Iron Steel Research Articles

Transduction Efficiency of a Magnetostrictive Sensor for the Generation of Guided Waves in Pipes Using Rapidly Quenched Amorphous Ribbons

The investigation addresses the magnetostrictive sensor (MsS) signal received from pipes of different materials using an amorphous alloy as a sensor element. This sensing system also acts as a transducer to generate ultrasonic waves which appear as echoes from pipe end and defect. The static magnetic field revealed different MsS signals from magnetically different pipes, viz., aluminum (nonmagnetic), galvanized iron (nonmagnetic coating), and mild steel (magnetic) pipes. Applied static field enhanced MsS signals in all the pipes. The extent of this enhancement is influenced by transduction efficiency of the MsS transducer. This efficiency varied with the magnetic nature of the pipe. Simulation through COMSOL Multiphysics elucidated the magnetic flux intensity patterns in these pipes and the consequent behavior of MsS transducer in inspection of pipes of different materials. The study indicated the role of static magnetic field in an MsS transducer for structural health monitoring (SHM) of pipes used prevalently in domestic and industrial sites.

Application of Iron Tailings-Based Composite Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) in Green Concrete.

How to treat the iron tailings of mining solid waste with high value is an urgent problem on a global scale. In recent years, the application of iron tailings in the building materials industry has attracted the attention of many scholars. The conversion of iron tailings into green building materials helps achieve carbon neutrality and high-value utilization of solid waste, and promotes sustainable development. Although iron tailings have been extensively studied as supplementary cementitious materials, the performance of concrete is not ideal due to its low activity. In this study, the hybrid supplementary cementitious materials system was prepared by iron tailings, phosphorus slag, and steel slag, and the effects of supplementary cementitious materials type, iron tailings content, iron tailings grinding time, and supplementary cementitious materials content on concrete performance were studied. The compressive properties, iron tailings properties, pore structure, interfacial transition zone, and element distribution of hydration products of concrete were tested by compressive strength tests, X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP), Backscattering Electron Tests (BSE), and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). The results show that further grinding improves the iron tailings activity. There is a synergistic mechanism between steel slag and phosphorus slag in the composite supplementary cementitious materials, which overcomes the low activity defect of iron tailings and produces concrete with a compressive strength exceeding 40 MPa. The composite supplementary cementitious materials can optimize the interfacial transition zone of the concrete interface and reduce the calcium–silicon ratio of the hydration products. However, it will deteriorate the pore structure of the concrete matrix, cause part of the concrete matrix to be damaged and lead to a loss of compressive strength, and the loss is acceptable. This work broadens the methods of comprehensive utilization of iron tailings and also provides a reference for a more detailed understanding of the properties of iron tailings-based concrete.

Learning-Based Key Points Estimation Method for Burden Surface Profile Detection in Blast Furnace

Accurate Burden Surface Profile (BSP) detection is important for the operation of Blast Furnace (BF). The signal-to-noise ratio of radar signals changes greatly during both the charging period of BF and the long maintenance period of the radar device, which increases the difficulty of radar BSP detection. The traditional radar BSP detection method based on signal energy relies on manually selected detection thresholds according to the noise intensity. Hence, the accuracy of the traditional radar BSP detection method is not reliable in the long term. To address this problem, we propose a novel learning-based Key Points estimation (KP-BSP) method to detect the key points of radar reconstructed BSP image, and a new Key Points-based Connected Region Noise Reduction (KP-CRNR) algorithm to remove the noise-affected regions. The prediction deviation at detected key points (at the positions of the mechanical probes) is then used to correct the radar detection results, leading to the improvement of radar detection accuracy. The experimental data were collected from Wuhan Iron Steel Company No.7 BF. The results show that the proposed methods can achieve an average RMSE of 0.0156m, which is improved by more than 50% compared with previous methods. The long-term reliability of the proposed method is also demonstrated in this dataset.

