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By Osamu Iida

Since 'start-up of the larger Mitsubishi Continuous Copper Smelting Process in 1991, furnace relining campaign was gradually prolonged to once every 2 years according to deregulation of governmental boiler inspection. On the other hand, in 1998 Naoshima smelter embarked on an intermediate strategic expansion plan to strengthell its international competitiveness. As part of this plan, modifications were implemented in the copper smelter designed to increase output of anodes from new charge source to 270,000 tpa. In May 1998, treatment of dried neutralized residue was started in C furnace, and during the shutdown for brick relining in April 1999, intensive modifications to the boilers as well as the installation of new spray coolers for furnace off gas treatment were implemented. Finally, the new larger oxygen plant was commenced its operation in May 2000 and the expansion was achieved around 30% increase of anode production from original design.

Jan 1, 2001

By Kenji Sasaki

Tamano Smelter started its operation in January, 1972 adopting FSFE ( Flash Smelting Furnace with Furnace Electrodes ) type smelting furnace at a production capacity of 101,00Ot/y of anode copper and 285,00Ot/y of sulfuric acid. Since then, it had experienced several production expansion program, it had twice as production capacity as start. 196,000t/y of anode copper and 436.000t/y of sulfuric acid. This time, we have completed the plan for increasing production capacity up to 226,000t/y of anode copper and 510,000t/y of sulfuric acid, by the oxygen enriched operation. We carried out several improvements and modifications, changing of cooling system ill FSFE, enlargement of converter and anode furnace, and some progresses in sulfuric acid plant and environmental facilities.

Jan 1, 1993

By Katsunori Yamaguchi

A new technique for the removal of tramp-elements from steel scrap has been required from the viewpoint of saving energy and protection of environment. In order to obtain fundamental information on the removal of copper, tin and zinc from molten iron, the extraction method by using of phase separation in the liquid Fe-Pb-C system was investigated at 1453K. A mixture of iron, lead and carbon melted in a carbon crucible separates into two phases of lead and iron containing carbon. The compositions on the miscibility gap in the Fe-Pb-C system are 95.4%Fe-4.5%C-0.1 %Pb and 99.9%Pb-0.I%Fe. The distribution ratios of copper, tin and zinc between the lead and the iron phases, Lx [mass%X in molten Pb]/(mass%X in molten Fe), are 2.2, 2.2 and 1.4, respectively. Seventy percent of copper and tin from iron scrap can be eliminated with comparable lead addition. Gold, silver and palladium are enriched in the lead rich phase, on the contrary platinum and rhodium are more distributed to the iron rich phase than to the lead phase.

Jan 1, 2003

By K. Sarveswara Rao

The present paper firstly describes some recent trends from literature on energy management via process intensification to arrive at sustainable technologies for aqueous processing of minerals, metals and materials. Secondly, the energy saving measures practiced in leaching, solid-solution separation, solution purification, metal and material winning and environmental aspects have been discussed. The emerging importance of interdisciplinary nature of hydrometallurgy for practical applications is also highlighted. With the above background, the present paper describes an overview of energy conservation and autoclave processes with a special reference to hydrometallurgical research activities of our Laboratory.

Jan 1, 2008

By Bo Jiang, Jiusan Xiao, Hongmin Zhu, Kai Huang, Shuqiang Jiao

Carbothermal selective reduction of simulative titanium slag and various titanium raw materials were presented and SiO2 was found to be partially reduced, forming a series of Fe-Si alloys during the process. Thermodynamic analysis of the selective reduction between TiO2 and SiO2 was performed using HSC 6.0 software, then a series of equilibrium experiments were designed and presented. The activity of Si reduced from SiO2 was affected by the presence of Fe reduced from FeOx and the generation of Fe-Si alloys, promoting the reduction of SiO2 in the whole process. The results of experiment are in great accordance with the calculated data obtained from thermodynamic analysis.

