance which contaminates the EAF charge; presence of other minor elements in the system such as K, Na and Pb were also considered.

Aug 7, 2018

By Breno Totti Maia

This work was a continuous and multidisciplinary development. Through studies of the blowing process and its parameters results, evolutions, improvements and adjustments were made on the lance’s hot face with Slagless® technology, as well in the process parameters and mitigating actions of the projection of materials out of the converter. The main results are the increase in the nozzle’s life with a “record mark” of 1785 heats, and water leakage occurrence in the cartridge decreased considerably reaching the mark of one year without any occurrence.

Oct 30, 2017

By Cassiele Renata da Silva

O presente trabalho trata-se da modelagem por elementos finitos de materiais compósitos reforçados com fibras de carbono utilizando duas teorias: a Teoria da Deformação Cisalhante de Primeira Ordem (FSDT) e a Teoria da Deformação Cisalhante de Ordem Superior (HSDT), com o objetivo de efetuar um comparativo entre ambas no contexto de sua capacidade de predição do comportamento dinâmico, sendo possível avaliar e ilustrar as características de desempenho de ambas as formulações. Além disso, analisando o parâmetro geométrico da espessura das placas compósitas torna-se possível comprovar a limitação de uma das teorias. Os resultados são apresentados na forma de funções de resposta em frequência (FRF’s) onde é avaliada computacionalmente a presença de ruídos nos resultados.

Oct 30, 2017

By Marjorie Benegra

This study aims to compare the wear resistance assessed in rubber wheel abrasion test of nickel aluminide coatings deposited by for Plasma Transferred Arc (PTA) and High Velocity Oxigen Fuel (HVOF) manufacturing, using the same raw material. A nickel aluminide powder was atomized and deposited on 316L steel plate substrate. After deposition, some specimens were submitted to a heat treating (1200 °C for 24 h followed by 760°C for 24 h). The coatings deposited using PTA developed different microstructures due to the incorporation of substrate elements, its performance was better than the HVOF coatings, although their Vickers hardness was similar. After heat treating, a significant variation in hardness and wear resistance was observed. For PTA specimens, there were decrease in hardness of 35%, while for HVOF ones this drop was approximately 20%. Nonetheless, the effect of thermal exposure in wear resistance was quite different: an increase of 21% was observed for HVOF coatings, while a reduction of 20% occurred in PTA ones. Microstructures modifications in PTA coatings were significant for their wear resistance. On the other hand, the reduction of porosity and sintering were responsible for a better performance of heat-treated HVOF coatings.

Jul 31, 2018

By Zou Zhongpping

Under the new normal state, blast furnace outputneeds to be adapted to the market demand, however the limitation in blast furnace output has significant impact on blast furnace operation and is prone to cause inactive furnace hearth and higher fuel ratio. To address such problems, some practices to maintain stable and smooth operation of blast furnace in case of output limitation are proposed based on data analysis philosophy, which allows the blast flow and hence the top pressure to be determined based on the hot metal output, and adequate kinetic energy of blast supply can be assured by adjusting the tuyeres. Matching between the oxygen enrichment and the pulverized coal injection is also proposed based on theoretical flametemperature, and burden distribution cycle calculation method is proposed, whichoffersnew approach for analyzing the change in burden distribution pattern.

Oct 30, 2017

By Fernanda Borba Simões

Na produção de biocombustíveis a partir de óleos vegetais produzidos via craqueamento térmico-catalítico, é realizada a desacidificação do produto final para sua viabilidade, podendo ser efetuada pela adsorção. Os adsorventes são diversificados e vão desde zeólitas até o uso de resíduos industriais. Este trabalho buscou testar a lama vermelha previamente ativada quimicamente e termicamente como adsorvente de ácidos graxos livres presentes no gasóleo leve produzido a partir do craqueamento do óleo de palma com índice de acidez inicial de 55,1257 mg de KOH/g. A lama vermelha foi utilizada em cinco condições: seca sem tratamento, ativada quimicamente (pré-tratada a 400°C/2h) por solução de HCl a 37%, de H2O2 a 4%, de HCl a 1,5 M e de KOH a 1,5 M. Na cinética de adsorção, a lama vermelha ativada por solução de HCl a 1,5 M mostrou-se mais eficiente que os demais adsorventes, pois reduziu o índice de acidez do biocombustível de 10,7574 mg de KOH/g para 9,1752 mg de KOH/g no tempo de 50 minutos. Quanto à eficiência dos adsorventes restantes, no que tange a desacidificação, apenas a lama vermelha seca e a ativada quimicamente por KOH a 1,5 M apresentaram remoção dos ácidos graxos livres perceptíveis.

