Search Documents

By J. B. Cocanour

Pioneering work at the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) has produced a personal computer (PC)-based, software-driven video photometric color sensor for real time process control of metallurgical streams. The video photometer is an inexpensive optical sensor which operates in the visual area of the electromagnetic spectrum and collects color information through plastic optical fiber. The red, green, and blue (R/G/B) voltage components of the color video signal are digitized and characterized through software and then presented as the control variable for software-based proportional-integral-differential (PID) control. This sensor has been successfully employed in the control of a laboratory copper electrolytic circuit. With this sensor, copper solutions were analyzed on-line without the need for sample removal, dilution, mixing or reagent addition, thereby allowing for the real time control of the circuit.

Jan 1, 1994

By Hye-Sung Kim, Dong-Wha Kum, Gyeungho Kim

"Mechanical alloying is an effective way to finely distribute inert dispersoids in AI-TM (TM is a transition metal element) systems. It is considered that high melting point aluminides are formed by precipitation from the supersaturated aluminum matrix. The analysis is based on the fact that much higher content of TM than the solubility limit can be dissolved in alpha aluminum during the high energy ball milling. Nonetheless, the role of undissolved TM particles affecting the formation of aluminides is not suitably considered. In this paper, authors present experimental observation on the formation of Ab3Ti particles from mechanically alloyed AI-Ti alloys in the hyper-peritectic region. This study showed that, in the mechanically alloyed AI-20wt%Ti specimen, intermediate phase of cubic Ab3Ti and tetragonal AIz4Tis formed at 300 - 400°C and 400 - 500°C, respectively, before the MA-state reaches to the global equilibrium at higher temperatures. The formation behavior of Lh- Ab3Ti is interpreted by interdiffusion of Al and Ti in solid state based on the fact that large amount of nano-sized Ti particles exist in the milled powder. Present analysis indicated undissolved Ti particles of nanosize should have played an important role initiating the formation of Ab3Ti phase during annealing.IntroductionInterest in the hyper-peritectic AI-Ti alloys is based on industrial demand for high-modulus and high-temperature aluminum alloys. Earlier works on hyper-peritectic AI-Ti alloys with 4 to 12wt%Ti show that these alloys are strong at ambient temperature and maintain high strength above 300°C when titanium-trialuminide (e.g., Ab3Ti) is finely distributed in the aluminum matrix [1,2]. High melting point and high stiffness with low density of AbTi make the AI-Ti alloys strong with greater thermal stability while keeping weight savings as much as possible. Titanium in aluminum shares other merits of transition metal additions because Ti solubility in Al is low (i.e., 1.l5wt%Ti at 665°C and virtually zero below 400°C), and fine dispersion of Ab3Ti particles is readily accomplished and resists grain coarsening effectively."

Jan 1, 1996

By Cevat Serdar Kucukkaragoz

The kinetics of prereduction of Chromite by carbon was studied under argon atmosphere at temperatures between 1000°C and 1300°C . The compacted and agglomerated specimens were reacted by using a TGA system. The mixing characteristics and the degree of compaction of the chromite and coke particles were the main parameters influencing the reduction kinetics. The reduction rate increased with temperature reaching to 81% reduction at 1300°C. The metallization started as the metallic nucleation around the particles which was first observed at 1100°C. The particles were surrounded by the metallic phase at approximately 40 % reduction obtained at 1200°C. At 1300°C, the reduction proceeded with a high rate during initial stages and with a low rate at final stages. The reduction was found to proceed in the sequence of Fe3+to Fe2+, Fe2+ to Fe(metal) and Cr3+to Cr(metal) with the formation of carbides.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. Saptharishi

