Slag Entrainment and Dispersion in Continuous Slab Casting. Australia's steel industry employs 75,000 people and has an annual turnover in excess of $21 billion. However, it produces less than 8 million tonnes of steel per annum which is approximately 7 percent of the world's production. Australia does not have the economies of scale and to be competitive, must invest heavily in new technology and have best workplace practices to generate products that are superior to low cost competitors. This ....Slag Entrainment and Dispersion in Continuous Slab Casting. Australia's steel industry employs 75,000 people and has an annual turnover in excess of $21 billion. However, it produces less than 8 million tonnes of steel per annum which is approximately 7 percent of the world's production. Australia does not have the economies of scale and to be competitive, must invest heavily in new technology and have best workplace practices to generate products that are superior to low cost competitors. This project is focussed on improving product quality through invention of new equipment which also overcomes current operational practices and creates a safer working environment. Read moreRead less
New Generation Pipeline and Q&T Plate Steels. If successful, the progressive reformulation of the alloy design of a new family of steels would enhance their properties, greatly reduce the complexity of manufacture, ensure more efficient steelmaking production practices and enable the full capacity of the domestic pipe mills and plate manufacturing facilities to be realised. This innovative and new approach opens up opportunities for market growth and export potential in areas of fundamental impo ....New Generation Pipeline and Q&T Plate Steels. If successful, the progressive reformulation of the alloy design of a new family of steels would enhance their properties, greatly reduce the complexity of manufacture, ensure more efficient steelmaking production practices and enable the full capacity of the domestic pipe mills and plate manufacturing facilities to be realised. This innovative and new approach opens up opportunities for market growth and export potential in areas of fundamental importance to Australia's infrastructure and mining industries and defence capability. Implementation of this newly developed technology would, for the first time, create export market opportunities for Australian pipe manufacturers.
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Understanding and minimising oxidation during hot rolling and metal coating of steel strip. Steel production is one of the few manufacturing industries in which Australia is internationally competitive. Annual steel exports generate about two billion dollars in national income. Substantial value is added to raw steel by hot rolling it into sheet and coating with zincalume and paint. The market for these products is intensely competitive, and continued success is critically dependent on produc ....Understanding and minimising oxidation during hot rolling and metal coating of steel strip. Steel production is one of the few manufacturing industries in which Australia is internationally competitive. Annual steel exports generate about two billion dollars in national income. Substantial value is added to raw steel by hot rolling it into sheet and coating with zincalume and paint. The market for these products is intensely competitive, and continued success is critically dependent on productivity and quality. This project will assist BlueScope Steel in understanding and controlling millscale development on hot rolled products, and avoiding scale defects in zincalume coating.Read moreRead less
Surface reaction kinetics of zinc gas relevant to the ZINCALUME coating process. The proposed project aims to develop a sound understanding of the mechanism and rate of condensation of zinc vapour on clean and partially oxidised steel strip surfaces. This Fundamental scientific knowledge is the key to furthering our understanding of the effect of process variables on the occurrence of pinholes and bare patches on ZINCALUME coated steel strip. Should the fundamental causes of defect formation be ....Surface reaction kinetics of zinc gas relevant to the ZINCALUME coating process. The proposed project aims to develop a sound understanding of the mechanism and rate of condensation of zinc vapour on clean and partially oxidised steel strip surfaces. This Fundamental scientific knowledge is the key to furthering our understanding of the effect of process variables on the occurrence of pinholes and bare patches on ZINCALUME coated steel strip. Should the fundamental causes of defect formation be established, product quality can be improved, process costs reduced and the Australian industry's competitive position in the market place retained. A new experimental approach will be taken; conductive to the training of the researchers involved in advanced research techniques.Read moreRead less
Modelling and control of electromagnetically propelled arcs in joining processes. Magnetically impelled arc butt (MIAB) joining is a non-traditional manufacturing process for tubular steel components. Parameter selection and tuning have to date been experimentally determined via exhaustive trial-and-error techniques. Therefore the full capabilities of the process have not yet been realised. The project aims to model and optimise the complex process and thus facilitate the development of new a ....Modelling and control of electromagnetically propelled arcs in joining processes. Magnetically impelled arc butt (MIAB) joining is a non-traditional manufacturing process for tubular steel components. Parameter selection and tuning have to date been experimentally determined via exhaustive trial-and-error techniques. Therefore the full capabilities of the process have not yet been realised. The project aims to model and optimise the complex process and thus facilitate the development of new and effective control strategies. It is expected that novel power source designs will emerge as an outcome of the research proposed.Read moreRead less
