Ferrous metal 6th week

Other methods of pig-iron manufacture:

- in modern blast furnace – height is increased
requires more capital and labour to work.
- the coke, which is used as a fuel – becoming either short or inaccessible.

Alternate methods:
1.Electric reduction furnace:
used – where electricity is cheap
many types are available.
in one – hearth has a diameter of about 3 to 4 times of stack
diameter.
it is heated by electrodes passing through the roof.

Advantage of this method:

coke – only used as a reducing agent.
external supply of air – not necessary.
flexible in operation.
raw of material of low grade can be used.
iron with low sulphur content – can be made.
flexing material required – less
slag formed – less
gas produced – less and has high calorific value.
Disadvantage - high initial and maintenance cost.
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Low shaft blast furnace:

- blast is made rich in oxygen.
- needs – commercial oxygen at cheap rates
- reduces in stack height – since oxygen is used.
old method – nitrogen is used as a carrier of heat.

Advantages:
- produced gas – has high calorific value.
- consumes or depends on oxygen -- which can be made available from natural
air.
- consumes fine ores.
- permits the use of inferior fuels – like lignite, etc.

Disadvantage:
- Output from this furnace – comparatively low, and needs oxygen all time.
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Sponge iron process:

iron content – 90 to 94 %
balance – gangue and residual iron oxide.

Advantages:
• conversion into steel:
can be conveniently converted into steel by melting in an electric arc furnace.
directly feed – for many processes of iron and steel making.
existing blast furnace – used for improving its productivity.

• new technology:
considerable improvement in the method of producing sponge iron.
making iron pellets for subsequent conversion into sponge iron – can be
eliminated.
process is simple.

• production:
large reserves of iron ore and non-coking coal is available in our country.
annual production – will boast to 100 million KN – end of the century.
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• raw material for mini steel plants:

- shortage of steel scrap – widely felt in our country.
- sponge iron – very economical and superior to ordinary steel scrap

• replacement of pig iron:

- in large iron foundries – it can replace pig iron.

• shortage of coking coal:

- spongy iron process requires non-coking coal which is abundantly available in
andhra pradesh, orissia, bengal and bihar.

The small and medium siezed spongy iron plants are working economically even in the
most advanced countries.
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Cast iron:
Manufacturing process:
• manufactured by remelting pig-iron with coke and limestone.
• done in cupola furnace.
• smaller than blast furnace.
• shape – cylindrical with dia 1m and height is 5m.

Working:
• similar to blast furnace.
• raw material is fed from the top.
• the furnace is fired and blast of air is forced through tuyeres.
•The blast of air is cold as the impurities in pig-iron are removed by the oxidation.

Pure iron is taken from the bottom of furnace.

Slag is also removed from top of cast iron at regular intervals.
Molten cast-iron is led into moulds of required shapes to form what are known as the
cast-iron castings.
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Composition of cast-iron:
• 2 – 4 % of carbon.
• manganese – below 0.75 %
makes cast-iron brittle and hard.
• phosphorous – increases fluidity.
makes cast-iron brittle
more than 0.30 % - lacks toughness and workability.
sometimes kept at 1 – 1.5 % to get very thin castings.

• silicon combines with iron and forms a solid solution.

it also removes combined carbon from graphite form.
less than 2.5 % - decreases shrinkage and ensures softer and better casting.

• sulphur – makes it brittle and hard.

does not allow smooth cooling in sand moulds.
presence causes rapid solidification of cast-iron
less than 0.10 %
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Types of cast-iron:
• grey cast-iron:
prepared from pig-iron.
colour – grey with a coarse crystalline structure.
soft and its melts readily.
weak in strength
extensively used for making castings.

• white cast-iron:
colour – silvery white
hard and melts with difficulty.
not easily worked on machine.
not used for delicate casting.

• mottled cast-iron:
intermediate variety between grey and white cast-iron.
fracture of this variety is mottled.
used for small castings.
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• chilled cast-iron:
its hard to a certain depth from the exterior surface and it is indicated by
white iron.
interior portion – soft and made up of grey iron..
used to provide wearing surfaces to the castings.