Selenium, which is a 6A group element of the periodic table, constitutes about 7x10-5 % of the earth?s crust. Even though selenium is a dispersed element with respect to its commercial exploitation, it is capable of forming number of minerals and nearly forty selenium minerals have been identified, out of which the copper ores are the richest sources of selenium. Electronics industries and glass industries are the major consumers of selenium, while pharma grade selenium used as micronutrient for humans and animals. Various methods have been developed to recover selenium as a by-product from copper anode slime during copper refining. Selenium being amphoteric in nature, it is soluble in both acid and alkali. While acid roast process is widely used, considerable work has been carried out in Russia for recovering selenium through alkali route. This paper enlightens the process developed at Central Research and Development Laboratory, for recovering selenium from decopperised slime through alkali pressure leaching. The decopperised slime is pressure leached with alkali under oxidizing conditions by which almost all the selenium present is converted to alkali selenate, which is easily separable from the rest of the decopperised slime. The solution so obtained is neutralized, during which, most of the impurities are precipitated out. Then selenium is precipitated in its elemental form upon purging sulphur-di-oxide under warm acidic medium. The purity of the selenium obtained by this process is higher than that of the selenium from acid roast process. Moreover selenium can be crystallized as sodium selenate and it can be marketed. The acidic content of the effluent is recovered and it is recycled back to the process. The sodium content of the effluent is converted into high purity sodium sulphate, which is marketable. The hazardous waste containing arsenic is precipitated as its sulphide and can be disposed off as landfill.

Jan 1, 2006

By Suman Das, Justin J. Gambone, Rohan Bansal, Ranadip Acharya, Paul Cilino

"This paper focuses on generating a quantitative microstructure prediction model for Scanning Laser Epitaxy (SLE) process based on coupled flow-thermal modeling using Finite Volume method. SLE is a laser-based additive manufacturing process for the deposition of equiaxed, directionally solidified and single-crystal nickel superalloys through the melting of alloy powders onto superalloy substrates. In the current work, the detailed effects of natural and Marangoni convection on the flow field are studied and the results are analyzed in terms of the temperature gradient, vorticity parameter, melt pool dimensions and mushy region extent. The detailed property data of the processed superalloy and the laser scan path are incorporated in the model to predict the microstructure in realistic scenario. An optimization study is carried out to evaluate the critical parameter values at which the columnar-to-equiaxed and the oriented-tomisoriented transition take place. This work is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research through grant N00014-11-1-0670.IntroductionSLE is a laser-based additive manufacturing process for the creation of structures in equiaxed, directionally solidified and single-crystal nickel superalloys through the selective melting and resolidification of superalloy powders. In SLE, a tightly focused laser beam is guided by a highspeed galvanometer scanners allowing for tight control of the amount of energy being applied to the top of the powder bed, as well as the speed at which the melt pool moves across the substrate. Under the proper operating conditions and with sufficient substrate meltback, the solidification microstructure follows the morphology of the underlying substrate, allowing for directional and even SX growth.Several reports on the modeling aspects of laser cladding-based additive manufacturing approaches can be found in the literature. Approaches based on Finite Element Methods (FEM) and Finite Volume Methods (FVM) are employed for the thermal modeling of the system [1, 2]. Gaumann coupled the Columnar to Equiaxed Transition (CET) modeling with the Rosenthal solution in earlier work based on laser cladding [3]. Rappaz et. al. provided a detailed modeling of the microstructure/columnar orientation based on the solidification velocity and crystalline orientation [4]. This approach is based on the selection of the growth direction that closely follows the melt pool normal direction. Later on, substrate orientation is also taken into account [5, 6]."

