Metals molten

Bessemer process A process for converting pig iron to steel by oxidation of the impurities (C, Si, P, Mn) by blowing air through the molten metal. 

The maximum bubble pressure method is good to a few tenths percent accuracy, does not depend on contact angle (except insofar as to whether the inner or outer radius of the tube is to be used), and requires only an approximate knowledge of the density of the liquid (if twin tubes are used), and the measurements can be made rapidly. The method is also amenable to remote operation and can be used to measure surface tensions of not easily accessible liquids such as molten metals [29]. 

In the converse situation free of gravity, a drop assumes a perfectly spherical shape. At one point, the U.S. Space program tested this idea with the solidification of ball bearings from molten metal drops in microgravity conditions. 

Reviews of batch calorimeters for a variety of applications are published in the volume on Solution Calorimetry [8] cryogenic conditions by Zollweg [22], high temperature molten metals and alloys by Colinet andPasturel [19], enthalpies of reaction of inorganic substances by Cordfunke and Ouweltjes [16], electrolyte... 

Metallic sodium is vital in the manufacture of esters and in the preparation of organic compounds. The metal may be used to improve the structure of certain alloys, to descale metal, and to purify molten metals. 

Metals finishing Metal shingles Metals, molten Metal soaps... 

Electrode consumption for ferrous melting a-c furnaces usually averages 2.5—6 kg/1 of molten metal dependent on the particular furnace practices. D-c furnaces have electrode consumptions that are about 30% lower for similar operations. A typical energy consumption for a typical high productivity ministeel mill practice is 400 kW h/t. In comparison, power consumptions exceeding 600 kW h/t ia foundries is not unusual because of longer furnace cycle times. 

The term channel induction furnace is appHed to those in which the energy for the process is produced in a channel of molten metal that forms the secondary circuit of an iron core transformer. The primary circuit consists of a copper cod which also encircles the core. This arrangement is quite similar to that used in a utdity transformer. Metal is heated within the loop by the passage of electric current and circulates to the hearth above to overcome the thermal losses of the furnace and provide power to melt additional metal as it is added. Figure 9 illustrates the simplest configuration of a single-channel induction melting furnace. Multiple inductors are also used for appHcations where additional power is required or increased rehabdity is necessary for continuous operation (11). 

A molten metal alloy would normally be expected to crystallize into one or several phases. To form an amorphous, ie, glassy metal alloy from the Hquid state means that the crystallization step must be avoided during solidification. This can be understood by considering a time—temperature—transformation (TTT) diagram (Eig. 2). Nucleating phases require an iacubation time to assemble atoms through a statistical process iato the correct crystal stmcture... 

The melt drag process drags molten metal from an orifice onto a cooled dmm (Fig. 4d) (45). Ribbons in excess of 20 cm can be produced having thicknesses from 25 to 1000 p.m (46). Gravity is used to force the molten Hquid from the orifice so that it touches the rotating dmm. The partially solidified alloy is then dragged onto the dmm forming wine or ribbons. 

Treatment of impure gold is largely via the Miller process (30) in which chlorine is bubbled through the molten metal and converts the base metals to chlorides, which volatilise. Silver is converted to the chloride, which is molten and can be poured. The remaining gold is less pure (99.6%) than that produced by the WohlwiU process and may require additional treatment such as electrolysis. If platinum-group metals (qv) are present, the chlorine process is unsuitable. 

Fire-Resistant Hydraulic Fluids. Fire-resistant hydrauhc fluids are used where the fluid could spray or drip from a break or leak onto a source of ignition, eg, a pot of molten metal or a gas flame (17). Conditions such as these exist in die-casting machines or in presses located near furnaces. Specific tests for fire resistance are conducted by Factory Mutual in the United States. 

By using nucleants, fine-grained stmctures, such as that shown in Figure 4b, can be produced in cast alloys independent of the antimony content. The molten metal must be kept at a temperature high enough to assure complete solubiUty of the nucleants prior to casting the alloy. In the United States primarily copper and sulfur are used as nucleants in Europe and Asia selenium is used. At very low (1.0—1.6 wt %) antimony contents selenium is used exclusively. 