Analysis of fatigue characteristics on camshaft using finite element analysis

Camshaft plays an important role in the internal combustion engine, where it regulates the opening and closing time of the valves to allow fuel and air mixture to enter the engine and exhaust. The study aims to analyze the fatigue characteristics of the camshaft made from gray cast iron and cast carbon steel. SolidWorks and ANSYS Workbench were used to design and predict the lifespan of the camshaft. The modelled camshaft was used to analyze the fatigue properties. Modal analysis was performed to evaluate the deflections and natural frequency of the camshaft while static structural analysis used to evaluate the total deformation, maximum stress, and safety factor. Appropriate mesh size was used where the component was divided into several discrete parts or finite elements. The camshaft was assigned with boundary conditions such as fixed support and moment. Dunkerley’s approach was used to compare simulated natural frequencies to theoretical values. The resulting S-N curve plots the alternating stress on the camshaft against the number of cycles required to fail. Cast carbon steel was suggested to be the more desirable material since it can withstand 260 MPa of stress for 10 million cycles, whereas gray cast iron can endure only 140 MPa.

The optimization of welding hardfacing on wear resistance of FC-25 grey cast iron steel substrate by response surface methodology (RSM)

This paper aimed to identify the optimal conditions for welding hardfacing by applying the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The welding heat input, electrode type, and hardfacing layer on wear resistance of welding hardfacing were all optimized using the Box-Behnken experimental design. The findings revealed that these three variables had an impact on the volume loss of welding hardfacing. Because of the high coefficient of determination, the experimental data obtained were to a quadratic equation (96.90%). The ideal condition was determined using a 3D response surface plot and a contour map produced from mathematical models. The following were the ideal welding conditions: With a welding heat input of 1.58 J, a filler metal type of DFA2-600-B, and a third layer of hardfacing, the lower volume loss of the weld was 1.29 mm3.

Design and Development of Site Specific Grape Vineyard Fertilizer Applicator Prototype

The current fertiliser application methods for grape vines are labour intensive and lead to overuse of fertiliser. Frequent rain and vineyard orchard wash over often pollute water sources. Therefore, the right amount and placement of fertiliser can not only improve crop growth but also reduce the risk of chemicals to human health and the environment. To overcome the above problems a site specific fertiliser applicator for grape vineyard with mechanical sensing system was developed. The sensing system was designed to apply fertiliser to the root zone of the plant canopy. An experimental unit was developed to optimise design and operation parameters for fertiliser production per plant. The urea's physical and engineering qualities were determined for metering mechanism design. The average value of bulk density, angle of repose, urea grain diameter, grain weight in single flute measured were 0.759 ± 0.011 gcm −3 , 26.22 ± 1.18°, 3.38 ± 0.23 mm, 1.46 ± 0.04 g, respectively. The coefficient of static friction with plywood, galvanised iron and mild steel with painted surface were observed 0.3177 ± 0.0092, 0.2868 ± 0.0077, and 0.3177 ± 0.0092, respectively. For fertiliser given per plant, the effect of exposure length was p < 0.001. The sensor device opens the delivery tube for fertiliser in 0.9–0.95s.

Reaction of Zirconium Diboride with Iron and Kh18N10T Stainless Steel

Reaction of Zirconium Diboride with Iron and Kh18N10T Stainless Steel

Magnetic thickness measurement for various iron steels using magnetic sensor and effect of electromagnetic characteristics

The diagnosis and prevention of the deterioration of iron-steel infrastructure has become an important social issue in recent years. The thickness measurement technique (extremely low-frequency eddy current testing (ELECT)) using a magnetic sensor for detecting steel corrosion at extreme frequency ranges has been previously reported. Using the calibration curves based on the correlation between the phase of the detected magnetic signal and the plate thickness, the plate thickness reduction caused by corrosion can be estimated from the detected phase signal. Iron-steel materials have large changes in electromagnetic characteristics; therefore, the reference calibration data for each type of iron-steel are required for plate thickness estimation. In this study, the effect of electromagnetic characteristics on the magnetic thickness measurement was investigated to improve the thickness estimation. Four types of iron-steel plates (SS400, SM400A, SM490A, and SMA400AW) with thicknesses ranging from 1 mm to 18 mm were measured by ELECT, and the phase change at multiple frequencies of each plate were analyzed. The shift in the phase and linearity regions of the calibration curves for each type of steel plate was observed. To analyze this shift phenomenon, the electromagnetic characteristics (permeability μ and conductivity σ) of each type of steel were measured. Compared with the permeability μ and conductivity σ of each steel plate in the applied magnetic field strength range, the product (σμ) for various steel plates decreased in the following order: SM400 > SS400 >SMA400AW > SM490A. The product of μ and σ is related to the skin depth, indicating the electromagnetic wave attenuation and eddy current phase shift in the material. Therefore, each shift in the calibration curve of each type of iron steel is explained by the changes in the parameters σ and μ.

