The effect of 15% MnO on the phase relations in the system CaO-FeO-SiO₂ at 1450ºC

A study was made of the phase relations at 1450ºC in the systems CaO-FeO-SiO₂ and CaO-FeO-SiO₂ -15% MnO, in equilibrium with metallic iron. The stability region of different phases was determined by microscopic examination and electron-beam microprobe analysis of the quenched specimens. The effect of 15% MnO on the liquid saturation boundary of the system CaO-(FeO+MnO)-SiO₂ was discussed in terms of the effect of MnO on slag making reactions in the Basic Oxygen Furnace steelmaking process --Abstract, page ii

Phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties of oxide systems on the basis of rare earth, alkaline earth and 3d-transition (Mn, Fe, Co) metals. A short overview of

Review is dedicated studies of phase equilibria in the systems based on rare earth elements and 3d transition metals. It’s highlighted several structural families of these compounds and is shown that many were found interesting properties for practical application, such as high conductivity up to the superconducting state, magnetic properties, catalytic activity of the processes of afterburning of exhaust gases, the high mobility in the oxygen sublattice and more

Microstructural influence on dynamic properties of age hardenable FeMnAl alloys

A lightweight castable alloy was sought to reduce the MIL-PRF-32269 class II cast steel perforated armor\u27s weight with the requirement that the material had to be manufactured utilizing existing foundry technology and without incurring large alloy cost increases to meet property requirements. Literature on wrought age hardenable Fe-Mn-Al-C alloys suggested this alloy system could achieve weight reduction through high aluminum concentrations with the highest reported strengths exceeding 2 GPa for a Fe-30Mn-9Al-0.9C composition. Even though ballistic testing had not been conducted on this system, high strain rate data of wrought alloys showed excellent work hardenability; greater than existing ballistic metals. Cast material property information was severely limited, thus, a systematic approach was employed to develop casting and processing techniques and assess related structure property relationships of a nominal silicon modified Fe-30Mn-9Al-0.9C-0.5Mo alloy for ballistic use. Castability was addressed first as this information was crucial for making test coupons and assisting foundries with production of MIL-PRF-32269 ballistic test plates. Four silicon concentrations were investigated for fluidity, microstructure, liquidus, solidus and dendrite coherency point. Silicon was added because it is known to increase fluidity of other ferrous alloys and has also been shown to eliminate a brittle ß-Mn phase in wrought Fe-Mn-Al-C alloys. Of the four silicon modified fluidity compositions, two were selected for heat treat property evaluation on the basis of microstructure. Hardness, strength, and ductility were measured (hardness is the only MIL-PRF-32269 measured property). The alloy with the highest ductility was selected for high strain rate evaluation. The strain rate testing results were the final means to lock in the alloy composition and heat treatment for solid plate ballistic testing. While conducting V₅₀ ballistic testing, phosphorus content was correlated to ballistic impact energy. Further testing was conducted to examine phosphorus, quench sensitivity, and aging Charpy V-Notch effects. The culmination of this thesis work resulted with positive ballistic threat testing revealing the alloy investigated here meets the Army\u27s MIL-PRF-32269 ballistic requirements and reduces P900 weight by 13% --Abstract, page iv

Effect of Microstructure on Mechanical Properties of High Strength Steel Weld Metals

The effects of variations in alloying content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength steel weld metals have been studied. Based on neural network modelling, weld metals were produced using shielded metal arc welding with nickel at 7 or 9 wt. %, manganese at 2 or 0.5 wt. % while carbon was varied between 0.03 and 0.11 wt. %. From mechanical testing, it was confirmed that a large gain in impact toughness could be achieved by reducing the manganese content. Carbon additions were found to increase strength with only a minor loss to impact toughness as predicted by the modelling. The highest yield strength (912 MPa) in combination with good impact toughness (over 60 J at –100 oC) was achieved with an alloying content of 7 wt. % nickel, 0.5 wt. % manganese and 0.11 wt. % carbon. Based on thermodynamic calculations and observed segregation behaviour it was concluded that the weld metals solidify as austenite. The microstructure was characterised using optical, transmission electron and high resolution scanning electron microscopy. At interdendritic regions mainly martensite was found. In dendrite core regions of the low carbon weld metals a mixture of upper bainite, lower bainite and a novel constituent—coalesced bainite—formed. Coalesced bainite was characterised by large bainitic ferrite grains with cementite precipitates and is believed to form when the bainite and martensite start temperatures are close to each other. Carbon additions were found to promote a more martensitic microstructure throughout the dendrites. Mechanical properties could be rationalised in terms of microstructural constituents and a constitutional diagram was constructed summarising microstructure as a function of manganese and nickel contents

