Ferrous Alloys

Jeffrey DG Venezuela Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials

Metallurgical Board Review

Wrought Iron
Deformable iron
Ductility is due to very low carbon content used to create gates and furniture w/ intricate designs!

Carbon Steels

Low

contain up to 0.30% C; typical uses are in automobile body panels, tin plate, and wire products.

Carbon

Medium Carbon

ranges from 0.30 to 0.60%C; used in tracks, gears and high strength structural components

Carbon Steels
Ultra High Carbon
High Carbon0.60 to 1.00%C; used in cutting tools, dies, razors, blades, springs and high strength wire

1.25 to 2.0% C

Microstructures in Steel

Steel Nomenclature
AISI-SAE and UNS Designation for Various Steels AISIComposition UNS SAE Counter No. part 10xx Plain Carbon G10xx0 Steels 11xx Free cutting, plain G11xx0 carbon steel which have been resulfurized; low phosphorus 12xx Plain carbon steel which have been resulfurized; high phosphorus

13xx 14xx 23xx 25xx 31xx 33xx 40xx 41xx 43xx 44xx 46xx 48xx 50xx 51xx 5xxxx 61xx 81xx 86xx 87xx 88xx 92xx 93xx 98xx

ALLOY STEELS Manganese (1 2%) Boron Nickel (3.5%) Nickel (5.0%) Nickel (1.25%), Cr (0.6%) Nickel (3.5%), Cr (1.5%) Molybdenum (0.2 0.3%) Chromium (0.8% - 1.1%), Mo (0.15 0.25%) Nickel (1.65 2%), Cr (0.4 0.9%), Mo (0.2 0.3%) Molybdenum (0.5%) Nickel (0.7 2%), Mo (0.15 0.3%) Nickel (3.25 3.75%), Mo (0.2 0.3%) Chromium (0.4%) Chromium (0.70 1.10%) Chromium (1.0-1.5%), C (1.0%) Chromium (0.70 1.10%), Vanadium (0.10%) Nickel (0.2 0.40%), Cr (0.3 -0.55%), Mo (0.08 0.15%) Nickel (0.3 0.70%), Cr (0.4 -0.85%), Mo (0.15 0.25%) Nickel (0.4 0.70%), Cr (0.4 -0.60%), Mo (0.20 0.30%) Nickel (0.55%), Cr (0.5%), Mo (0.35%) Silicon (1.8 2.2%) Nickel (0.25%), Cr (1.2%), Mo (0.12%) Nickel (0.45%), Cr (0.4%), Mo (0.12%)

G15xx0

G40xx0 G41xx0 G43xx0 G44xx0 G46xx0 G48xx0 G51xx0 G61xx0 G81xx0 G86xx0 G87xx0 G92xx0

Low Alloy Steels

Less than 5% total alloy
content primary function of the alloying elements is to increase hardenability HSLA (High Strength Low Alloy steel) has fine grains, low carbon content and alloy additions that strengthen steel by solid-solution strengthening

Group Waterhardening Shockresisting Cold-work

Designations for Tool Steels: Symbol Type W S O A D Oil-hardening Medium-alloy airhardening High-carbon high chromium (H1-H19, incl.,chromium-based; H20-H39, incl., tungsten-based; H40H59, incl., molybdenum-based) Tungsten-based Molybdenum-based Mold steels (P1-P19, incl.,low-carbon; P20P39, incl., other types) Low-alloy Carbon-tungsten

Hot-work

High-speed Mold

T M P

Specialpurpose

L F

High Alloy Steels

Tool Steels
Possess strength, wear resistance
and dimensional stability

greater than 0.6%C with total alloy

contents which range to more than 20%

High Alloy Steels

Stainless Steels (at least 12%Cr)
Austenitic - obtained by addition of
nickel; best known is 18Cr-8Ni used in cooking utensils and tableware austenite forms at any temp; hardened only by coldworking

Ferritic- have sufficient Cr such that no Martensitic- Cr content is low enough

so that austenite can form at high temp and transform to martensite; used for stainless steel cutlery

Ferrite formers
Iron

Austenite formers
Nickel

Chromium
Molybdenum

Nitrogen
Carbon

Silicon

Manganese
Copper

High Alloy Steels

Other Specialty Steels

Nickel Steels - Invar(with 36% Ni)

exhibits low expansion; Alnico(20Ni-5Al12Co-Fe) is used to make powerful magnets 5% Si ; used as core material in magnetic circuits.

Silicon Steels - contain about 0.5 to Austenitic Manganese Steel

Hadfield Steel - (1-1.3%C, 11-14%

Mn); hardens with cold working during service; for high abrasion applications

Maraging steels
differ from conventional steels in that

they are hardened by a metallurgical reaction that does not involve carbon strengthened by intermetallic compounds such as Ni3Ti and Ni3Mo (500C) have very high Ni, Co, and Mo

Cast Iron
Contain more than 2% Carbon Carbon Effect = %C + %Si/3

TYPES Gray Cast Iron Nodular (ductile) Cast Iron White Cast Iron and Malleable Cast Iron

Cast Iron
(a) Gray Cast Iron weak and brittle in tension

effective in damping vibrational energy (ex. are engine blocks and equipment base, etc)
wear resistant and least expensive

Cast Iron
(b) Ductile or Nodular Cast Iron addition of magnesium or cerium promotes the formation of nodular graphite common applications are valves, pump bodies, gears, etc.