Jan 1, 2016

By Yuanbo Zhang, FENG ZHOU, Guanghui Li, Zhengwei Yu, RuijunWang, Tao Jiang

Composite agglomeration process (CAP) of iron ore fines has been proved an effective route for ironmaking burden production, and is characterized by low the fuel consumption and high the productivity compared with the traditional sintering process. Sintering behavior of pelletizing feed in CAP has not been studied fully yet. In this study, individual pellet and simulated CAP cells were roasted under the simulated sintering conditions. The compressive strength, FeO content and microstructures of roasted samples were investigated. The results show that pelletizing feed either from magnetite ore hematite concentrate can be indurated under the conditions of conventional iron ore sintering. Hematite pelletizing feed has better sintering property than magnetite pelletizing feed. Pelletizing feed consolidation in CAP cells is identical to the individual pelletizing feed, but the strength of CAP cells is much higher than the individual pelletizing feed. Higher basicity in both pelletizing feed and matrix feed is beneficial to the strength of CAP cells. Individual strength of pelletizing feed is not the decisive factor in CAP as the pelletizing feed has been embedded into the matrix with high basicity and formed an organic whole. The main chemical compositions and basicity of pelletizing feed and basicity matching with matrix feed is important.

Jan 1, 2015

By Matthias Merzkirch, Volker Schulze, Kay Andre Weidenmann

"Unidirectionally reinforced light weight compounds based on light metals such as the aluminium alloy EN A W-6082 are adequate materials for the future use in transportation means like automobiles and airplanes. Due to the occurring cyclic loads knowledge about the crack growth behaviour of such composites is needed. The investigations at a load ratio of R = 0.18 show that the crack growth rate of the aluminium matrix is reduced if reinforced by spring steel wire with a reinforcing ratio of only about 1 Vol.-%. Additionally, the acoustic emission analysis allows detecting crack growth within the matrix material, crack propagation along the interface wire/matrix and crack closure which could also be determined with the help of a self designed capacitive displacement measuring gauge. The damage behaviour could be verified by metallographic and SEM investigations.IntroductionIn the field of lightweight structures for transportation means the need for light, strong and stiff materials, in particular composite materials, is increasing in order to save resources and costs. Lightweight materials such as aluminium and magnesium alloys are highly efficient candidates to be used in the composite extrusion process [1] which allows for a simple production of unidirectionally reinforced profiles with a large diversity of geometries at low costs. Figure 1 depicts the principle of the composite extrusion process; within the first part of the tool the billet material is split into several strands whereas the middle part of the tool allows the supply of the reinforcing elements. The third part of the tool rejoins the matrix material and the reinforcing elements and defines the final shape of the profile."

Jan 1, 2011

By J. R. Bhamidipati, Nagy EI-Kaddah

"Over the years, mathematical modeling has been established as a viable tool for design and analysis of melting and solidification processes. Modeling of electromagnetic casting and melting systems involves three coupled problems -- determination of the containment field, the shape of the meniscus, and the temperature field -- which have to be solved simultaneously. One of the difficulties in numerical simulation of these systems is in defining and gridding the solution domain as the meniscus shape of the liquid region is not known a priori. This paper describes a methodology for solving these coupled problems in a two-dimensional electromagnetic containment field. This method is based on the solution of the electromagnetic, free surface dynamic, and heat transfer equations in a fixed domain in computational space by mapping the physical space into an invariant computational space during the search for the equilibrium shape using a variable non-orthogonal coordinate transformation. This approach, also, eliminates the need for regridding the liquid and solid regions during phase change. This methodology is demonstrated for two electromagnetic confinement systems -- the Magnetic Suspension Melting process and the electromagnetic casting of aluminum. The model predictions are in good agreement with available data for these systems. It is suggested that the methodology presented here is likely to provide a useful tool in the design, analysis, and optimization of electromagnetic confinement systems. IntroductionDuring the past decade, mathematical modeling has emerged as a viable tool for the design, analysis, and optimization of casting and melting processes /1-2/. It is generally recognized that the usefulness of modeling to study the interplay between the various process parameters without resorting to extensive experimentation relies heavily on accurate representation of the physical phenomena in these systems. In modeling electromagnetic confinement casting and melting systems, it is important that the model address all aspects of electromagnetic field interaction with the metal, if accurate predictions are to be obtained /3/. The electromagnetic field affects the heat transfer phenomena primarily through joule heating. In addition, the electromagnetic forces play a key role in heat redistribution in the molten pool via melt stirring, and, in confinement systems, support the molten metal pool."

