Steelmaking Team

4/22/14

• Angelica Moore • Devin Rowe

• Thomas Simpson• Justin Twohy

Main Goal and Customers

• To produce 10 lbs of steel/cast iron with each of the following carbon percentages by weight:

< 0.81.5-2.5> 3.0

• Any iron oxide may be used• The customers are future sword-manufacturing

design teams and the MET department

Iron Oxide Source

Hematite Pellets were crushed with a ¼ inch gap in the rollerthe first pass and then about 1/16 - 1/8 inch the second and final pass through the rolling crusher.

Crucible Selection

Inner-Diameter: 27.9cm

Height: 28.6cm

How to Accomplish1.Reduce hematite pellets with coke

2.Based on a mass balance of iron and carbon, estimate needed ratios to Create 10 pounds of the carbon steel ( <0.8 wt% C), high carbon steel/cast iron (1.5-2.5 wt% C), and the high carbon (>3 wt% C) cast iron

3. Perform metallography/ analysis to determine the above goals were met

4. Normalize and decarburize as necessary.

What is Left To Do

• Week (4/22)– Attempt to decarburize and normalize the metal from Batch 2 for use in forging a blade. Continue work on final report and electronic binder.

• Week (5/3)– Finish and submit final report and electronic binder

Problems EncounteredPressure loss• Continual gas expansion• Temperature drops at end of

run• Inefficient gas use• A heated blanket was used to

offset the temperature slightly

Air Preheater• Large open flame • Burns wood too quickly• Unsteady temperatures• Oak charcoal used in later runs, produced higher and

more constant temperatures.

Problems Encountered Continued

Faulty Thermal Couple• Ice water was warmer than the

furnace• A short was found and corrected

O2 Sensor cracked• Thermal shock brought on by improper

heating.• Nichrome wire melted (Melting point

1400oC)• One data point measured but probably

flawed

Problems Encountered ContinuedDifficulties Pouring

First Crucible (right)• First run metal was not hot enough and we were

unprepared.• Inaccurate assessment of crucible’s integrity led us

to destroy it to free the metallic iron product.

Second Crucible (left)• Smaller and thinner than first, though advertised the

same and purchased from same link. (Ebay go figure)• Thinner walls contributed to a leak in the crucible.• Half of the last batch of iron product was at the

bottom of the caster. Later recovered

Accomplishments• 3 Batches of steel/iron product with different carbon percentages were

successfully smelted.

• Total amount produced, approximately 26 pounds.

• About 6X more than the previous team, who were the only Steelmaking team besides us to reduce iron.

Accomplishments ContinuedBatch 1• Approximate weight: 11lbs• Our attempt at > 3.0 wt%

carbon.• The amount of coke used forced

this batch to be completed in two runs,

• Unable to pour, destroyed first crucible to liberate it.

• Very porous large amounts of unused coke imbedded in it.

• Too hard to cut but brittle enough to chip off a sample.

Metallography (next slide)• Large amounts of pearlite and

Cementite.• Determined to be above 3.0 wt% C

Accomplishments ContinuedBatch 2• Approximate weight: 7.3lbs• Our attempt at < 0.8 wt% carbon.• Only successful pour.• Much less porous than previous batch.• Soft enough to cut a sample.• Attempts to homogenize through forging

failed. Possibly was not hot enough.

Metallography• Large amounts of voids in metal• Largely pearlite, small amounts of ferrite

and cementite grains.• Estimated to be between .76-.90 wt% C

Accomplishments ContinuedBatch 3• Approximate weight: 7.7lbs• Our attempt at 1.5-2.5 wt% carbon.• Hole in crucible lead to only a partial

pour.• Molten iron spilled over a small area

in front of the caster as well. Most recovered later. One of the cooled pools of spilt molten metal used for sample.

• More porous than Batch 2 but less than Batch 1.

Metallography• Large amounts of voids in metal• Largely pearlite with veins of

cementite a grain boundaries.• Estimated to be above 0.90 wt% C

What We Would Do Differently• Perform practice runs to make sure our equipment

worked with our crucibles/ figure out the best fuel to air ratio

• Use a mixture of charcoal and coke as fuel• Start trying to smelt iron/steel product earlier• Kill the steel with ferromanganese or ferrosilicon• Attempt to make a suitable crucible out of castable

refractory material• Normalize our ingots before working• Shield the O2 sensor adequately • Make more s’mores• Keep better records of fuel to air ratio before the gauge

stuck

Secretly We Are Also The S'mores Making Team

We are now open for

Questions or Comments