Aug 16, 2017

By Sebastien Flament

More and more Hot Strip Mills are facing defects on their products that lead to a rejection of complete product batches by their customers. Several of those defects are induced by excessive work roll degradation. This paper is focussed on the understanding of work roll corrosion and oxidation mechanisms in a hot strip mill. Several laboratory trials (Hot rolling simulator, cyclic oxidation) have highlighted important factors influencing corrosion of work rolls as well as helping the understandings of oxidation of a work roll in the roll bite and along the roll circumference in a stand. The attention is focussed on several elements present in water used in HSM for direct roll cooling (e.g. chloride, bactericides, sulphates, phosphates) and their effect on roll surface degradation. The second part of this paper is focused on the understanding of work roll oxidation along the roll circumference. The effects of roll composition, roll temperature, water composition and water temperature have been studied in order to understand the oxidation/corrosion mechanisms in a HSM.

Aug 16, 2017

By Gilmar Zacca Batista

The present work is a part of a comprehensive program that aims to evaluate the girth welding procedures for heavy wall API 5L X65 pipes produced for sour service applications. This article describes the results of toughness, strength and sour resistance of girth welds produced with different welding consumables. The methodology applied included girth welds production with GTAW process for root pass using ER70S-6 consumable and FCAW process for filling passes using E71T- 1CJ and E91T1-GM-H4 consumables. Mechanical tests of Charpy, CTOD, tensile, hardness and stress corrosion cracking were also performed. The E71T-1CJ resulted in a girth weld with tensile and yield strength around 7% lower than the pipe. However, according to the papers analyzed at this study, a value up to 10% of undermatching could be acceptable. The CTOD and Charpy tests showed good toughness and weld metal embrittlement was not observed. The hardness and the stress corrosion cracking tests demonstrated that the consumable ER70S-6 is suitable for sour service. All properties evaluated met the requirements specified by the onshore pipeline standards, showing that the consumables ER70S-6, E71T-1CJ and E91T1-GM-H4 are suitable for the welding of heavy wall X65 pipe with sour service and toughness requirements. If an overmatching is required, the E91T1-GMH4 shall be used to assure a strength overmatching and prevent plastic strain concentration at the weld metal. The results provided by this paper can be used for consumable selection and for welding procedure qualification of pipelines construction when heavy wall API 5L X65 are used for sour gas transportation.

Aug 16, 2017

By Cristiano José Scheuer

The effect of low-temperature plasma carburizing treatment on the micro-abrasive wear resistance of AISI 420 steel was investigated by mean of a CSM Calowear ball-cratering equipment. Carburized samples were treated at temperatures of 350, 400, 450 and 500°C for a fixed time of 12 h, using a gas mixture containing 99.5% (80% H2+20% Ar)+0.5% CH4. Micro-scale abrasive wear tests were conducted with a 25.4 mm AISI 420 steel sphere, using an abrasive suspension of alumina (Al2O3) with particle size of 1 ?m (abrasive concentration of 0.11 g/cm³). The contact normal force, abrasive flow and ball rotation speed were fixed at: 0.5 N, 0,2 drop/s, and 120 rpm. The wear craters were analyzed using a confocal laser microscope, Olympus OLS 3000. The wear analyses were performed for test times of: 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 360, 540, 720 and 900 s (equivalent sliding distance: 0.84, 1.68, 2.52, 3.36, 5.04, 10.09, 15.14, 20.19 and 25.23 m, respectively). The results indicate that the wear coefficient in the outer layer and in the diffusion layer are different, being lower in the latter. It was also verified that the wear coefficient on the outer layer region decreases with increasing treatment temperature in the range of 350 to 450 °C, and increase again for 500ºC. The diffusion layer wear coefficient is similar for all the carburized samples. Finally, for all studied conditions, the analysis of the wear craters surface indicates the occurrence of grooving and micro-rolling abrasion wear modes.