Jan 1, 1994

By W. D. Cho

The slag chemistry in steel processing plays an important role in terms of the removal of impurities including alumina particles. In the present study, the dissolution of solid aluimina particles in CaO-based fluxes at the temperatures between 1450 and 1550 °C has been investigated to determine dissolution kinetics and mechanism. Alumina particles were added directly in the slags and the size of alumina particles was measured as a function of time using optical and scanning electron microscopes. The dissolution rate has also been obtained as a function of Si02, CaF2, MgO and MnO contents in the slags. The diffusion boundary layer between alumina and bulk slag phase has been observed and analyzed using SEM and EDX. In addition, some experiments have been performed for the dissolution of alumina in BaO-based fluxes.

Jan 1, 2003

By Chao Li, Qian Li, Yong-bin Yang, Kai Li, Qiang Xie, Yuan-yuan Zhu, Dong-ye Li, Qi-bing Tan

"The permeability of sintering mix is a vital technological property in sintering process. However, it can only be measured by off-line method on samples picked from the production. In order to acquire the properties of sintering mix accurately, on-line measuring of permeability is urgently required. Based on the reflection characteristics of bed permeability on pipe flowing parameters, a new method is presented in this paper for on-line measuring of sintering mix permeability. The measurement can be performed by blowing gas flow in the bed with the measuring pipe. Measuring results are obtained by picking the data on flowing rate and pressure in the pipe. The function of flowing rate to pressure may be certain for samples with the same permeability. Thus, the permeability was determined by contrasting this function to the result of off-line measuring, and the relative coefficient or R2 value was more than 99%.IntroductionThe permeability of sintering mix is a vital technological property in sintering process, which directly determines production and quality of sinter, or even determines whether the sinter production is carried out smoothly [1,3].The permeability have more obvious influence on vertical sintering speed, which is mainly related to air quantity passing through material bed. Under certain inducing capacity and negative pressure, the vertical sintering speed mainly depends on the permeability of sintering mix. Low permeability may make burning through point of sintering move back, and the sinter mix cannot be burnt through. High permeability may make burning through point of sintering move forward, improving production efficiency by increasing the speed of sintering machine [4] Good permeability means a small resistance of fan ,reduction of negative pressure of sintering machine, and full contact between air and sulfide, which can strengthen physical-chemical reaction during sintering process and increase desulphurization rate. In gas well through material layer process, gas-solid desulfurization reaction and gas-solid-liquid heat exchange are completed and hot gas through the combustion zone supplies the sintering process with heat. Finally uniform sintering of the material layer in height and width direction is achieved [5] While high permeability index leads to weak sinter strength, fast sintering speed, short residence time of high temperature region and little liquid phase. Moreover, liquid phase in the fast cooling process is too late to fully crystallize but forming glass phase which is harmful to sinter strength as well. Bad permeability means a big fan resistance and increase of negative pressure of sintering machine, which make the air pass through material layer difficultly. When air and mix contact difficultly, removal of sulfide reduces so that desulfurization is incomplete. Meanwhile, low caking efficiency, slow sintering speed and easily burnt sinter , reduce sinter output. Therefore appropriate permeability of sintering mix is the premise of stable burning through point and satisfactory sinter output and quality."