Contribution of Physical and Chemical Properties to Dithiothreitol-Measured Oxidative Potentials of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles at Urban and Rural Sites in Japan

Dithiothreitol-measured oxidative potential (OPDTT) can chemically quantify the adverse health effects of atmospheric aerosols. Some chemical species are characterized with DTT activities, and the particle diameter and surface area control DTT oxidizability; however, the physical contribution to OPDTT by atmospheric aerosols is controversial. Therefore, we performed field observations and aerosol sampling at urban and rural sites in Japan to investigate the effect of both physical and chemical properties on the variation in OPDTT of atmospheric aerosols. The shifting degree of the representative diameter to the ultrafine range (i.e., the predominance degree of ultrafine particles) was retrieved from the ratio between the lung-deposited surface area and mass concentrations. The chemical components and OPDTT were also elucidated. We discerned strong positive correlations of K, Mn, Pb, NH4+, SO42−, and pyrolyzable organic carbon with OPDTT. Hence, anthropogenic combustion, the iron–steel industry, and secondary organic aerosols were the major emission sources governing OPDTT variations. The increased specific surface area did not lead to the increase in the OPDTT of atmospheric aerosols, despite the existing relevance of the surface area of water-insoluble particles to DTT oxidizability. Overall, the OPDTT of atmospheric aerosols can be estimated by the mass of chemical components related to OPDTT variation, owing to numerous factors controlling DTT oxidizability (e.g., strong contribution of water-soluble particles). Our findings can be used to estimate OPDTT via several physicochemical parameters without its direct measurement.

Effective removal of phosphorus from high phosphorus steel slag using carbonized rice husk

High phosphorus steel slag and carbonized rice husk are two common wastes characterized by high generation and low secondary use values. Through the reduction of high phosphorus steel slag by biomass, both wastes were fully utilized, thus reducing the negative impact on the environment. In this study, variables such as temperature, time, and amount of reactants were changed to determine the optimal conditions for the reaction of steel slag with carbonized rice husk at high temperatures. The actual amount of reducing agent consumed during the reduction was significantly greater than that predicted by theoretical calculations. Adding three carbon equivalent of carbonized rice husk and maintaining at 1500°C for 30 min could remove 79.25% of P2O5 in the slag. By modeling the material cycle in which high phosphorus steel slag was treated with biomass, the product could be used for crop growth. Meanwhile, the reduced iron and residual steel slag can be used to make steel again, thereby leading to a sharp reduction in fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions in this process.

Development and performance evaluation of a photovoltaic-powered induction cooker (PV-IC): An approach for promoting clean production in rural areas

Energy poverty, which is the lack of access to clean and economical energy services, is a serious problem in many developing countries. Traditional cooking processes based on fossil fuels cause severe internal air pollution which is the main factor for female mortality. In this regard, electric cookers have received remarkable attention that among them, induction cookers (ICs) are known as emerging, safe, and eco-friendly devices with no flame, no contamination production, and no combustion wastes. In remote rural areas with no/difficult access to grid electricity, stand-alone solar photovoltaic (PV) systems can be utilized to provide the power demand of ICs. In this study, an IC powered by an off-grid PV system was fabricated and its performance was experimentally evaluated. During the experiments, the maximum energy and exergy efficiencies of the PV system were calculated as 11.8% and 17%, respectively. Also, the effect of using various pots made of iron, aluminum, and stainless steel with different sizes on the temperature rise and the energy transfer at a constant time duration of 5 min was evaluated. The results indicated that the steel pot with a diameter of 13 mm and a thickness of 1 mm results in the largest amount of energy transfer at the highest temperature of 63 °C when the input voltage is 45 V. The maximum values of energy and exergy efficiencies of the PV-IC were also calculated as 47.6% at 9:00 with the input voltage of 45 V and 13.3% at 17:00 with the input voltage of 20 V. Additionally, the time durations required to cook different food materials including fried egg, rice, fried chicken, and fried potato, using the IC, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove, and an electric cooker were calculated and compared. It was found that the cooking time is shorter for the LPG stove in comparison with the PV-IC, and the longest cooking time was reported for the electric cooker for all cooked materials. The economic analysis also revealed that the cost of cooking using the PV-IC cooker is equal to 3.88 USD/month considering 6 operating hours in a day. Using PV-ICs by villagers and nomads not only prevents deforestation and CO 2 emission, but also cuts the gas or electricity costs, and therefore a cleaner production device with no adverse impact on the environment would be available.