Cast Iron
(c) White Cast Iron White fracture surface due to presence of cementite

very hard but extremely brittle very limited application; Chilled iron is better and used for heavy duty parts (used as rolls)

Cast Iron
(d) Malleable Cast Iron Product of annealing white cast (heating at 1700 F: malleableizing) temper carbon in ferrite or pearlite matrix connecting rods and universal joint yokes, transmission gears, differential cases and certain gears

Review Questions
1. Wrought iron has carbon content less than:
a) b)

0.22% 0.022%

c) 2.14% d) 0.76%

2. a) b)

HSLA has alloy content less than 3% c) 9% 5% d) 10%

Review Questions
3. A possible designation for steel with purely pearlitic microstructure is:
a) b)

4310 11120

c) 4180 d) 4340

4. The element which causes formation of nodular graphite:

a) b)

magnesium sulphur

c) manganese d) zinc

Review Questions
5. INVAR is an alloy of: a) Fe and Ni c) Ni and Cu b) Co and Fe d) Fe and Mo 6. Steel known for very good toughness and hardened by the presence of noncarbide-intermetallics: a) tool steels c) maraging steels b) silicon steels d) HSLA

Review Questions
7. Stainless Steel needs at least this amount of chromium: a) 5% c) 18% b) 12% d) 15%
8. White cast iron possesses a white fracture surface because of a) cementite c) graphite flakes b) pearlite d) graphite nodules

Review Questions
9. Which element is not found in plain carbon steel: a) carbon c) silicon b) magnesium d) phosporus
10. Cast iron used as engine blocks due to its good damping capability a) WCI c)malleable CI b) nodular CI d) GCI

Iron and Steel Making

Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

History of Appearance

Meteoric Iron - came from meteorites! Wrought Iron - up to 14th century Steel - after 14th century Cast Iron - after 14th century

Source of Iron: Ores

Hematite - Fe2O3 - 70 percent iron Magnetite - Fe3O4 - 72 percent iron Limonite - Fe2O3 + H2O - 50 percent

to 66 percent iron Siderite - FeCO3 - 48 percent iron In nature, iron (Fe) is attached to oxygen (ore) and mixed with silica (SiO2)

Iron Making
IRON MAKING DIRECT DIRECT
No melting
involved Solid ore is directly reduced by gaseous reactants

INDIRECT
Melting involved Ore is melted
and reduced in this form

Direct Reduction Processes

Bloomery (Old technique) Gas-Based DRP

Midrex (shaft furnace) Circored (fluidized bed) SL/RN (rotary kiln) Allis-Chalmers Controlled Atmosphere Reactor (ACCAR)

Coal-Based DRP

Bloomery
Ore is burnt together with charcoal
with the help of blast air from bellows Temperature not too high! Product is a porous mass called bloom product is forged to squeeze out remaining slag

Direct Reduction Processes

Gas-Based DRP

reducing gas generated externally from the reduction furnace

Coal-Based DRP

reducing gas generated from hydrocarbons in the reduction furnace

Sponge Iron or Direct Reduced Iron (DRI)

virgin iron source uniform in composition, and virtually

free from tramp elements used increasingly in electric furnace steelmaking to dilute the contaminants present in the scrap used in these processes

Midrex Process (Gas-DRI)

charge is fed from top and hot gas charge passes thru the preheat,
reduction, and cooling zones (600 to 900 C) is fed from the bottom of furnace

reducing gas: 95% H2 + CO

SL/RN Process (Coal-DRI)

The charge (1800F) usually consists of
lump ore (or pellets), coal and flux

Reduction brought about by reducing

gases generated from hydrocarbons present in the reduction section

product collected at the bottom

Iron Making
IRON MAKING DIRECT DIRECT
No melting
involved Solid ore is directly reduced by gaseous reactants

INDIRECT INDIRECT
Melting involved Ore is melted
and reduced in this form

Indirect Reduction Processes

The ore is heated above the melting
point of iron e.g. blast furnace

Blast Furnace

Parts of the Blast Furnace

Blast Furnace Charge

Ore - source of iron Coke - fuel and reducing agent Limestone - flux

Placed in Alternating Layers in the Blast Furnace!

Recipe for Pig Iron

To create a ton of pig iron:

2 tons of ore 1 ton of coke half-ton of limestone 5 tons of air. The temperature reaches 1600 degrees C at the core of the blast furnace!

