Iron and Steel and their Alloys

AG 221 – Metals and Welding

 Four Raw Products

 Coke (Coking Coal)

 Iron Ore
 Limestone
 Oxygen
 Coke

 Made from bituminous coal (soft)

 Baked at 2100º F for 17-18 hours in air tight
ovens then quenched with water
 90% carbon
 Rapid burning (helps to heat)
 Carbon combines with Oxygen to act as a
reducing agent for the Iron Oxide
 Limestone

 Calcium carbonate
 Removes impurities
 Ends up in slag
Limestone Quarry
Iron Ore
 Iron Ore

 Iron Oxides (up to 50% iron)

 Also held in compounds with Oxygen,
Silicon, Sulfur, and other impurities
 Low grade ore is upgraded (beneficiation)to
form a pellet type material (up to 66% iron)
 Fine grains combined to for sinter
An Ore Mine
 Oxygen

 Oxygen supports combustion

 Combines with carbon and other impurities
 Carried out in slag or gasses
 Blast Furnace

 Limestone, Iron Ore, and Coke are “charged” in

alternate layers in the furnace.
 Coke is burned and Oxygen is forced through the
base of the furnace (3500 degrees F)
 Slag is drawn off of the high notch
 Molten iron is drawn off of the lower notch
 Molten iron (Pig Iron) is poured into molds or sent
directly to refining
Blast
Furnace
 Production of 1 ton of Pig Iron

Iron Ore + Coke + Limestone + Air 

(1.93) (0.96) (0.48) (3.93)

Pig Iron + Slag + Gases + Flue Dust

(1.0) (0.55) (5.68) (0.09)
Pig Iron
 Refining of Pig Iron

 While Pig Iron is still molten, it must be

refined using one of four processes:
 Open Hearth Process
 Bessemer

 Electric Furnace

 Basic Oxygen Process

 Open Hearth Furnace

 200-400 tons per “heat”

 Charge consists of pig iron, scrap iron, limestone and
some iron ore
 1 “Heat” requires 8-10 hours
 Hearth heated by a gas flame sweeping across
 Was once the major process used in steel
production
 Can use up to 50% scrap iron
Open Hearth Furnace
 Bessemer Converter

 Early production of steel

 Now obsolete in U.S. – method used to develop modern
processes
 25 tons of pig iron and scrap per heat
 Heat requires only 20 minutes
 Could use up to 10% scrap iron
 A jet of air causes impurities to be burned out
Bessemer Converter
 Electric Furnace

 Electric Arc used to heat and remove impurities

 35% of total production in the U.S.
 Used for making stainless steel, carbon tool steel,
and high alloy steels and for recycling scrap
 Up to 100 tons per heat
 Time for each heat determined by the amount of
scrap included in the charge
Electric Furnace
Electric Arc Furnace
 Basic Oxygen Process
 Source of most of the steel produced today
 Uses oxygen blown into the furnace through a water
cooled lance
 Exothermic reaction – no heating required
 Up to 200 tons per heat
 Heat requires 45-60 minutes
 Scrap iron can be added to the charge
 Automatic process controlled by a computer
 Results in clean product with very tight specifications
Basic Oxygen Process
 Steel Casting – Rimmed Steel

 Molten steel poured into cast iron ingot molds

 Oxygen during cooling process combines with
carbon to become carbon monoxide
 Escapes to atmosphere or moves to the core
 Outer 3 inches (rim) is almost pure steel and is not
as hard as the core
 Carbon content of the core is higher (harder)
 Rim used for wire, plate, sheet, electrodes
 Steel Casting – Killed Steel

 Molten steel is deoxidized in the ladle or

ingot by adding aluminum, silicon, titanium,
calcium or zirconium in various
combinations and quantities
 Produces a uniform premium grade steel
 Majority of steel produced
 Steel Casting – Continuous

 Relatively new – becoming more common

 More efficient
 No need to reheat for shaping/finishing
 Reduced waste
 Molten metal flows into mold and water
cooled
 Metal rolled and cut to desired length
Continuous Casting
 Shaping of Steel

 Cast – continuous or ingot molds

 Forged – pressed or pounded
 Rolled – hot or cold (most
common)
 Hot Rolled

 Rolled in hot condition

 Surface is scale covered
 Grain structure is elongated and fiber like
 Size tolerance is wide
Slab
Mill
 Billet
Mill
Billet - Cross
sectional area 36
square inches
maximum with 1.5
inch minimum
thickness and width
at least twice
thickness.
 Bloom
Mill
Bloom - Cross
sectional area 36
square inches
minimum, usually
square or
rectangular.
 Other Hot Rolled Mill Products

 Structural Shapes – Channel, I-beams, angle

 Bars – Rounds, squares, hexagons, flat
 Rods – 3/8 in. diameter round and smaller
 Plate – 3/16 in. thickness and higher; substantial
width
 Sheet – thickness less than 3/16 in. (gauge) with
substantial width
 Strip – up to ¼ in. thick and 12 in. wide
 Cold Rolled

 Rolled cold
 Increased strength and hardness
 Smooth, shiny surface with no scales
 Close size tolerance
 Steel Classification

 Numerical Index
 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
 American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
 First two digits are the type of steel
 2nd digit generally gives approximate amount of
predominate alloying element
 The last two digits generally indicate the
approximate middle of the carbon range
 Steel Classification

 Prefix Letter – Production process used to

make steel (or the quality of the steel)
 Suffix Letter – Specific use or restrictions of
the steel
 Wrought Iron

 Low Carbon Steel (practically pure iron)

from Bessemer converter or Byers process
 Ductile and corrosion resistant
 Mixed with slag and rolled into long strands
 Weldable, but not strong
 Metal Identification

AG 221 – Metals and Welding

 Metal Identification - Rationale

 Metal ID is important for all metal workers

 Machinists, welders, etc.
 Imagine starting a welding job without
knowing what metal you are working with.
What problems might result?
 Useful methods for ID

 1st step – Separate known’s from unknown’s

 What color is it?
 (i.e., Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Stainless)
 How heavy/dense is it?
 (i.e., aluminum vs. stainless)
 What is the surface appearance?
 (i.e., roughness, from molds, part numbers)
 Useful methods for ID

 How was the part used?

 Mechanical and physical requirements of the job
 (i.e., drill bit – hard enough to last but not brittle)
 How was the part made?
 Forge marks, cast marks, rolling, stamping, etc.
 Fracture appearance
 Texture of grain structure, color of new and old break,
uniformity of grain structure, degree of bending before
break
 Useful methods for ID

 Magnetic Test
 Some alloys are non-magnetic
 Chip Test
 Observe how chip separates
 File Test
 Observe relative ease of filing
 Oxy-acetylene test
 With neutral welding flame – test heat conductivity,
speed of melting, color change
 Spark Testing

 Observe sparks at grinding wheel under

subdued light
 Grinding wheel should be clean
 Pressure of metal should be medium and uniform
 Compare known samples to unknown samples
 Spark Testing

Lines: Length and color

Sparklers: Number
Appendages: Present or not
 Spark Testing (cont’d)

 Accurate method of identification

 Sparks occur relative to oxidation of the
heated metal particles
 Iron does not oxidize rapidly therefore the
spark lines are long and fade out with cooling
 High carbon steels have a spark with short
lines and many explosions
 Spark Testing (cont’d)

 Observe:
 Color
 Length of spark lines
 Number of explosions
 Explosion shape
 Refer to text (pages 65-71) for specific
characteristics of each metal type
Spark Testing
 Reading Assignment

 Metals (Unit III)

 Heat Treatment, Fundamental Metallurgy,
Surface Hardening – pages 53-65