Vol 2018, No 1 (2018)

The dephosphorization of manganese ores and concentrates in a reducing atmosphere is thermodynamically analyzed. It is shown that phosphorus can completely pass to a gas phase in a closed reaction system in a wide temperature range (1000–1800°C) at the amounts of a reducing gas (CO) that exceed the stoichiometric minimum required for reduction reactions. The gaseous products of reduction is found to contain phosphorus in the form of mainly polyatomic “heavy” molecular oxides, which can decrease the real effect of dephosphorization as compared to that obtained by equilibrium calculations because of kinetic factors. A thermodynamic simulation of a flow reaction system shows that almost complete transition of phosphorus to light gaseous substances (PO, P₂) is thermodynamically possible at the temperatures that are close to the technological operation temperatures. This transition is provided by the ratio of the rate of formation of volatile phosphorus-containing substances to the rate of their removal from reaction regions.

The reduction of magnetite pellets is studied by thermogravimetry in a hydrogen flow upon linear heating. A multiple decrease in the reduction rate is observed at the degrees of metallization higher than 70% in a temperature range of 920–950°C. The observed effect of a decrease in the reduction rate by four to five times on heating is related to the α → γ phase transition of iron. Temperature cycling (heating–holding–heating–holding…) in the phase transition range shows that this effect is reversible; i.e., the reduction rate increases on cooling, unlike that on heating. The average temperature of the beginning of the effect in heating–cooling cycles (913°C) turns out to be close to the thermodynamic temperature (911°C) of the α → γ phase transition of iron. Isothermal studies of the reduction rate of pellets in a temperature range of 900–1000°C also confirm this phenomenon. The effect of a decrease in the reduction rate is assumed to appear due to a decrease in the effective coefficient of gas diffusion in γ-iron as compared to α-iron.

The effect of the crystal structure of 35KhGF steel on the temperature dependence of the kinematic viscosity of the melt has been studied at temperatures of 1450–1780°C. The crystal structure of 35KhGF steel changes as a result of heat treatment, namely, normalizing and tempering. EBSD analysis is used to study the crystal structure of the steel. The kinematic viscosity of the liquid steel is measured by the oscillating crucible method during heating and subsequent cooling. The supercooling of the liquid metal before solidification and the activation energy of viscous flow are dependent on the heat-treatment conditions. This correlation is discussed in terms of metallurgical inheritance.

A composite material (CM) reinforced by diamond particles is fabricated from a mixture of cobalt and 10 wt % C₆₀ powders at a pressure of 8 GPa and a temperature of 1200–1300°C, which is close to the melting temperature of the metastable Co–C eutectic. The results of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and electron-probe microanalysis demonstrate that the CM consists of diamond and the Co₃C carbide. Diamond crystals are shown to grow as plates parallel to a {100} plane according to the mechanism of nonequilibrium normal growth during liquid-phase CM synthesis. The diamond particles have a hardness of 82 GPa at an elastic recovery of 95%. The structure of the synthesized cobalt-based CM with diamond inclusions ensures its ultrahigh wear resistance and antifriction properties.

The microstructure, the aging kinetics, and the strength properties of Mg–Y–Gd–Zr cast alloys, in particular, a samarium-alloyed IMV7-1 alloy, at room and high (250, 300°C) temperatures after homogenization without and with subsequent aging are studied. Alloying with samarium accelerates the decomposition of the supersaturated magnesium solid solution and enhances the properties of the Mg–Y–Gd–Zr alloys.

Surfacing composite rods based on a B83 babbit alloy reinforced by silicon carbide and boron carbide particles are fabricated by extrusion. The structure and the tribological properties of the rods are studied. Extrusion allowed us to introduce and to uniformly distribute reinforcing fillers and to change the size and the morphology of the intermetallic phases in the matrix alloy. The wear resistance of the rods made of the B83 babbit + 5 wt % SiC composite material is shown to be higher than that of commercial B83 alloy samples by a factor of 1.2. Arc surfacing is used to deposit antifriction coatings, which are made of the surfacing composite rods based on B83 babbit reinforced by boron carbide or silicon carbide particles, onto steel substrates. The deposited layers exhibit good adhesion to the substrates: the melting line is continuous and does not contain discontinuities. The structure and the tribological properties of the deposited coatings are studied. The wear resistance of the composite coatings is higher than that of the B83 alloy–based coating by 30%.

A finite element technique is developed to simulate the stresses and the strains during strip flattening to reveal the causes of the cutting-assisted loss of planeness of hot-rolled steel sheets processed in roller levelers. The loss of planeness is found to be caused by a nonuniform distribution of the flattening-induced longitudinal tensile stresses over the strip thickness and width. The application of tensile forces to a strip in a roller leveler decreases this nonuniformity and prevents loss of planeness in cutting.