Jan 1, 2013

By Michal Rzyman, Nakamura Takashi, Shibata Etsuro, Grabda Mariusz, Oleszek-Kudlak Sylwia

"Thermodynamic considerations indicate that heavy metal oxides should easily react with HBr, the main gaseous product from the thermal decomposition of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), forming low boiling point metallic bromides suitable for volatile separation. Mechanisms and kinetics of the bromination reactions must be well recognized prior to developing of a new treatment for the simultaneous recycling of plastic waste containing brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and metal oxides (printed circuit boards, automotive shredder residue, plating sludge, metallurgical dusts). In this work, a differential scanning calorimeter and laboratory-scale furnace were used to investigate the possibility and conditions of the bromination of ZnO by product of thermal decomposition of TBBPA. The formed solid, condensed and gaseous products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis, electron probe microanalysis, inductively coupled plasma analysis, ion chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Introduction Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is the largest volume brominated flame retardant (BFR) in production today and is used in more than 70% of the world’s electronic and electric (E&E) appliances [1]. The growth in the production of E&E products and the fact they become obsolete so quickly cause significant problems in the safe disposal and recycling of the electrical and electric waste (E-waste) and other BFR-containing waste [2]. Among various treatment processes, thermal methods are most useful since they allow the recycling and recovery of both the organic and inorganic fractions of the waste. However, incineration of the BFR-containing wastes results in the emission of hazardous organobromine compounds, while the main portion of bromine released from decomposed BFRs is present in flue gas as hydrogen bromide (HBr) [3]. HBr, which is known to damage incineration systems, seems to be a very effective bromination agent for many metallic oxides present in waste. The concept of this study is to take advantage this of its property."

Jan 1, 2008

By Yongxiang Yang

High temperature processing of raw materials in metals production and recycling often involves complex multi-phase fluid flow and heterogeneous chemical reactions at various scales. Good understanding of the process physics and chemistry is crucial for process operation and process development. The traditional scale-up process through laboratory scale ? pilot scale ? commercial scale route has been more and more complemented and partially replaced by full-scale process simulation. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become a very useful simulation tool in process research and development. At the same time industrial applications challenge the CFD development with its complex transport phenomena, often in large-scale reactors with small-scale physics and chemistry. The current paper discusses the applications of CFD to a number of high temperature metallurgical and materials processing applications. The research was carried out by using commercial CFD codes as the framework, and the emphasis was given to the special efforts for the development and implementations of sub-models with process-dependent physical and chemical characteristics. To illustrate the application of CFD simulation to high temperature metallurgical processes and coupling of sub-models to the general-purpose CFD codes, five examples are given: (1) melting of aluminium scrap in a rotary furnace for recycling, (2) molten hot metal flow in a heterogeneous coke-bed of a blast furnace hearth, (3) gas flow heat and mass transfer in a submerge electric arc furnace for phosphorus production, (4) high temperature incineration of hazardous waste in a rotary kiln, and (5) transient heating of metals in heat treatment furnaces.

Jan 1, 2006

By Larry M. Southwick

Pneumatic converting (Bessemerizing) of iron revolutionized the steel industry. Bessemerizing of copper (conversion of copper sulfide matte to copper metal) was proposed at almost the same time, but it was slow in being accepted. The differences between iron and copper converting were great and technical problems were substantial. It took 25 years for the process to become viable and another 25 years before a truly economical solution was found. A major economical and productivity problem was the short life for converter refractory linings. The first converters had acid (silica) linings, which were quickly consumed since silica was a flux for the process. Converters had to be relined at least once per day, a laboriously expensive manual process with only the most rudimentary mechanical aids available to assist. The industry was revolutionized almost overnight when finally a viable basic (magnesite) lining was developed. This lasted 100's of days versus less than one, leading to converters that were easier to operate and which handled larger charges. This change occurred after W.H. Peirce and E.A.C. Smith, with support from the Guggenheim interests, successfully operated a basic lined converter in a copper refinery in Baltimore. While Peirce and Smith are generally given credit for the development and explosive acceptance of this idea, a Pittsburgh industrialist, Ralph M. Baggaley, working in an independent smelter in Butte, Montana, successfully built and operated a basic lined converter four years before they did. In fact, the early support for Peirce and Smith likely occurred because Guggenheim's staff were encouraged after thoroughly examining Baggaley on his earlier successes. The questions of technology primacy between Baggaley and Peirce/Smith are ironically similar to those between Wm. Kelly and Bessemer in converting iron to steel. This paper will review what Baggaley (and other early researchers) accomplished, examine why he (or they) did not receive credit equal to Peirce and Smith and explore what his (their) place should be in the development of successful basic linings. More suspects than a Victorian Whodunit.