Blast Furnace Operation

charge descends down the shaft blast of air burns coal and partially

melts ore ore reacts with carbon monoxide (CO) and is reduced to iron lime combines with silicates to form slag both molten metal (pig iron) and slag is tapped at the bottom

HOT METAL

Important reactions in the Blast Furnace

C + O 2 CO 2

exothermic - source of heat

Boudouard reaction (source of reducing agent) indirect reduction of the ore direct reduction of the ore

CO 2 + C 2CO

Fe2O3 + 3CO 2Fe+ 3CO 2

Fe2O3 + 3C 2Fe+ 3CO

Steel Making Processes

Bessemer Process Siemens Open Hearth Oxygen Steelmaking Processes Electric Arc Furnace

Stages of Refining

Primary Refining

Secondary
Refining

done in the converter

done in a separate station

Principle of Steel Making Processes

pig iron is cleaned by
reacting oxygen(from air) with impurities! Done in Converters

oxides are collected in the slag the heat of oxidation raises the

temperature of the mass and keeps it molten during operation

Bessemer Converter

Bessemer Process
bottom blown (air) capacity: 8 to 30 tons of molten iron main source of heat is the heat of
oxidation of impurities difficult to control

Acid or Basic Process?

Acid Bessemer removes Mn and C only and retains P and S used when P content is low uses silica and fireclay as lining Basic Bessemer removes Mn, C, P and S

used when P

content is high uses dolomite as lining

Open Hearth Process

aka Siemens Process either AOH or BOH furnaces have a saucer-like hearth capacity : 200 to 600 tons gas or oil fired oxidation is achieved by addition of iron
(acidic) (basic)

ore (although oxygen lancing is favored)! Charge working : 6 to 14 hours

Oxygen Processes
LD process (Linz-Donawitz)

first oxygen steelmaking process

Basic Oxygen Furnace

American version of LD
tilted and rotating

Kaldo Process

Oxygen Processes
oxygen is delivered by
a lance lance maybe consumable or nonconsumable (water cooled) produces large amounts of heat thus ore and scrap maybe added as heat sink

BOF Steel Converter Exposed

Kaldo Process

BOS Process Sequence

Electric Arc Process

heat is generated by electric arcs
struck between carbon electrodes and the metal bath carbon is removed by oxygen lancing oxidising basic slag to remove the phosphorus second limey slag is used to remove sulphur and to deoxidise the metal in the furnace.

Secondary Refining
any post steelmaking process
performed at a separate station prior to casting steel

standard for producing high-grade

e.g. deoxidation and desulfurization
of steel

Secondary Refining Functions

Desulfurization - CaO, Na2CO3 or CaF2 Denitrification and dehydrogenation vacuum

Deoxidation - Al and Si Decarburization- pure oxygen gas

Desulfurization

Stringer of MnS

Globular MnS

Killing Steel?
during tapping, a large amount of gas
(oxygen) is dissolved in the steel dissolved O2 reacts with C to form CO which results to bubbling action bubbling maybe killed by adding Al or Ferrosilicon (deoxidizers)

Rimmed, Killed and SemiKilled

Rimmed Steel

no deoxidation, a rim of pure Fe occurs

Killed Steel

completely deoxidized
compromise between killed and rimmed some dissolved oxygen

Semi-killed Steel

Capped Rimmed Steel

Semikilled Steel

Killed Steel

Vacuum Degassing
ultimate technique to remove dissolved
gases such as N2, H2 and O2

exposing the melt to very low

pressures

based on Sieverts Law [Cgas]L = K[Pgas]1/2

Vacuum Degassing and Equipment

RH (Ruhrstahl-Hausen) Type LF (Ladle Furnace) Type AOD (argon oxygen decarburization)

Furnace VOD (vacuum oxygen decarburization) Furnace

Vacuum Degassing

Steel Products

Steel Products

Review Questions
1. Gas-based DRI uses this as a reducing agent:
a) b)

CO2 N2

c) H2O d) CO

2.

a) b)

The product of the direct reduction process is called: pig iron b) sponge iron meteoric iron d) blooming iron

Review Questions
3. The Midrex process is a:
a)
b)

Gas-based DRI Coal-based DRI

c) Indirect process d) Oxygen steelmaker

4. A steel with a cross section of 5x5 is called a:

a) b)

billet bloom

c) slab d) ingot

Review Questions
5. Vaccum degassing is done to remove excess: a) carbon c) oxygen b) manganese d) argon 6. This element is not removed in the Acid Bessemer: a) manganese c) phosphorus b) carbon d) all of the above

Review Questions
7. Stainless Steel is created in this refining chamber: a) Bessemer c) BOF b) AOD d) EAF
8. The following are used as raw materials used in the blast furnace except: a) limestone c) limonite b) magnetite d) coal

Review Questions
9. This technique for steelmaking uses an oxygen lance to introduce pure oxygen into molten iron: a) bessemer c) siemens b) open-hearth d) basic oxygen 10. The problem with the product of the Bessemer process is: a) high oxygen c) high sulfur b) high nitrogen d) high phosphorus

The End