Jan 1, 2013

By Dumitru Mitrica, Vasile Soare, Elvira Alexandrescu, Mihai Ghita, Marian Burada, Petru Moldovan, Raluca Maria Florea

"Aluminum metal matrix composite Al-Si /SiCp was prepared by reactive gas injection and subsequent remelting. The influence of the remelting process on the microstructure and physicalmechanical properties of the resulted material was investigated. Samples resulted from the synthesis process contained silicon carbide agglomerations in the vicinity of primary silicon and large pore concentrations. In-situ formed silicon carbide presented mostly a polymorphic structure with particle sizes varying from 1 to lOµm. Physical and mechanical properties were largely influenced by the porosity distribution. The remelting process provided a decrease in the composite material porosity and pore size, with significant improvements in the particle distribution and physical-mechanical properties of the composite material. Additions of up to lwt.%Mg in the starting alloy improved the in-situ carbide formation and particles distribution in the solidified material. However, stable and large particle agglomerations were detected in the material in absence of conventional stirring or controlled solidification techniques.IntroductionThe remarkable properties of composite materials (yield strength, stiffuess, hardness and resilience at a reduced specific weight) make them attractive for applications in automotive, aerospace and military industries. Particle reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites (PAMMC) are known for their high strength to weight ratio. The recent development of P AMMC created the possibility to obtain large particles concentrations, exceeding 10% by volume ofreinforcement (SiC, AIN, Al203, etc.). The improvement ofhigh temperature strength and wear resistance made them appropriate for the use in automotive applications, such as the pistons, rotors, disc brakes, and propeller shafts [ 1]. The present main disadvantage of the P AMMCs is their high costs for obtaining and processing related to the final product performance. In order to benefit from the advantages that offer composite materials properties a reasonable production cost - performance ratio must be obtained [2]. Recent innovations in the manufacturing of aluminum-based metal matrix composites provided notable performance improvements but no feasible solutions were found for lowering their present high prices."

Jan 1, 2014

A strategy is presented for a relatively. "low-tech" means for decontamination of streams . containing .low concentrations of toxic metals. Metal ion solutions were . circulate through fluidized beds of activated carbon which support bio-films ?of bacteria .that naturally excrete exopolysaccharides. The attached 'biomass is shown to significantly enhance nickel, cadmium and silver extraction from dilute solutions (5- l00mg/l). By heat treating (at 300º C) the metal/biomass/carbon particles, bio-sorbed silver was subsequently fixed to the carbon surface. This approach to metal decontamination may therefore also provide a route for dispersing and fixing catalytic metal particles over an activated carbon surface.

Jan 1, 1991

By Xuefeng She, Qingguo Xue, Jingsong Wang, Guang Wang

Iron nugget could be got at high temperature using carbon composite pellet, which were made by the mixture of ludwigite and reducing agent. In order to reduce sulfur content in the nugget, effects of additives on the desulfurization was investigated. The sulfur content could be dramatically reduced if the CaO was introduced into the pellet and the sulfur content was as low as 0.046wt.% when the addition amount of CaO was 5wt.%. However, the melting separation of pellet became increasingly difficult and the yield of iron decreased when CaO content in the pellet gradually increased. Na2CO3 could also reduce the sulfur content in the iron nugget and made the iron and slag separate difficultly as well. When 6wt.% Na2CO3 was added into the pellet, the pellet was too difficult to melt separation and the sulfur content in the nugget was 0.084wt.%, which didn’t meet the need of steel making.