A hybrid methodology to quantitatively identify inorganic aerosol of PM2.5 source contribution

It is difficult to identify inorganic aerosol (IA) (primary and secondary), the main component of PM2.5, without the significant tracers for sources. We are not aware of any studies specifically related to the IA’s local contribution to PM2.5. To effectively reduce the IA load, however, the contribution of local IA sources needs to be identified. In this work, we developed a hybrid methodology and applied online measurement of PM2.5 and the associated compounds to (1) classify local and long-range transport PM2.5, (2) identify sources of local PM2.5 using PMF model, and (3) quantify local source contribution to IA in PM2.5 using regression analysis. Coal combustion and iron ore and steel industry contributed the most amount of IA (~42.7%) in the study area (City of Taichung), followed by 32.9% contribution from oil combustion, 8.9% from traffic-related emission, 4.6% from the interactions between agrochemical applications and combustion sources (traffic-related emissions and biomass burning), and 2.3% from biomass burning. The methodology developed in this study is an important preliminary step for setting up future control policies and regulations, which can also be applied to any other places with serious local air pollution.

Analysis on influence of bucket angle of Pelton wheel turbine for its structural integrity using aluminium alloy (A390), austenitic stainless steel (CF20), grey cast iron (325) and martensitic stainless steel (410)

Pelton wheel turbine converts gravitational energy of elevated water into a mechanical work. During the process, the turbine buckets experience equivalent stress and total deformation that lead to material failure due to the impingement of high velocity water jet on it. Bucket angle influences the structural integrity of the turbine bucket. Hence it was intended to simulate and study the effect of bucket angle on the equivalent stress and total deformation using different materials viz. aluminium alloy (A390), austenitic stainless steel (CF20), grey cast iron (325) and martensitic stainless steel (410). In this investigation equivalent stress distribution and total deformation in the bucket have been established at various bucket angles (145°, 150°, 155°, 160° and 165°) for the selected materials. Simulation results revealed that lower values of maximum equivalent stress and total deformation occur at the bucket angle of 155°, for all the materials. And the maximum equivalent stress and total deformation induced in the bucket was inferred to be lower for martensitic stainless steel, at all bucket angles. Based on the simulation results, martensitic stainless steel is proved to be a better material for turbine bucket.

Influence of oblique geometry of cutting inserts of finishing face mills on cutting forces

The feasibility of using face milling for the final formation of the parts surface layer is confirmed by a large number of scientific works. At the same time, there are significant advantages of technological processes using face mills for oblique cutting, equipped with superhard materials, with a spiral-stepped arrangement of cutting inserts. This work is devoted to the study of the influence of the inclination angle of the oblique face mill cutting edge on the cutting forces when processing the workpiece flat surface made of gray cast iron and carbon tool steel using the Deform-3D program. The influence of the cutting edge inclination in the range from 0 to -45º on the smoothness of penetration of the face mill inserts into the workpiece is discussed.

A study on design and analysis by varying piston material in SI engine

The piston in an internal combustion engine is exposed to high temperature and pressure for a long time. Generally, when designing a piston, the material used must have a high melting point and tensile strength. In this paper, the design research and structural analysis of the piston of a four-stroke spark ignition (SI) engine was carried out by changing the composition of the piston material with various materials such as titanium alloy, magnesium alloy, gray cast iron, aluminum alloy and structural steel. The study investigated mechanical strain and the mechanical stress, deformation, heat dissipation, and heat-flux. This study concluded that under assumed conditions, depending on other piston parameters, titanium alloy creates optimal conditions for the piston.