The cells are fed semicontinuously and produce both magnesium and chlorine (see Alkali and chlorine products). The magnesium collects in a chamber at the front of the cell, and is periodically pumped into a cmcible car. The cmcible is conveyed to the cast house, where the molten metal is transferred to holding furnaces from which it is cast into ingots, or sent to alloying pots and then cast. The ingot molds are on continuous conveyors. 

Most of the magnesium is cast iato iagots or billets. The refining of the molten metal extracted from the electrolysis is performed continuously ia large, stationary brick-lined furnaces of proprietary design (25). Such iastaHations have a metal yield better than 99.5% and negligible flux consumption. 

Thermal or Flame Spray Process. The earliest experiments in metal spray used molten metal fed to a spray apparatus, where it was dispersed by a high speed air jet into tiny droplets and simultaneously blown onto the surface of the part to be covered. The metal solidified on contact. Modem processes use a more convenient source than premelted metal. Spray heads using a flame or an electrical arc to melt metal wires or powders directly are much more convenient. These are the only types used on a large scale in the United States. 

Reduction to Liquid Metal. Reduction to Hquid metal is the most common metal reduction process. It is preferred for metals of moderate melting point and low vapor pressure. Because most metallic compounds are fairly insoluble in molten metals, the separation of the Hquified metal from a sohd residue or from another Hquid phase of different density is usually complete and relatively simple. Because the product is in condensed form, the throughput per unit volume of reactor is high, and the number and si2e of the units is rninimi2ed. The common furnaces for production of Hquid metals are the blast furnace, the reverberatory furnace, the converter, the flash smelting furnace, and the electric-arc furnace (see Furnaces, electric). 

Impurities can be removed by formation of a gaseous compound, as in the fire-refining of copper (qv). Sulfur is removed from the molten metal by oxidation with air and evolution of sulfur dioxide. Oxygen is then removed by reduction with C, CO, in the form of natural gas, reformed... 

Precipitation can also occur upon chemical reaction between the impurity and a precipitating agent to form a compound insoluble in the molten metal. The refining of cmde lead is an example of this process. Most copper is removed as a copper dross upon cooling of the molten metal, but the removal of the residual copper is achieved by adding sulfur to precipitate copper sulfide. The precious metals are separated by adding zinc to Hquid lead to form soHd intermetaHic compounds of zinc with gold and silver (Parkes process). The precious metals can then be recovered by further treatment (see Lead). 

Metal injection mol ding (MIM) holds great promise for producing complex shapes in large quantities. Spray forming, a single-step gas atomization and deposition process, produces near-net shape products. In this process droplets of molten metal are coUected and soHdifted onto a substrate. Potential appHcations include tool steel end mills, superalloy tubes, and aerospace turbine disks (6,7). 

In atomization, a stream of molten metal is stmck with air or water jets. The particles formed are collected, sieved, and aimealed. This is the most common commercial method in use for all powders. Reduction of iron oxides or other compounds in soHd or gaseous media gives sponge iron or hydrogen-reduced mill scale. Decomposition of Hquid or gaseous metal carbonyls (qv) (iron or nickel) yields a fine powder (see Nickel and nickel alloys). Electrolytic deposition from molten salts or solutions either gives powder direcdy, or an adherent mass that has to be mechanically comminuted. 

Using rapid solidification technology molten metal is quench cast at a cooling rate up to 10 °C/s as a continuous ribbon. This ribbon is subsequently pulverized to an amorphous powder. RST powders include aluminum alloys, nickel-based superalloys, and nanoscale powders. RST conditions can also exist in powder atomization. 

Porous metal stmctures can also be created by spraying molten metal onto a base. Porosity is controlled by spraying conditions or by an additive that may be removed later. 

Porous P/M products can be sinter bonded to soHd metals. They can also be welded, brazed, or soldered. Filling the voids with flux or molten metal has to be avoided. P/M porous products can be machined, but blocking of the porous passages has to be avoided. Press fitting and epoxy bonding are commonly used. 

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