Jan 1, 2015

By Osamu Takai, Yoshiki Sato, Nobuhiro Tajima, Hiroyuki Sugimura

"Amorphous carbon thin films doped with nitrogen ( a-C:N) have been synthesized by means of shielded arc ion plating (SAIP). Their electron field emission properties, that is, threshold field strengths for electron emission and maximum emission current densities, were evaluated and compared with those of pure amorphous carbon (a-C) films prepared by the same SAIP apparatus. Among all of the fabricated a-C:N films, the a-C:N films with a N concentration of 23 %, which prepared using Nz arc plasm at a pressure of 1 Pa with applying a sample bias voltage of -100 V, showed the lowest threshold filed of 13.4 V/µm and the highest emission current density of 1.87 µAfcm2 at a field of20 V/µm. These field emission properties of the a-C:N film were much better than those of the a-C films. The best results obtained on the a-C film in this study were the lowest threshold filed of 15.5 V/µm and the highest emission current density of 0.052 µA/cm2 at a field of 20 V /µm. Nitrogen doping to aC was found to be effective for lowering threshold voltage for field emission and for increasing emission current density. The electron field emission characteristics of the a-C:N films depended not only on N concentration but also on chemical bonding state of nitrogen in the a-C:N films. The presence of the ~-C3N4-like phase, which contributes to improve wear resistance of a-C:N as well, distinguished by the NlsXPS peak at 400.5 eV is proved to be crucial in order to enhance field emission properties of a-C:N.IntroductionThere has been much interest in electron field emission from a cold cathode due to its potential applications in vacuum microelectronic devices including field emission displays which are expected as flat panel displays in next generation [l]. It is well known that efficient emission can be rather readily realized using tip-like shape cathodes, e.g., microfabricated three-dimensional electrodes [2], carbon nanotubes [3-5], etc. However, electron emission from planar surfaces is of particular importance since such a type of cathode is· simply fabricated and assembled into microelectronic circuits. Currently, amorphous carbon thin films doped with nitrogen (a-C:N) prepared by plasma processes have attracted attention because their threshold voltages of field emission are relatively low [6]. Among various methods for preparing a-C:N films, the process using arc plasma is of special interest since, in arc plasma, nitrogen is highly activated and new types of carbon nitride phase are expected to be synthesized. However, field emission properties of a-C:N prepared by arc plasma have been studied in less detail compared with that prepared by the other methods such as sputtering."

Jan 1, 2000

By Dae Jin Ha

Sticking phenomenon occurring during hot rolling of two STS 430JlL ferritic stainless steels was analyzed by hot-rolling simulation tests. The sticking started from the initial nucleation stage in which the rolled materials were stuck onto the roll specimen surface, proceeded to the growth stage in which stuck fragments grew further, and reached the saturation stage. The modified 430JlL steel had a smaller number of sticking nucleation sites and slower growth rate than the conventional 430JlL steel because of higher high temperature hardness, thereby leading to less serious sticking. When the simulation test was conducted at 1070 °c, Cr oxides were formed on the surface of the rolled materials, and thus the sticking was drastically reduced because of the increased surface hardness of the rolled materials. In order to prevent the sticking, high-temperature properties of the rolled materials should be enhanced when rolled at 900°C or 1000 °C, and rolling conditions and alloying compositions, under which the oxide formation was promoted, were more important than high-temperature properties when rolled at higher temperatures than 1000 oC.

Jan 1, 2008

By Hong Ouyang

A unified computational model has been developed for the Bridgman growth processes of B-NiAI and CdTe crystals. To handle the geometrical and physical complexities, a two-level approach has been developed. At the gtobatlevel, conjugate heat transfer, phase change dynamics, and variable material properties along with the realistic geometries and thermal boundary conditions are accounted for inside the entire crystal growth system. Refined calculations are then made within the ampoule, with the boundary conditions supplied by the global simulations. This model can optimize the use of computational source, help understand solidification behaviors, and improve designs of crystal growth system.

