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By Nils Eivind Kamfjord, Roar Jensen, Ingeborg Solheim

"SINTEF has carried out several pilot scale silicon process experiments in the past, but always with an open off gas system. In order to test the possibilities in running a semi closed furnace operation, a new off gas hood has been designed and tested. The off gas hood is designed to collect all off gases to gain insight into the phase compositions in the off gas and at the same time have the opportunity to monitor and maintain the charging/stoking of the furnace. The furnace hood has regulation and control of the air inlet into the combustion zone in two different heights. The off gas temperature and composition was continuously monitored and analyzed during the experiment. In order to expand the knowledge on NOx- formation in silicon metal production, such information is vital.IntroductionBecause of the negative environmental impact, the attention towards all kinds of NOX emissions increases in Norway. The authorities’ demand towards better surveillance and control of emissions increases as well.Earlier and new industrial measurements in FeSi- and Si-metal furnaces reveal quite high NOX-emission. The measurements also show that the NOX formation (mainly as thermal NOX) is distinct connected to the formation of dust (SiO?SiO2) in the combustion chamber above the furnace surface, when the temperature is high and the access to N2/O2 is good. This means that stoking, charging and temperature straight above the furnace surface is important factors for the NOX formation."

Jan 1, 2012

By Laszlo Kadar, J. D. Lavers

"In the continuous casting of aluminum killed steel, the tundish nozzle often experiences clogging problems. Water model studies have shown that the clogging problem is dependent on the flow pattern in the nozzle entry region. In particular, the flow can separate at the entrance to the nozzle, leading to the development of a recirculation region. Although a nozzle can be designed such that no recirculation develops, even a small misalignment from the vertical positioning of the nozzle may render the design ineffective.To reduce the possibility of nozzle clogging, the recirculation zone must be reduced or eliminated. This may be achieved by moving the fluid downwards or raising the turbulence level in the separation region. In the case of a tundish nozzle, it is proposed that this can be achieved by using electromagnetic forces.To generate the required electromagnetic force, two systems are considered. The first is based on injecting a DC current; the second by using electromagnetic induction. Both methods are described in this paper. Order of magnitude calculations are provided to illustrate that both methods are essentially feasible. The performance of each method in terms of modifying the turbulent flow characteristics in the nozzle entry region is then examined using a numerical model. It is shown that both methods can greatly reduce the recirculation zone. A cylindrical nozzle was chosen for the model studies since it represents a worst case situation.On the basis of the model studies, it can be concluded that whereas both of the proposed methods have the potential to reduce the troublesome recirculation zone, the induction method appears to be simpler in terms of practical implementation."

Jan 1, 1999

By Shane Andrews, Gustavo Vasquez, S. K. Varma

"The effect of solutionizing time on the corrosive wear behavior of 2014 aluminum alloy has been studied using the impact and continuous mode of scratching techniques. The transient currents (TC) evolved during the scratching of the alloy shows a linear dependence between the TC and the solutionizing time. Higher TC values at longer solutionizing time may be associated with the changes in the concentration of quenched-in vacancies, grain sizes and dislocations generated during scratching. These factors can either create (a) anodic sites or (b) pitting corrosion resulting in the generation of transient currents. The results have been compared with the similar study carried out for 6061 aluminum alloys. This 6061 aluminum alloy shows similar behavior but the rate of TC generation per unit solutionizing time is much lower than 2014 aluminum alloy. The morphological changes in the impact scratches and the TEM investigation in the scratch have been presented in this paper.IntroductionThe technique of studying corrosive wear of composites of 6061 aluminum in the monolithic and reinforced forms has been reported in the literature [1]. Two modes of scratching, consisting of impact and continuous, in a corrosive environment indicate that the composites, containing 0.10 and 0.20 volume fractions of alumina particles (VFAP), have higher corrosive wear rates than the monolith. A graph between the transient current (TC) generated during the impact scratching as a function of solutionizing time at 540°C indicates linear relationship between them. A similar slopes for the composites were observed and the TC values were less for the composite containing lesser VFAP."