Aug 8, 2018

By Giuseppe Pintaude

The use of two-dimensional shape parameters to characterize abrasive particles is a possible approach to express their angularity. Nonetheless, in sliding abrasion, especially in pin abrasion testing, coated papers structure plays an important role and even its damage during the wear process should not be neglected. This manuscript discuss the limitations of two-dimensional shape descriptors in distinguishing wear caused by relatively hard particles, indicating that the wear data obtained in sliding abrasion tests are unable to distinguish different types of coated papers used when only the two-dimensional particle projection is considered for shape characterization.

Jul 31, 2018

By Moisés Paulo Teixeira

The use of tailings for the synthesis of new materials is a worldwide concern today. This paper approaches the utilization of tailings of soapstone (steatite) in order to produce ceramics. The results show that the addition of soapstone in a ratio over 20% in the ceramic mass has enhanced the bending resistance of the ceramic samples when they were fired at temperatures of 900°C or 1000°C.

Oct 30, 2017

By João Luiz do Vale

In standard wear tests, such as pin on disk (ASTM-G99) or block on ring (ASTM-G77), the apparatus simulates conditions that are often different from a machine element real application. Therefore, for an accurate investigation of a tribological application, it is essential to test the real condition in which there are similarities as: geometry, contact details, force application mode, materials, among others. It emphasizes that for studies involving polymeric materials it becomes extremely relevant. Thus, the Laboratory of Surfaces and Contact (LASC) at UTFPR developed an apparatus for sliding bearing on shaft test. In that equipment, loads are applied by a dead-weight system and the frictional force is measured on a load cell. The apparatus operating ranges for load added to the dead weight system and rotation shaft are from 0.2 to 5.0 kgf and from 260 to 3500 rpm, respectively. This paper presents a detailed evaluation of such apparatus, which includes free-body diagrams analysis and a deduction to obtain an equation for the kinetic friction coefficient. Also, the standard measurement uncertainties of a caliper, an electronic scale, and a cell load were determined. It was verified that the kinetic friction coefficient equation is dependent on the apparatus geometry, the applied load, and the frictional force value. Additionally, through the statistical significance analysis it was concluded that some terms in the equation were not significant. Finally, through the application of the error propagation theory in the kinetic friction coefficient equation, the standard measurement uncertainty of the apparatus which showed a value nearby 0.002 along the operating range of the apparatus was obtained.

Jul 31, 2018

By Raúl Daniel López

Un objetivo de seguridad y calidad en los moldes de la colada continua de Siderar fue la de tener un menisco estable y controlado. A lo largo de los distintos periodos de inversiones y mejoras, el control de nivel de Siderar logro como objetivo contener su variación de nivel de acero en el molde en un rango de variación menor a +/-2 mm y con una velocidad de cambio inferior a 1,5 m/segundos. Esta etapa trajo una relativa mejora en los aspectos mencionados (calidad y continuidad operativa) pero el hecho de tener como sistema de medición de nivel un sistema radiactivo (fuente Co60 y contador de centelleo) mantenía serias limitaciones en ambos rubros dado que este sistema no diferencia la interface escoria /polvo colador con el menisco de acero. Este trabajo tratará de mostrar y contar las tareas de desarrollo y aplicación de esta nueva tecnología, hoy vigente en la nueva Colada Continua N° 2 (CCD2) y en etapa de puesta en marcha de la CCD1.

Aug 15, 2017

By Mathias Woydt

The tribological and mechanical properties of binderless and metal-bonded niobium carbides (8 or 12 vol.-% of Cobalt, 12 vol.-% of Fe3Al) are presented. Rotating disks made of niobium carbide bearing hard metals were mated against alumina (99.7%) under unlubricated (dry) unidirectional sliding tests (0,1 m/s to 12,0 m/s; 22°C and 400°C) as well as in oscillation tests (f= 20 Hz, ?x= 0,2 mm, 2/50/98% rel. humidity, n= 105/106 cycles). Microstructure and phase compositions were determined as well. The tribological data obtained were benchmarked with different ceramics, cermets, hard metals and thermally sprayed coatings, where NbC bonded with 8% and 12% Co presented above 8 m/s the lowest wear rates so far in such a benchmark. Binderless NbC (HP-NbC1) and the metal bonded NbCs exhibited low wear rates under dry sliding associated with high P?V load carrying capacities. NbC-based hard metal bonded with 12 vol.-% of Fe3Al resulted in a higher hardness level than for 12 vol.-% cobalt. The tribological profile established revealed a strong position of NbC bearing materials under tribological considerations and for closed tribosystems against established reference tribo-couples.

Jul 31, 2018