The Combined Effect of Waste Iron Powder and Steel Fiber on the Fresh and Hardened Properties of Geopolymer Mortars Exposed to High Temperatures

The Combined Effect of Waste Iron Powder and Steel Fiber on the Fresh and Hardened Properties of Geopolymer Mortars Exposed to High Temperatures

Investigation on thermal analysis of disc brake using Autodesk Fusion 360

Disk brakes are one of the important components in automotive engineering and the material selection for the manufacturing of brake rotors is highly crucial when it comes to the emergency or catastrophe it should withstand the wear and tear, marks the success of the product with the lifetime customer satisfaction. When the brakes are applied a large amount of heat is conveyed on the disk rotors and heat dissipation is based on the material. In this study, three different designs with 40, 64 and 160 drilled holes will be made in the brake rotor and a comparative study has been made between these designs to select the best design. The materials are being selected with their efficient characteristics and designed with the good guidance of it. Thermal analysis is performed with the fusion 360 software with three different materials of the best design obtained from the previous study and simulation performed to determine the heat flux and temperature distribution. The metals which are under consideration are Grey Cast Iron, Aluminium 6061, and stainless steel AISI 430 (SS AISI 430). Based on the results from this study, the candidate material Aluminium 6061 is a superior in various thermal properties (higher heat flux) compare to the other materials (Gray Cast Iron and SS AISI 430) selected in this study for the disc brake and in terms of temperature distribution the material Grey Cast Iron has the highest temperature drop.

Joining of light materials with highly corrosion-resistant metal by shot lining

Magnesium and aluminum alloys are widely used in various industries owing to several attractive properties such as low density, high strength to weight ratio and reusability. However, magnesium alloys and high-strength aluminum alloys have undesirable properties including poor corrosion resistance and wear resistance. Therefore, surface modification is necessary to improve such properties of those alloys. In the present study, the high-corrosion resistance foil was joined to the surface of alloys using shot peening. The base materials were a commercially available magnesium alloy and aluminum alloy, and the high-corrosion resistance foils were pure aluminum, pure titanium, pure copper, pure nickel, pure iron and austenite stainless steel. The thickness of foils range from 0.02 to 0.06 mm. Shot peening was performed with a centrifuge equipment. The shots had an average diameter of 1.0 mm and were made of cast steel. The peening velocity was 60 m/s, and the peening time was 10 s. The processing temperature was 300 and 350 ℃ to facilitate plastic deformation. No voids and cracks were observed at the bonding interface. In bending test, the metal foil did not peel off even when the substrate was broken, and the metal foil was tightly bonded.

Impact of the diffusion coefficient calculation on predicting Fe2B boride layer thickness

Abstract In this study, a single-phase boride layer thickness Fe2B is predicted on two different substrates (Armco iron and XC38 steel) by following the integral method. This method is a mathematical model based on a system of differential algebraic equations that help to deduce the diffusion coefficient, which is the key factor on predicting the layer thickness. Literatures cover different diffusion coefficients for each substrate, albeit researchers usually extract from experimental data, variations of growth rate constants within only one time treatment and deduce the diffusion coefficient from them. This deduction is done via an estimation of a frequency factor and an activation energy from the growth rate constants. Therefore, our main aim is to illustrate the impact of the deduction of the diffusion coefficient on predicting the boride layer thickness. Lastly, the impact with and without incubation time on the boriding kinetics of both substrates was also examined.

Ionic liquids-metal surface interactions: Effect of alkyl chain length on coordination capabilities and orientations

The present study describes the interaction of fifteen ionic liquids differing in alkyl chain length and halide ions with the iron (steel) surface using computational methods such as density functional theory (DFT), Monte Carlo (MC), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Various reactivity parameters were derived to describe their reactivity towards anticorrosive and metal decontamination applications. DFT analysis suggests that all fifteen ionic liquids acquire a strong tendency to interact with the metal surface and an increase in the length of alkyl chain length improves their bonding performance. Along with frontier molecular orbital pictures, numerous reactivity indices were derived for the ionic liquids to describe their interactions with the metallic substrate. Through DFT analyses, it was assessed that the binding tendency of the ionic liquids greatly enhanced with the rise in the length of hydrocarbon chain length. Monte Carlo (MC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations indicated that all tested ionic liquids adsorb on the metallic surface spontaneously through planar orientation. Based on DFT, MD, and MC, simulations studies, it can be concluded that the binding tendency of ionic liquids with the metal surface and therefore their anticorrosive and metal decontamination tendency increase on extending the length of hydrocarbon chain length.