Ferrous metal 7th week

Wrought iron:
• almost pure form of iron.
• carbon content – around 0.15 %.

Manufacturing process:
Four distinct operations, namely
1.Refining
2.Puddling
3.Shingling
4.Rolling

Refining:
•Pig iron is melted + strong current of air is directed over it
 it is well stirred
 so, thoroughly oxidized
•Cast into moulds  cooled suddenly
so as to make it brittle.
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Puddling – stirring in a molten state
• it is carried out In a reverberatory furnace.
 in this process, metal does not come into contact with the fuel or the flame.

Reverberatory furnace:
• rectangle in shape.
•Built with fire bricks.
•Ash is collected in the ash pit.
•Hearth is supported on steel plates which in turn are supported on dwarf brick
wall.
•Water jackets – circulation of water to cool the furnace.
•Roof – given a peculiar shape  results in flame of gas produced to be
concentrated on the hearth.

Process:
•Refined pig iron – broken into lumps and melted
•Hearth lining acts as and Oxidizing agents – in addition haematite ore, oxide of
iron, etc are added.
•It is subjected to intense heating.
•It is kept well stirred.
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• here, most of the carbon content and other impurities are oxidized.
• slag – removed through slag removal door.

Purified iron – becomes thick and assumes the form of white spongy iron balls.
called puddle balls.
each weigh – 500 N to 700 N

Shingling:
• in this – slag contained in the puddle balls are removed.
• achieved - through power hammer or by passing the balls through squeezing machine.

Power hammer:
Balls are placed on an anvil (a heavy iron block on which metal can be hammered
and shaped) and they are forged (make a shape by heating it and beating it) by a
falling hammer.

Squeezing machine:
• consists of two cylinders, which are placed one inside the other.
• smaller cylinder – corrugations on outer surface
larger cylinder – corrugations on inner surface
• balls are placed in between the cylinders and then the inner cylinder is rotated.
• material obtained – called bloom (red hot condition)
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Rolling:
• bloom – passed through grooved rollers
flat bar – size (4m x 100 mm x 25 mm) are obtained.
• there bars are of poor quality.

• to improve quality – they are tied together by wires and they are heated and rolled
again.
• process – repeated several times – till the desired is achieved.

Astons process:
• developed by james aston of america in 1925.
• fully mechanical process.
• quick and economical.

Process:
• molten steel (from bessemer converter) is poured into coller liquid slag.
Temp – molten steel – 1500 Deg C
liquid slag – 1200 Deg C
• molten steel – contains large amount of dissolved gases.
 gases – liberated when it strikes the slag.
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• molten steel – freezes
 results in spongy mass having a temp of 1370 Deg C.
• spongy mass  given the shingling and rolling treatments.

Properties of wrought iron:

• becomes soft at white heat  can be easily forged and wielded.
• can be used to form temporary magnets.
• fuses with difficulty.  adopted for castings.
• ductile, malleable and tough.
• moderately elastic.
• unaffected by saline water.
•Resists corrosion in a better way.
• fresh facture – shows clear bluish colour with a high silky luster and fibrous appearance
• melting point – 1500 Deg C.
• specific gravity – 7.8
• ultimate compressive strenght – 200 N/ mm Sq
• ultimate tensile strenght – 400 N/mm Sq
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Defects of wrought iron:
• cold short or red short.

Cold short:
• very brittle when its cold.
• it cracks – if bent.
• occurs – when phosphorous is in excess.
• can be worked at high temperature.

Red short:
• has sufficient tenacity when cold.
•Cracks when bent or finished at red heat.
so useless for wielding.
• occurs – when sulphur is more.
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Uses of wrought iron:
Currenlty – wrought iron is replaced by mild steel.
Used – where a tough material is required.

Used for rivets,

•chains,
•ornamental iron work,
•railway couplings,
•water and stream pipes,
raw material for manufacturing steel,
• bolts and nuts,
• horse shoe bars,
• handrails,
• straps for timber roof trusses,
• boiler tubes,
• roofing sheets,
• armatures,
• electro-magnets, etc