Jan 1, 1998

By Hidefusa Takahara, Koichi Miyake, Dierk Raabe

"Mechanical properties of copper wires were examined. The copper wires containing 5-10 mass % chromium and 1-3 mass % silver were produced through heavily cold deformation. It was expected that the copper wire was easily fractured during cold deformation because of the existence of brittle chromium phase in the alloy. In fact, the copper wire was fractured due to large work hardening, when the true strain [n] exceeded 5. However, the copper wire annealed at 1273K for 6 ks ·in the middle of deformation process could be smoothly drawn to 11=8. After precipitation treatment for silver phase at 473k for 1.8 ks, the wire was able to further drawn to n=8.4. The final deformed wire showed tensile strength higher than 1200MPa.IntroductionDownsizing of electronic devices has led to the demand of finer and higher strength materials for cables. Conventional copper alloys have about 800MPa in ultimate tensile strength. These strength are mainly obtained by precipitation hardening. Nowadays, a process for higher strength wire has been developed, where dual phase copper alloy is used. When it is drawn heavily, the' second phase is elongated along drawing direction and the wire gets high strength due to fiber reinforcement (1). That alloy is so called in-situ formed fiber reinforced ·alloy. Cu-Ag(2), Cu-Nb(3) and Cu-Cr(4) systems are well known as such alloys. It is also well known that chromium is brittle material except single crystal and high purity of chromium. However, Mihara et al. C5l have achieved 1 GPa in ultimate tensile strength in the Cu-Cr-Zr and Cu-Cr-Ti alloys by appropriate thermo-mechanical processing.In this study, the Cu-Cr-Ag systems were investigated: The alloys contained 10 or 5% chromium and 3 or 1 % silver. It was demonstrated that silver precipitated in copper matrix contributed on further hardening."

Jan 1, 2000

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 Andreas Siegmund

During the decade of the nineties the conventional method of primary lead smelting (sinter machine/blast furnace) was successfully challenged by the introduction of novel direct and continuous smelting processes. In combination with a significant shift in market structure, as well as more stringent government regulations these modem technological innovations like the QSL, Kivcet, and Isa/Ausmelt processes became more than major competitors. They have proven to be economically and environmentally viable. The intensification of the metallurgical reaction by applying oxygen enriched or pure oxygen bath or flash smelting principles resulted in cost savings and a higher flexibility with respect to raw materials and additives usage. By synchronizing individual auxiliary plant sections with the smelting process a virtually waste- free production and low-emission mode of operation with nearly optimum energy exploitation is achieved. The primary lead industry will gradually substitute the sinter -blast furnace operation with novel high-energy efficient technologies in the new millennium.

Jan 1, 2003

By Peter G. Cooper

"During 1987, the feasibility of modernising the ER&S smelter at Port Kembla, NSW, Australia was studied. The selection of appropriate technologies to carry the smelter into the 21st century considered issues such as capital cost, existing infrastructure, feed mix, capacity, product quality, flexibility and potential for further development. Both hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical process schemes were considered. Some novel combinations were assessed but ultimately rejected. Final technology selections included proven smelting and anode furnace processes, pyrometallurgical slag cleaning and modifications to existing equipment. This process scheme balanced risk against development potential within the constraints imposed by the existing plant.BackgroundThe Electrolytic Refining and Smelting Company of Australia (ER&S) has operated a custom copper smelter at Port Kembla since 1908. Existing technology includes a sinter plant/blast furnace, three small Peirce Smith converters, two reverberatory anode furnaces and a conventional tankhouse. These process units were all installed prior to 1960 and have proven to be flexible enough to process the wide variety of domestic feed materials purchased by ER&S.However, by the early 1980s, threats to domestic concentrate supplies highlighted the need for major changes to reduce operating costs to world competitive levels. Various studies in the ensuing years failed to identify an economically attractive solution. Furthermore, pressures were increasing to improve the environmental performance of the smelter.During 1986 the options for redevelopment were again considered and by the end of 1987 technologies for the retrofit had been selected and a full feasibility study was completed."

Jan 1, 1988

By Yoshinao Kobayashi

he removal of oxygen from titanium and zirconium is important for use in application because it significantly affects the mechanical and physical properties such as ductility and toughness. However, thermodynamic properties of oxygen in molten titanium and zirconium have not been clarified and the effective deoxidation process of molten titanium and zirconium has not been established. In this study, the standard Gibbs energy of reaction of oxygen and yttrium in molten titanium and zirconium have been measured by a chemical equilibrium technique. Molten titanium, zirconium, and their alloys with aluminum were equilibrated with a Y2O3, A12O3, or Zr02 pellet in a cold crucible. The results are summarized as follows:

Jan 1, 2000

By Anna Wasilkowska

The study concentrates on the effects exerted by microstructure, deformation history and uniaxial stress conditions (temperature, stress state, strain rate) on the mechanical properties offerritic TRIP-aided steels for automotive applications. In low-alloyed TRIP-steels it is quite difficult to separate the effect of the austenite to martensite phase transformation from the influence of the ferritic matrix contributing to the yield stress and uniform elongation. Investigation of transformation kinetics of retained austenite as a function of the deformation temperature show that using the parameter k to characterize the retained austenite stability allows to identify regious of different temperature sensitivity separated by a transition temperature of 10±5°C. The observed low strain-rate sensitivity of the flow stress is an intrinsic property of the ferritix matrix and points to defomtation governed by slip. The ultimate tensile strength is much stronger affected by temperature than the yield stress. The influence of the temperature on the elongation is complex, because of the heating of the specimens by 60-l20°C at moderate and high strain rates. The increase of the total strain can be understood in terms of thermal softening of the ferrite. On the other hand, the steep increase of the stress during dynamic testing is an effect of accommodated elastic and plastic strains in the matrix. The strain- hardening exponent is dependent on the conditions imposed during testing. The martensite transfomtation rate is lower and the critical stress for martensite nucleation is much higher under compression compared to tensile loading. In secondary tensile tests, the yield stress increases steeply, and the ultimate tensile strength and the total elongation depend linearly on the amount of pre-straining. The results confirm that in the range of 8=10-4 s-l the TRIP-effect governs room temperature plasticity. Keywords: TRIP-steels, mechanical properties, strain rate sensitivity, temperature sensitivity, austenite stability

Jan 1, 2003

By Keizo Uematsu, Satoshi Tanaka, Nozomu Uchida, Ronne Hendrajaya

"The influence of microstructural defects on strength in Si3N4 is reviewed. The presence of cracks, pores and inclusions greatly affects the strength of Si3N4. The micron order crack size and distribution were quantified by micrographic technique. The observed defect size was range from 4 µm to 28 µm.The density of defect increases as the defect size decreases. The correlation between defects size and density was better represented on the logarithmic graph. The correlation was linier. IntroductionFracture in ceramics materials occurs from. In order to understand the relationship between strength and defects, it is necessary to examine the fracture process quantitatively.1In this study, the micrographic technique is used to determine the defects size and distribution in Si3N4. The observed data will be used to predict the material strength by using fracture mechanics rnodel.2Experimental ProcedureThe sintered Si3N4 specimens ( SNl, Japan Fine Ceramics Center) were sliced into 1mm thick . The both sides of specimen surface were polished into by using diamond slurries with particle size down to 2µm. The final thickness was 0.045 mm. The optical microscope (NIKON OPTIPHOT02-POL) was used to observed the internal defects with transmission mode. The reflection mode was used to determine the surface defects, so that the internal defect could be distinguished from surface defect. The measurement and counting was taken on the micrograph and the longest part of the defect was measured as the defect size. The size density distribution of internal defect is taken."

Jan 1, 2000

By Wang Chen

COREX process is briefly introduced. A static model combining a set of mass and heat balance equations has been developed. Taking the specified inputs from the graphical user interfaces, the model is capable of calculating the consumption of raw materials and fluxes, the volume and composition of the slag and the volume and composition of the generator gas. The model enables the examination of the changes of materials and energy flows induced by the variations of operational parameters and raw materials chemical analysis. The model allows a detailed process analysis and adjustment of the plant operation and can thus be used to improve plant operation.

Jan 1, 2008

By J. E. Klein

Bench scale tests using a stack of ten whole SAES St909 pellets, 6 grams, to crack methane have been completed with pure methane feed. Test conditions ranged from 600 to 800°C at 101 kPa (760 ton) with a methane feed rate of ten sccm. Methane reformation tests, test where hydrogen was passed through a St909 bed after cracking methane, were performed to determine if and how much methane can be generated under "reformation" conditions. Phase structure determinations of St909, composed of a ZrMnFe alloy with aluminum used as a pellet binder, after methane cracking were complicated by the number of materials that can be formed by the elements in the St909 and the carbon from methane cracking. It was determined that the aluminum not only alloys with the Zr, Mn, and Fe in the St909 alloy, but also forms aluminum transition metal carbides in addition to ZrC as the carbon content and the temperature of the St909 increases. Some A14C3 was also found in some pellets. Passing hydrogen over St909 pellets after methane cracking formed methane at various rates in the temperature range of 600 to 800°C. Temperatures of 800°C gave the best methane cracking performance and efficiencies decreased rapidly with temperature.