Jan 1, 1999

By G. A. Irons, D. Guo

"The average spout height and width produced by bottom gas injection in a water model of a steel ladle were measured with an image processing technique. It was revealed that the spout height could be described by a Gaussian curve. A combined SIMPLE -VOF model was developed to simulate the liquid surface and flow. The results showed that, though the model produced reasonable velocity distributions and free surface positions, the spout height due to the dynamic head of the rising liquid was substantially lower than observed, indicating that the bubble dynamics at the bath surface play an important role in spout height.IntroductionDue to the enormous importance of gas injection and stirring in metallurgical processes, there have been numerous publications on water and numerical modeling of such vessels. The free surface of the bath has received considerably less attention, despite its importance. At the free surface there are often important chemical phenomena occurring that require a good understanding of the fluid flow; these would include reoxidation of steel, metal splash and fume formation. Furthermore, to understand the details of slag-metal interactions such as slag entrainment, metal losses to slag and the transport phenomena associated with refining reactions, it is necessary to understand the plume and spout interactions first.There have been few experimental studies of the free surface of liquid in gas-injected ladles [1- 3], and even fewer on numerical modeling. Brimacombe and co-workers [1] studied the gas void fraction in the spout region, using a double-tip electrical resistance probe. This sensor cannot distinguish between gas in bubbles about to break and gas in the freeboard. Thus, it is a matter of judgement as to the position of the free surface. Schwerdtfeger and co-workers [2] used a single probe configuration with a wire and a counter electrode in the liquid, so that the height of the continuous liquid phase was unambiguously determined. Irons and co-workers [3] measured the spout height by ultrasonic and electrical capacitance techniques. These techniques were as reliable as the resistance techniques, but were restricted to low flow rates."

Jan 1, 2001

By K. A. Lewandowski

Agglomeration of ore can be used to immobilize fine particles during heap leaching by agglomerating them into granules. Without agglomeration, the fine ore particles can migrate within the heap, clogging flow channels and producing large areas where access of solution to the ore is very poor. The benefits of agglomeration are well-known in gold heap leaching operations, which can be effectively agglomerated using binders such as Portland cement due to the alkaline leaching solutions used. However, agglomeration has not been very effective in the heap leaching of copper ores, because these ores require an acidic leaching solution. Acid destroys the effectiveness of most binders, causing the agglomerates to disintegrate as soon as the leaching solution is applied. In order to gain the benefits of agglomeration in copper heap leaching, an economical, acid-resistant binder is needed. The two issues that needed to be addressed were: 1) Lack of effective methods for evaluating binder acid resistance before performing expensive, time-consuming, full-scale heap leaching tests, and 2) The vast majority of known binders react poorly to acid conditions, and so a basis was needed for determining which binders are most likely to be acid-resistant. In this paper, the development of two new tests for evaluating binder acid resistance in the laboratory are described. The ?soak test? determines the degree to which agglomerates disintegrate and release fines on contact with acidic solution, measuring the relative quantities of fines released by agglomerates made with different binders under controlled conditions, and serves as a rapid means for comparing large numbers of binders. The ?percolation test? measures several different parameters to determine how a binder is likely to perform in heap leaching: 1) the degree of ?slump? and compaction of agglomerates as they are wetted by acidic solutions; 2) the hydraulic conductivity of the agglomerate bed; 3) the migration of fines through the bed as the solution flows through it; and 4) the quantity of liquid retained in the agglomerates after they are drained. Using these tests, a broad spectrum of binders were examined. Soak testing determined that the most acid-resistant binders were nonionic polymers. Five of these binders were further evaluated using percolation testing.