• malleable cast-iron:
Adjustable – so called malleable.
Done – by extracting a portion of carbon from cast-iron.
Uses – railway equipment, pipe fittings, etc.

• toughened cast-iron:
obtained by melting cast-iron with wrought-iron scrap.
proportion of wrought iron scrap - 1/4th to 1/7th of weight of cast-iron.
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Properties of cast-iron:
• if placed in salt water – becomes soft.
• can be hardened by heating and sudden cooling, but it cannot be tempered.
• cannot be magnetized.
• does not rust easily.
• fusible
• hard, but brittle also.
• not ductile – cannot be adopted to absorb shocks and impacts.
• melting temp – 1250 Deg C
• shrinks on cooling.
• structure – granular and crystalline with whitish or grayish tinge.
• specific gravity – 7.5
• lacks plasticity – unsuitable for forging works.
• weak in tension and strong in compression.

150 N/mm2 600 N/mm2

• two pieces of cast iron – cannot be connected by riveting or welding.
bolts and nuts are used.
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Uses of cast-iron:
• not recommended – in horizontal direction either for heavy or variable loads,
Places where there are chances of slightest shocks to exist.
• cracks – without any warning of approaching failure.

Important uses:
• making cisterns, water pipes, gas pipes, sewers, manhole covers and sanitary
fittings
• ornamental casting – brackets, gates, lamp posts, spiral staircases, etc.
• parts of machinery – which are not subjected to heavy shocks.
• manufacturing compression members – like columns and its bases, etc.
• preparing agricultural implements, rail chairs, carriage wheels, etc.
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Casting – procedures:
• cast needs to be prepared (mould)
made from hard wood
dimension – kept slightly more (around 10 %)
• pattern – divided into upper and lower portion
each portion – kept in a rectangular wooden frame ( flask)
• space between flask and pattern – filled with green sand or loam.
• vertical holes are made – to serve as a vent pipe.
• sand sufficient dry – then pattern is carefully removed  mould is prepared.
• between two mould – melted metal is poured.
• after metal cools down – casting is taken out.
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Types of castings:
• centrifugal casting:
molten metal – poured into molts which are kept rotating.
quantity of metal – determined and accurately controlled.
moulds – are cylindrical and made of metal
molten metal – spread uniformly by the centrifugal force and held till be
becomes solid.
this method – stronger than ordinary casting.
uses – to prepare pipes.

• chilled casting:
outer surface is made hard by sudden cooling or chilling and the inner
surface remains comparatively soft.
mould – made of metal or lined with metal.
uses – tyres and axle holes of railway carriage wheels, etc.

• die casting:
molten metal is poured into metal moulds under pressure.
this casting is cheap, smooth and compact.
no finishing treatment is required.
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• hollow casting:
solid core is suspended in the middle of mould to form cavity.
thickness of casting – space between core and mould.
uses – hollow columns, pipes, piles, etc.

• sand casting:
ordinary type of casting.

• vertical sand casting:

sand mould and solid core are held in vertical position.
uses – prepare cast iron pipes for carrying water under pressure.
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Characteristics of good casting:

• edges and corners should be sharp, perfect and clean.
• fresh fracture – should exhibit fine grained texture with bluish grey colour.
• should be free from air bubbles, cracks, etc.
• should be soft enough for drilling or chiselling.
• should be uniform in shape.
• outer surface – should be smooth.

Defects in casting:
• cold short:
defect formed in the junction where two streams of molten metal meet.

• drawing:
Molten metal becomes solid before the mould is completely filled up.

• holes:
if vent holes are insufficient.

• honeycombing:
fusing of surface sand causes this defect in the casting.
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• lifts and shafts:

external defects of casting, due to misplacement of core.

• scabbing:
when scales are seen in the casting. Occurs when sand is very heavy
and sticks to the casting.

• swelling:
when moulds are improperly rammed.