Jan 1, 2002

By Yongqi Sun, Zuotai Zhang

Hot slags, at the temperatures of 1450-1650 oC, carry a substantial amount of high quality thermal energy, which represents the largest undeveloped energy source in the steel industry. However, the waste heat recovery rate in China is less than 2%; thus there is a great potential of waste heat recovery. In this study, we investigated a chemical method to extract the waste heat from high temperature blast furnace slags, i.e., sludge gasification. Sewage sludge, another substantial waste produced in the municipal system, need to be timely disposed, the organics of which could be gasified using the waste heat in the slags for the purpose of syngas production. Both the kinetics and thermodynamics of the sludge gasification process were clarified here. Most importantly, an integrated system composed of multiple systems such as the steel industry, the cement industry, the municipal system and the chemical engineering industry, was analyzed in this study.

Jan 1, 2016

By A. C. Mollison

In November of 1983 a fire inside the autoclave caused the curtailment of operation of the Kidd Creek pressure leaching facility. Subsequent repairs and recommissioning of the autoclave in 1984 allowed Kidd Creek to increase its production of zinc as originally planned. This paper describes the operation of this process from 1984 to 1988 and details major mechanical work carried out on the vessel in 1.988:

Jan 1, 1990

By J. R. Donald

Surface and interfacial phenomena play a significant role in refractory performance. For example, the wettability of the refractory material with slag, matte, and metal influences infiltration and interfacial reactions. Yet, very little fundamental information regarding the surface properties of refractory materials and slag is available. Thus, in the present work, the sessile drop technique incorporating a high temperature furnace equipped with X-ray fluorescope was employed to investigate the surface and interfacial phenomena of fayalite-type slags on solid alumina at 1200?C. The iron to silica (Fe/SiO,) ratios employed were 1.4 and 2.0, and the oxygen potentials used were log p02 =-11 and log p02=-9 atmospheres. The contact angle between the fayalite-type slags and the alumina were determined to be relatively low, at about 16.9 to 19.6 degrees under the experimental conditions. The surface tension of fayalite slag (Fe/SiO2=1.4) at an oxygen potential of log -11 was 0.298, which agreed with the work of previous researchers. The surface tension of the fayalite was observed to increase with time. The spinel FeAl2O4. was determined to be the product of the interfacial reaction, and 8.8 to 15.8 mass percent alumina was dissolved into the slag after 40 minutes.

Jan 1, 1996

By H. Kohno

The Onahama No.3 tankhouse started commercial operation in early 1973, with the capacity of 8,500 metric tons per month. When the No.3 tankhouse was constructed, the starter sheet stripping section was rebuilt at the No.2 tankhouse and electrolyte purification section was expanded. The previous AIME paper in 1976 described the design principles of the No.3 tankhouse and its layout, This paper describes the starter sheet stripping machine in the No.2 tankhouse and the electrodes handling system in the No.3 tankhouse and all these equipments were developed for the operation of the No.3 tankhouse. A Hazelette continuous casting machine was also introduced in order to cast thin anodes with accurate shape. Owing to the adoption of thin anodes, gold, silver and copper inventory is reduced by 40%. Jumbo tanks and newly developed mechanical equipments were adopted and no work on cells during pulling up operation was achieved. Using thin anodes with accurate shape, inspection work was completely abolished while maintaining high current efficiency and high cathode quality. Labor cost was reduced by 70% and only six operaters can produce? 8,500 metric tons of cathodes per month. The same new electrolysis process is appreciated and has been used as a newly built independent tankhouse by Kidd Creek Mines Ltd., in Canada in 1981 with excellent results

Jan 1, 1987

By R. Padilla

In most of the Chilean copper and gold concentrates, arsenic is present mainly as enargite, Cu3AsS4, which at the conventional roasting or smelting temperatures decomposes liberating arsenic as gaseous compounds. The objective of this investigation was to study the decomposition reaction of enargite in an inert atmosphere in the range of 500 °C - 750°C. The results obtained indicated that the decomposition begins at about 525 °C. Two distinct regions in the temperature dependence of the decomposition rate were observed: a low temperature region between 525 °C to 650°C and a high temperature region between 650 °C to 725 °C. The X-ray diffraction analysis suggests that the decomposition of enargite occurs through the formation of intermediate tenantite, according to the following sequential reactions: 4Cu3AsS4(s) ? Cu12 As4S13(s)+ 3/2S2(g) Cu12 AS4S13(s) ? 6Cu2S(s) + 2As2S3(g) + 1/2S2(g) The decomposition kinetics was analyzed by using the model for a topochemical reaction of spherical particles: 1-(1-X) 1/3 = kt, which represented well the data. Apparent activation energies of 113 kJ/mol and 60.5 kJ/mol were found for the low and high temperature regions, respectively.

