Formation of the ZnFe2O4 phase in an electric arc furnace off-gas treatment system.

To better understand the phenomena of ZnFe2O4 spinel formation in electric arc furnace dust, the dust was characterized with particle size analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA). Different ZnFe2O4 formation reaction extents were observed for iron oxide particles with different particle sizes. ZnO particles were present as both individual particles and aggregated on the surface of larger particles. Also, the slag particles found in the off-gas were shown not to react with the zinc vapor. After confirming the presence of a ZnFe2O4 formation reaction, the thermodynamic feasibility of in-process separation - a new electric arc furnace dust treatment technology - was reevaluated. The large air intake and the presence of iron oxide particles in the off-gas were included into the thermodynamic calculations. The formation of the stable ZnFe2O4 spinel phase was shown to be thermodynamically favorable in current electric arc furnace off-gas ducts conditions even before reaching the post combustion chamber.

Strong magnetic field effects on solid-liquid and particle-particle interactions during the processing of a conducting liquid containing non-conducting particles.

The behavior of micrometer-sized weak magnetic insulating particles migrating in a conductive liquid metal is of broad interest during strong magnetic field processing of materials. In the present paper, we develop a numerical method to investigate the solid-liquid and particle-particle interactions by using a computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) modeling. By applying a strong magnetic field, for example, 10 Tesla, the drag forces of a single spherical particle can be increased up to around 15% at a creeping flow limit. However, magnetic field effects are reduced when the Reynolds number becomes higher. For two identical particles migrating along their centerline in a conductive liquid, both the drag forces and the magnetic interaction will be influenced. Factors such as interparticle distance, Reynolds number and magnetic flux density are investigated. Shielding effects are found from the leading particle, which will subsequently induce a hydrodynamic interaction between two particles. Strong magnetic fields however do not appear to have a significant influence on the shielding effects. In addition, the magnetic interaction forces of magnetic dipole-dipole interaction and induced magneto-hydrodynamic interaction are considered. It can be found that the induced magneto-hydrodynamic interaction force highly depends on the flow field and magnetic flux density. Therefore, the interaction between insulating particles can be controlled by applying a strong magnetic field and modifying the flow field. The present research provides a better understanding of the magnetic field induced interaction during liquid metal processing, and a method of non-metallic particles manipulation for metal/ceramic based materials preparation may be proposed.

Quantitative phase-field approach for simulating grain growth in anisotropic systems with arbitrary inclination and misorientation dependence.

A phase-field approach for quantitative simulations of grain growth in anisotropic systems is introduced, together with a new methodology to derive appropriate model parameters that reproduce given misorientation and inclination dependent grain boundary energy and mobility in the simulations. The proposed model formulation and parameter choice guarantee a constant diffuse interface width and consequently give high controllability of the accuracy in grain growth simulations.

Lattice Boltzmann method for double-diffusive natural convection.

A lattice Boltzmann method for double-diffusive natural convection is presented. The model combines a multicomponent lattice Boltzmann scheme with a finite-difference solution of the energy equation to simulate natural convection caused by gradients in temperature and concentration. The model is validated both in two and three dimensions, and the agreement with literature data is satisfactory. A case study of thermosolutal convection of air in a cubical enclosure with horizontal thermal and solutal gradients is presented, exhibiting a rich variety of flow structures.

Lattice-Boltzmann modeling of dissolution phenomena.

In this work, we present a lattice-Boltzmann model for the simulation of complex dissolution phenomena. We design boundary conditions to impose a fixed concentration or a surface flux for use in multicomponent lattice-Boltzmann models. These conditions can be applied to simulate complex reactive flow phenomena, e.g., in porous media. By combining the boundary conditions with a volume-of-fluid description of solid structures, the application area of the presented model is extended toward complex dissolution phenomena. The boundary conditions and the dissolution model are validated using benchmark problems with analytical solutions. The agreement is good in all tested cases.

Lattice Boltzmann model for diffusion-controlled dissolution of solid structures in multicomponent liquids.

A lattice Boltzmann model for the dissolution of solid structures of arbitrary shape in multi-component liquids is developed. To model diffusion-controlled dissolution, a multicomponent boundary condition is presented to impose a fixed concentration on an arbitrarily located boundary. The dissolution rate of the solid is calculated based on the diffusion flow in the boundary layer. The model is validated using analytical solutions of simple dissolution problems in a static fluid, and is applied to the dissolution of a cylinder in a laminar flow.

Surface oxidation of NiTi shape memory alloy.

Mechanically polished NiTi alloy (50 at% Ni) was subjected to heat treatment in air in the temperature range 300-800 degrees C and characterised by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Thermogravimetry measurements were carried out to investigate the kinetics of oxidation. The results of thermodynamic calculations were compared to the experimental observations. It was found that NiTi alloy exhibits different oxidation behaviour at temperatures below and above 500 degrees C. A Ni-free zone was found in the oxide layer for oxidation temperatures of 500 degrees C and 600 degrees C. The oxidation at 500 degrees C produces a smooth protective nickel-free oxide layer with a relatively small amount of Ni species at the air/oxide interface, which is in favour of good biocompatibility of NiTi implants. The oxidation mechanism for the NiTi shape memory alloy is discussed.