Jan 1, 2006

By Taiping Lou

The coarsening process of precipitates in non-equilibrium systems was studied, and then a physical model of coarsening was proposed. The coarsening process of CaO'TiO2 in MgO-TiO2-Al2O3-SiO2-CaO-CaF system was investigated. It is shown that the coarsening process by the model predicting is agreed with the experimental results.

Jan 1, 2000

By Yuanyuan Wang, Hong Li, Xueting Liu, Hao Bai, Kang Zhou

"Phase change materials are widely used in efficient utilization of energy and new energy technology. Especially, more attention has been paid to composite phase material, which is applied on architectural energy-saving and efficient working fluid. In this paper, stearic acid-silicon dioxide composite material was prepared by sol-gel process from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and stearic acid (SA). The material was investigated by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The FE-SEM results show that 3D-grids of silicon dioxide were formed clearly and SA was encapsulated in the silicon dioxide shell. The FT-IR results show that there were no chemical reactions between silicon dioxide and SA, which is the chemical property of the composite material, is stable. The DSC results show that the composite phase change material has favorable heat capacity. This material is expected to be used to make a cooling working fluid.1. IntroductionEnergy thermal storage becomes increasingly prominent issue in recent years, because thermal storage has been used in many aspects, for example, it can be added into building materials to improve heat conditioning. Another potential application of thermal storage materials is that the intermittent waste heat can be collected and recycled effectively by using the thermal storage facility. Thus, energy thermal storage plays a significant role in conserving available energy and improving its utilization [1]. Energy thermal storage includes sensible heat storage and latent heat storage. The latent heat storage has great heat density with a constant temperature during the phase change process [2-5]. Large quantities of latent heat storage will be absorbed and released when phase change takes place. Based on the former researches, some phase change material (PCM), such as fatty acid and paraffin waxes, has been proved to have high latent heat storage capacity and appropriate thermal properties [5-6]. However, using the PCM in energy storage systems directly is restricted, e.g. some properties of organic PCM, like form-stability and thermal conductivity, are not good enough to use. Meanwhile, almost all the inorganic PCMs are corrosive and most materials may cause sub cooling and segregation [7-9].The other problem is that the leakage when the temperature reaches the phase change point. Therefore, encapsulated composite phase change material (CPCM) emerged in order to solve the problem of leaking out, minimize the sub cooling and prevent phase segregation. [10-13] However, the easy flammability of fatty acid also has hindered the development of PCM. Accordingly, it has been found out that silicon compounds are environmentally friendly promising substitutes for halogen-containing flame retardants. Especially, silsesquioxanes are excellent in the flame retardancy. So CPCM can be encapsulated with SiO2 acting supporting material."

Jan 1, 2014

By Huang Kai

Uniform needle-like and spherical nickel oxalate particles were prepared by the chelating precipitation process, which was based on the reaction of oxalate acid and the solution of ammonia nickel chloride. The molar ratio of ammonia to nickel ion in the mixed solution is essential to determine whether the spherical or needle-like particles are formed, which means actually the concentration of ammonia is the key to determine the growth mechanism. When oxalate acid is added in the form of solid, it may act as the nucleation interface for the eariy-precipitated substance and so induce the formation of spherical particles. The PVP agent can improve the dispersing degree of the needle-like particles and higher reacting temperature leads to larger particles. The composition of the needle-like particle consists of ammonium and nickel oxalate instead of the pure nickel oxalate.