Jan 1, 1999

By James M. Lockwood

"Eureka Technology has developed and patented a technology for the recycling of EAFD. Through this process all constituents of the material become salable commodities or are returned to the steel making process. In transforming the EAFD ""waste"" stream into a ""process"" stream the Steelmaker eliminates potential liabilities and the uncertain future of current processes while further reinforcing its role as a recycler. This is a cost-effective and energy efficient technology that combines hydrometallurgic and electrolytic processes resulting in the recovery of salable metals. For instance, unlike pyrometallurgic processes, zinc is recovered in metallic form and no elements are volatilized. This on-site operation also eliminates expensive transportation costs. In summary this technology reduces the cost of dealing with EAFD by recycling material currently being landfilled.IntroductionWorld crude steel production reached a new record level in 2007 - 1.34 billion tons of which 31% was produced by EAF steel makers [1]. This resulted in the generation of over 6 million tons of EAFD. This steel byproduct contains significant amounts of lead, cadmium and other hazardous metals. In the United States the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated EAFD a hazardous waste (EPA waste code K061). With over 50% of steel production in the US coming from EAF steel making this byproduct represents the single largest source of solid hazardous waste generated."

Jan 1, 2008

By V. I. Lakshmanan

"Historically flowsheets are developed for efficient separation of metals for economic recovery. With increasing emphasis on reduction, reuse and recycle (3Rs) efficient methods are sought to recover values from a variety of feeds where cost of collection, transportation, local consumer behaviour and regulatory guidelines dictate the development of economically viable flowsheets. Innovative understanding of potential market applications can provide means to develop value added end products. The paper with examples will discuss the use of innovative-separation technologies to obtain value added end use materials from secondary sources.IntroductionFlowsheets are developed for the efficient separation of materials of value for economic recovery. However with increasing societal pressures and regulatory initiatives for stricter environmental guidelines, there is strong need to provide focus to recover materials efficiently and economically in an environmentally accepted manner. North American industries are increasingly caught between demands for high technology value added products and responsibility for environment. An aspect that is receiving increasing attention is Design for Environment'. This incorporates a system wide approach for product design and incorporates environmentally preferable features such as recyclability, disassembly, maintainability, reusability and use of safe materials as part of a product's design objectives.The present paper with case histories will address innovative flowsheet development to convert wastes into recyclables value added products or for minimising generation of waste materials. Case HistoriesProcess for Separating Fibres from Composite Materials 1In the automotive industry, sheet molded compound (SMC) is used to produce panels, bumpers and the like. During the manufacture and at the end of life, considerable waste materials are generated which are potentially recyclable. Fibre reinforced plastics where fibre substrate impregnated with thermosetting resin, find applications in several manufacturing processes and are potentially recyclable at the end of life."

Jan 1, 1996

By C. O. Bounds

The magnetic properties of (NdDy)15Fe78B6 sintered magnets have been evaluated using powder prepared by Inert gas atomization. The atomized powder had a particle size distribution from 1 to approximate 1000 microns. The as atomized powders have been sieved into, coarse, intermediate, and fine fractions; magnetic properties were evaluated for the as produced powder and each fraction. A B, of 11.7 kG, a Hci of 11.0 kOe and a BHmax of 32.5 MGOe was -obtained on a sintered magnet made from the as-atomized powder. The magnet made from coarse powder exhibited a slightly higher B, of 12.1 kG, while that from fine powder showed a decrease in B, to 11.2 kG. Hydrogen decrepitation has been utilized to study its effect on the magnetic properties. Finally, cast ingots with a definite columnar structure have also been used to compare the magnetic properties of magnets of the same nominal, composition but of different alloy preparation process. Hydrogen decrepitation does not appear to improve the magnetic properties of magnets made from thin cast ingots. However, it does show a significant improvement in the Hci of magnets made from the atomized powders. Possible causes for the differences in the magnetic properties on magnets made from each process have been discussed in the paper.

Jan 1, 1992