The role of slag chemistry in dephosphorization : an equilibrium and kinetic study

Imperial Users onl

A microstructural examination of duplex ferrite -martensite corrosion resisting steels

This thesis reports a study of the microstructural evolution of chromium containing duplex ferrite-martensite steels and examines the effects of the microstructure on the mechanical properties. Emphasis has been placed on determining the microstructural factors responsible for the persistent occurrence of anisotropy in a modified 12 wt% Cr steel designated 3CR12. in addition an investigation has been carried out in order to refine the grain structure of a ferritic steel containing 16-17 wt % Cr by inducing a duplex ferrite-martensite phase structure. The microstructural evolution of 3CR12 was studied during cooling from a solution heat treatment at 1380°C and the natures of the phase transformations evident were investigated. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), in association with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), was used to determine the composition of the phases arising from the solid state δ-ferrite to austenite transformation. It is shown that the high temperature δ-ferrite phase partially decomposes to austenite via a Widmanstatten growth mechanism and consequently a banded two phase structure is produced after hot rolling. The element partitioning which arises during the solid state δ-ferrite decomposition ieads to compositional banding with an indelible nature. A model is proposed for the events leading to the generation of the banded phase structure and the formation of an elongated ferritic microstructure in 3CR12 after sub-critical annealing. The type and distribution of non-metallic inclusions occurring in 3CR12 has also been assessed. Characteristic fracture modes developed during impact testing have been related to the grain morphology and the occurrence of non-metallic inclusions. It is shown that splits form parallel to the rolling plane when Charpy specimens are subjected to impact testing and that both impact energy and mode of fracture are dependent on the directional properties of the 3CR12 microstructure. Splitting is predominantly caused by the low energy crack path provided by long, undulating grain boundaries parallel to the rolling plane, and inclusions, particularly manganese sulphides (MnS), facilitate low energy modes of fracture associated with the splitting phenomenon. MnS inclusions are also found to affect the corrosion resistance of 3CR12 and careful control of the chemistry of the steel permits these inclusions to be restricted to levels at which acceptable impact and corrosion properties are maintained. Refinement of the grain structure of ferritic steels containing 16-17 wt % Cr was carried out by modifying the ratio of ferritising elements to austenitising elements in the steel chemistry. Suitable ruckel additions have been determined which provide alloys with sufficient austenitising ability to refine the high temperature δ-ferrite phase and consequently a duplex ferrite-martensite microstructure is produced. Tempering of these alloys at 700°C results in a lamellar ferrite-martensite structure which gives rise to an attractive combination of impact and tensile properties which may provide a stainless steel with superior cost effectiveness to austenitic grades

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationAn in-depth analysis of the 4-step sol-gel deposition process for thin films consisting of 1) dip-coating 2) rapid solvent evaporation 3) brief thermal treatment and 4) shock-cooling was performed. Bragg stacks consisting of alternating silica and titania layers were prepared and the versatility of the process was exhibited by preparing samples of varying layer thickness with reflection bands spanning the entire visible range. Post-synthetic thermal annealing was found to increase the crystallinity of the titania films while resulting in a blue-shift of the main reflection peak due to titania layer shrinkage. The photo-stability of these Bragg stacks was investigated by laser-induced damage threshold studies. Results obtained by optical microscopy, reflectance spectroscopy, and SEM imaging showed that Bragg stacks annealed at higher temperatures exhibit a decrease in damage threshold as a result of increased interlayer stress, suggesting that interfacial properties rather than the quality of individual layers are more important for determining stability of Bragg stacks under intense laser irradiation. This is an important result, as it shows that it is beneficial to forego the final thermal annealing step often employed when fabricating Bragg stacks, leading to a decrease in overall energy cost and an increase in throughput for the synthesis of Bragg-type optical components. A new “additive-free” sol-gel technique featuring simple reactants and reactant conditions was developed to deposit various iron-based oxide films on silicon and quartz substrates. The reactant concentrations were carefully tuned to control the hydrolysis and condensation rates of iron salts to synthesize a homogeneous iron oxide sol. Single-phase films including α-Fe2O3, YIG, CoFe2O4, and NiFe2O4 were obtained after thermal annealing and exhibited a high level of crystallinity by XRD analysis. The magnetic properties were investigated by VSM and showed very good magnetic ordering. The thickness of the deposited films was tuned by adjusting the precursor and reactant concentrations as well as repeating the deposition cycle using the same solution. Composition analysis was performed by XPS and confirmed the oxidation states and ratios of ions present in the films were in excellent agreement with the expected results