Jan 1, 2003

By Takeshita. Takuo

"In this work, the progress of the HDDR process is discussed mainly on the Nd-Fe-B magnet system. There are three technologies being used for the Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet production; the sintering technique, the rapid quenching annealing and the HDDR process. The HDDR process utilizes· the HDDR phenomenon, in which hydrogen absorbing intermetallic compounds go through as they are heated in hydrogen atmosphere, Hydrogenation - Decomposition Desorption - Recombination. In the HDDR process, these four steps in the HDDR phenomenon are processed by choosing suitable reaction conditions regarding to hydrogen gas pressure, temperature, rate ·of desorption and etc., and we can produce permanent magnet powders of good magnetic properties with microstructures consisting with sub-micron size crystalline grains. In the anisotropic magnet powders, the sub-micron size crystals are being mostly aligned in the crystallographic c-axis direction. Possible applications of the HDDR process to other systems are also discussed.Microstructures of the Nd-Fe-B Permanent MagnetsIt is well known that magnet properties of magnetic materials are very sensitive to their microstructures [l]. This is seen in almost all magnet materials from soft magnetic materials and hard magnetic materials to magnetic memory materials. In this regard, the production technology is very important for the control of microstructures of permanent magnets The Nd-Fe-B magnet is the most powerful permanent magnet as a practical permanent magnet, and its coercivity force is much dependant on the microstructure as is the case for other permanent magnets."

Jan 1, 2000

By Akira Yazawa

To realize highly efficient process in extractive metallurgy, continuous operation nearly in equilibrium is preferable, but most metallurgical processes consist of plural steps with different chemical potentials. Traditional two-step process of sintering followed by reduction is continuous in each step, but is heterogeneous reaction system far from equilibrium, and the chemical potentials are varied considerably along the distance the charge travels in a reactor. This route will become old-fasioned in next century due to the various inherent problems caused especially by sintering process. To establish reasonable new smelting processes, the important tasks of the metallurgists are how to introduce feed and reacting gas in the reactor, and also how to overcome the difference in chemical potential in the reactor system. Based on the ways to solve theses tasks, recent proposals of new smelting process for copper and lead are classified and discussed with the help of sulfur-oxygen potential diagram. On such potential diagram, each equilibrium step in continuous smelting is expressed at a fixed point, and two reactors with different chemical potentials must be connected by continuous molten flow through launder or partition wall. In the latter case, the reactor is apparently single, but some technical problems must be overcome. While, in a batch smelting like converter, potential variation is successively realized along a path on chemical potential diagram with the time elapsed. To establish immediate equilibrium, continuous steady flow of reactants into well mixed reactor is indispensable. In modern smelting process, the ore is mostly supplied in the form of powder which have huge surface area and fluid character, and consequently injection process must be very attractive. Several examples are discussed for both of copper and lead smelting, and promising future technologies are suggested.

Jan 1, 1988

By T. Malvik

Norway is a big producer of ferrosilicon and silicon metal. The raw material is quartz and quartzite and large quantities from both Norwegian and foreign sources are used. The demands maade on both the chemical purity and the thermomechanical qualities of the quartz/quartzite have increased in recent years in an attempt to reduce energy consumption and to improve utilization. Control of the chemical quality of the raw material is relatively easy by means of routine analysis, but it is more difficult to find a suitable method for testing the thermomechanical properties. A rapid test method to define high quality quartzite deposits for use in the metallurgical industry has been developed. The method is based on a combination of chemical analysis, dilatometry, thermosonimetry and cathodoluminiscence.

Jan 1, 1989

By S. Moussa

The formation of boron-doped nickel aluminides Ni3AI, (76 at. % Ni) from elemental powders by reaction synthesis using reactive sintering was studied. The process involves the mixing of elemental powders of nickel and aluminium with various wt % of boron up to 1 wt % boron. Nickel and Aluminium powders were mixed in the correct proportion to form the intended boron-doped nickel aluminide intermetallic. XRD, SEMI EDS, Image analysis and Archimedes principle; were used to study the effect of Boron addition on the final microstructure, bulk density, average grain size of as reactively-sintered nickel aluminides (boron-doped), compared with no boron addition. The results showed that at greater boron content than 0.3 wt %, a two-phase non-equilibrium microstructure of consisting of NiAI phase in NiJAI matrix was formed that have been primarily retained even after heat treatment for 5 hours at 1000 °C. Boron was present in solid-solution within both the NiAI and the Ni3AI (in greater amounts) phases.