Jan 1, 1996

By W. D. Cho

The slag chemistry in steel processing plays an important role in terms of the removal of impurities including alumina particles. In the present study, the dissolution of solid alumina particles in CaO-based fluxes at the temperatures between 1450 and 1550 °C has been investigated to determine dissolution kinetics and mechanism. Alumina particles were added directly in the slags and the size of alumina particles was measured as a function of time using optical and scaru;ling electron microscopes. The dissolution rate has also been obtained as a function of Si02, CaF2, MgO and MnO contents in the slags. The diffusion boundary layer between alumina and bulk slag phase has been observed and analyzed using SEM and EDX. In addition, some experiments have been performed for the dissolution of alumina in BaO-based fluxes.

Jan 1, 2003

By Young-Sool Jin, Heung Nam Han, Hong Joon Kim, Jae Kon Lee

A mathematical model was developed considering non-symmetric cooling' and stress distribution in both thickness and width direction of strip on a run-out table of hot strip mill. In order to solve a transient heat transfer equation including the heat evolved from phase transformation, a finite element method coupled with thermodynamic and kinetic analyses was applied. The heat capacity of each phase and heat evolution due to phase transformation were obtained from the thermodynamic analysis of the Fe-C-Mn-Si system based on a sub lattice model. The phase transformation kinetics of the steels was derived by using an inverse additivity technique with continuous cooling experiments. Heat transfer coefficients of strips on the run-out table were, by applying an inverse method, determined from the actual mill data under various cooling conditions. As for the stress analysis, the density change of strip due to cooling and phase transformation, and the transformation superplasticity were considered. A 90nstitutive equation for the transformation superplasticity, which is related to the phase transformation kinetics and the internal stress due to the density change of strip, was applied. A finite element method was adopted to calculate the deformation behaviour of strip on a run-out table of hot strip mill. Using the models, the temperature-phase-deformation history and distribution of a strip on the run-outtable was calculated.

Jan 1, 2001

By Ehsan Khajeh

In this study, the permeabilities of Al-15.5wt%Cu and Al-19.5wt%Cu have been determined by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations on 3D geometries of interdendritic channels obtained by X-ray microtomography (XMT). The samples for XMT were sectioned from different positions in directionally solidified cylinders in order to obtain a variety of microstructures for each composition. The flow has been solved using a 2nd-order accurate Finite Volume Method (FVM) approach. The effect of employing uniform or unstructured mesh on the calculated permeability has been studied. The Marching-cube triangulation method was necessary to extract accurate surfaces for unstructured volume meshing. Calculated values of permeability for this range of solid fractions show partial agreement with previous experiments. Observed deviations are attributed to the difficulties of experimental permeability measurements.

Jan 1, 2009

By S. Niyomwas, R. G. Reddy

"A mathematical model was developed to describe the plasma gas and particle dynamics and conversion yields. The velocity and temperature fields in the plasma were calculated by solving 1 the Navier-Stokes equations and the thermal energy balance equations. Conservation equations for the system species consider the multi-component diffusion and chemical reactions. Through the application of this model, temperature distribution, flow fields, and production rates were computed. The model was used to study the thermal decomposition of ilmenite in the non-transferred arc plasma reactor. The computed production rates of TiN from ilmenite using nitrogen and methane gas mixtures, are in the range of 5 to 100 x 104 kg/m3/s at 2500 KIntroductionThe widespread interest in thermal plasma processing has stimulated a great deal of research effort into the various aspects of this process, including plasma' spraying, thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition, plasma synthesis of fine powders, thermal plasma decomposition, plasma melting, and plasma extractive metallurgy.In the plasma synthesis of fine powders, the earlier experimental and theoretical studies aimed at predicting the final products1-5. Then it was followed by more recent investigation concerning the profile of plasma gas velocity, plasma temperature and concentration. In this regard, useful plasma processing models have been reported by numerous investigation6 -11 which were increased by both theoretical analysis and measurement.As a result of this work a reasonable plasma-processing model is proposed. It is to be noted that all the thermal analysis that has been made neglected the fluid -flow effects. Also, in the analysis aimed at the quantitative description of the fluid-flow field, the effect of heat transfer was not taken into account."

Jan 1, 2000