Carbothermal solid state reduction of manganese ore in hydrogen atmosphere. The aim of the project is to establish mechanisms of solid-state reduction of manganese ore by carbon in hydrogen and effects of gas atmosphere and other operation parameters on the reduction rate. The project will examine carbothermal reduction of manganese ore in hydrogen, helium and argon at different temperatures, ore compositions and sizes. The project's outcomes will be the reduction extent, rate and mechanisms. Th ....Carbothermal solid state reduction of manganese ore in hydrogen atmosphere. The aim of the project is to establish mechanisms of solid-state reduction of manganese ore by carbon in hydrogen and effects of gas atmosphere and other operation parameters on the reduction rate. The project will examine carbothermal reduction of manganese ore in hydrogen, helium and argon at different temperatures, ore compositions and sizes. The project's outcomes will be the reduction extent, rate and mechanisms. They will be used to assess the feasibility of solid-state reduction technology. This will be of importance to Australian manganese industry.Read moreRead less
Alternative technology for titanium tetrachloride: production and chlorination of titanium oxycarbonitride. The proposed project targets alternative cost-efficient technology for titanium tetrachloride, which is an intermediate product in production of titanium metal and titania pigment. More efficient technology for processing of titanium minerals will strengthen the position of Australia in the titanium industry at a global level. It has a potential to enhance Australia capacity to exploit nic ....Alternative technology for titanium tetrachloride: production and chlorination of titanium oxycarbonitride. The proposed project targets alternative cost-efficient technology for titanium tetrachloride, which is an intermediate product in production of titanium metal and titania pigment. More efficient technology for processing of titanium minerals will strengthen the position of Australia in the titanium industry at a global level. It has a potential to enhance Australia capacity to exploit niche markets for titanium dioxide white pigment and titanium metal, enabling Australia to capitalise on its huge mineral sands resource, rich in ilmenite and rutile. The project will also contribute to the theory of metallurgical processes, particularly to the gas-solid reactions in the reduction, carburisation, nitridation and chlorination processes. Read moreRead less
Alternative processing of titanium minerals: carburisation and chlorination of rutile and ilmenite. Australia produces about 40% of the world's stocks of ilmenite and 25% of rutile, which are used as raw materials for the titanium industry. Current methods for processing these minerals into pigment titanium dioxide and metallic titanium are complex, expensive and produce by-products that are environmentally dangerous. The project will study titania reduction from rutile and ilmenites to oxycarbi ....Alternative processing of titanium minerals: carburisation and chlorination of rutile and ilmenite. Australia produces about 40% of the world's stocks of ilmenite and 25% of rutile, which are used as raw materials for the titanium industry. Current methods for processing these minerals into pigment titanium dioxide and metallic titanium are complex, expensive and produce by-products that are environmentally dangerous. The project will study titania reduction from rutile and ilmenites to oxycarbides and reactions of chlorination of titanium oxycarbide. The aim is to establish fundamentals of titanium carburisation/chlorination processes and to assess their potential for processing of titanium minerals more efficiently. Outcomes will include reaction kinetics and mechanisms of reduction/carburisation and chlorination reactions, constraints and optimal conditions for carburisation/chlorination process.Read moreRead less
Effect of Chromium and Manganese on the Formations of Graphite and Carbide on the surface of Low Carbon Sheet Steels. Surface graphite and surface carbide are two surface defects observed in cold-rolled low carbon steel sheets after batch annealing under non-oxidising atmosphere. The surface defects detract from the appearance of the steel sheets and diminish the surface treatment potential of the sheets, causing significant and costly material losses. The aims of the project are to study the in ....Effect of Chromium and Manganese on the Formations of Graphite and Carbide on the surface of Low Carbon Sheet Steels. Surface graphite and surface carbide are two surface defects observed in cold-rolled low carbon steel sheets after batch annealing under non-oxidising atmosphere. The surface defects detract from the appearance of the steel sheets and diminish the surface treatment potential of the sheets, causing significant and costly material losses. The aims of the project are to study the inhibition of surface graphite formation by the additions of Chromium and Manganese and to study the mechanism of formation of surface carbide with the aim of developing an alloying / processing strategy which eliminates both the surface graphite and the surface carbide.Read moreRead less
Studies in solid-gas reactions : precipitate formation and dissolution; carbide production and metal dusting. Reducing carbonaceous gases which become supersaturated with carbon can react with both oxides and metals. They reduce iron oxide and, if methane is used, produce iron carbide, a valuable material. However, they react with iron and alloy steels to destroy them, producing a dust of carbon, metal and metal carbides, a process in which iron carbide is thought to form only as a relatively ....Studies in solid-gas reactions : precipitate formation and dissolution; carbide production and metal dusting. Reducing carbonaceous gases which become supersaturated with carbon can react with both oxides and metals. They reduce iron oxide and, if methane is used, produce iron carbide, a valuable material. However, they react with iron and alloy steels to destroy them, producing a dust of carbon, metal and metal carbides, a process in which iron carbide is thought to form only as a relatively short-lived transient species. This program will study both reactions and determine the processes whereby new phases nucleate and grow or disintegrate.Read moreRead less