Jan 1, 2001

By M. J. Perpich

Electrochemical and chemical leaching tests were carried out on chalcocite, covellite and chalcopyrite in acidified iron sulfate solutions sparged with a mixture of O2 - SO2. The gas mixture catalyzed the ferrous to ferric oxidation reaction in situ and, therefore, increased the redox potential and oxidizing strength of the solution. Anodic polarization curves in dilute sulfuric acid on copper sulfide electrodes showed that chalcopyrite passivates and dissolves at current densities orders of magnitude less than chalcocite and covellite. The addition of a depassivating agent (Ag+) increased the passive current density of chalcopyrite and caused breakdown near 0.625 V (SCE). The depassivating effect was also observed during the leaching of chalcopyrite particulate samples as small amounts of Ag+ added to acidified iron sulfate solutions in the presence of O2 - SO2 mixtures greatly increased the leaching rate and the total amount of Cu oxidized (> 90%). Passivation was prevented in the absence of Ag+ by decreasing the initial oxidizing power of the solution and by pretreating the sample in a reductive leach. Both of these methods resulted in transformation of the chalcopyrite surface from its characteristic greenish-gold into deep black. Increased concentrations of Fe+++ due to 02 - S02 sparging were then able to oxidize the transformation product.

Jan 1, 1999

By K. C. Mills, P. N. Quested, A. P. Day, R. F. Brooks

"Methods have been developed to measure the physical properties of molten materials relevant to the fluid flow in high temperature processes. Data for the densities, viscosities and surface tensions of Al-, Ni- and Fe-based alloys are compared with (i) values for the pure metals and (ii) estimated values obtained from models making use of chemical composition of the alloy. Experimental values for metallurgical slags are also given and compared with estimated values.1 IntroductionPhysical property data has proved very useful in improving process control and product quality. For instance, in the continuous casting of steel the viscosity (TJ) of the mould flux is important since it determines (i) the optimum casting conditions, nVc = 2.5±1 dPas (m min-1) where V c is the casting speed and (ii) the level of slag entrapment (which leads to inclusions) in the metal. Thus data for properties like viscosity are exceedingly useful in understanding the process and the problems encountered and the causes of defects and problems.Another interesting development which has helped to increase our knowledge of processes and improve process control and product quality is the development of mathematical models of the fluid and heat flow in the process. These models have been developed to the stage where one of the prime requirements is for good physical property data for the industrial materials involved. Recently, Oxley [1] has shown that the use of reliable, experimental, property values for the commercial alloy in a commercial software package produced a significant improvement in the prediction of casting defects. Thus reliable property data are required for liquid metals but also for (i) liquid slags since many processes involve the use of a slag to refine and protect the metal or to lubricate the mould and (ii) refractories, sand and investment moulds."

Jan 1, 1999

By Steven C. Torma

The present article reviews some of the technologies available for recycling high-energy yield explosives loaded projectiles. These activities lead to reduction of military ammunition stockpiles and their conversion into commercial and industrial applications. The recycling technologies involve dismantling and separation of ammunition components into recyclable metals, plastics, paper and explosive materials. The metal 1 ic components will be sent to smelters, where they will be converted to products that can be used in a variety of industries, such as construction, automotive, housing and so on. Plastics and paper will be recycled and reused. Explosives will be recycled to be used for industrial purposes in the mining industry. Propellants (ammonium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate) can be ground to small particle size and treated to be used in the agricultural industry as fertilizer. In addition, some of the excess explosive material recovered in the demilitarization process may be incinerated to produce energy for steam production for heating purposes, or for production of electricity. Furthermore, this article reviews the developments in the bioremediation of explosive contaminated soils and industrial effluents.

Jan 1, 1994