Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

1. Classification of Engineering Materials
Some commonly used engineering materials are broadly classified as shown in Fig.
2.1. Engineering materials may also be categorized into metals and alloys, ceramic
materials, organic polymers, composites and semiconductors. The metal and alloys
have tremendous applications for manufacturing the products required by the
customers.

Fig. 2.1 Classification of engineering materials

Metals and Alloys
Pure metals possess low strength and do not have the required properties.
Alloys are produced by melting or sintering two or more metals or metals and a non-
metal, together. Alloys may consist of two more components.
a. Ferrous metals are those which have the iron as their main constituent, such
as crude (pig) iron, cast iron, wrought iron and steels.
b. Non-ferrous metals are those which have a metal other than iron as their main
constituent, such as copper, aluminium, brass, bronze, tin, silver zinc, invar
etc.

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

2. Ferrous Metals
The ferrous metals are those which have iron as their main constituents. The ferrous
metals commonly used in engineering practice are cast iron, wrought iron, steel and
alloy steels. The basic principal raw material for all ferrous metals is crude (pig iron)
which is obtained by smelting iron ore, coke and limestone, in the blast furnace.
The principal iron ores with their metallic contents are shown in Table 2.1.

2.1. Main Types of Iron

1. Cast iron: Cast iron is basically an alloy of iron and carbon and is obtained
by re-melting pig iron with coke, limestone and steel scrap in a furnace known
as cupola. The carbon content in cast iron varies from 1.7% to 6.67%. It also
contains small amounts of silicon, manganese, phosphorus and sulphur in
form of impurities elements.
a. White cast iron
b. Gray cast iron
c. Malleable cast iron
d. Ductile cast iron
e. Meehanite cast iron
f. Alloy cast iron

2. Wrought iron: Wrought iron is the assumed approximately as purest iron

which possesses at least 99.5% iron. It contains a large number of minute
threads of slag lying parallel to each other, thereby giving the metal a fibrous
appearance when broken. It is said as a mechanical mixture of very pure iron
and a silicate slag.

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

3. Steel: Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with carbon content maximum up
to 1.7%. The carbon occurs in the form of iron carbide, because of its ability
to increase the hardness and strength of the steel
a. Plain carbon steels
i. Dead Carbon steels
ii. Low Carbon steels
iii. Medium Carbon steels
iv. High Carbon steels
b. Alloy steels
i. High speed steel
ii. Stainless steel

2.2. Cast Iron Production (Blast furnace)

Blast furnace was invented in 14th century. A typical blast furnace along with its
various parts is shown in Fig. 2.2. Modern blast furnaces range in size from 20 to 35
m diameter. It is set on the top of brick foundation. There are four major parts of
blast furnace from bottom to top:
1. hearth,
2. bosh,
3. stack and
4. top.
The hearth acts as a storage region for molten metal and molten slag. The charge of
blast furnace possesses successive layers of iron ore, scrap, coke, and limestone and
some steel scrap which is fed from the top of the furnace.
Iron ore exists as an aggregate of iron-bearing minerals. These mineral aggregates
are oxides of iron called hematite, limonite, and magnetite. They all contribute to the
smelting process. It takes about 1.6 tons of iron ore, 0.65 ton of coke, 0.2 ton of lime-
stone and about 0.05 ton of scrap iron and steel to produce 1 ton of crude (pig) iron.
For burning this charge, about 4 tons of air is required.
The impurities or other minerals are present in the ore. These impurities may be
silicon, sulfur, phosphorus, manganese, calcium, titanium, aluminum, and

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

magnesium. The amounts of silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur present will determine
the purification process used in the manufacture of the steel.
The output from the furnace in form of crude (pig) iron is collected in large ladles
from the tap hole existing at lower portion of furnace. As the coke burns, aided by
the air forced into the furnace, the ore melts and collects in the hearth. As the melting
process proceeds, the entire mass settles and thus makes room for the addition of
charges at the top. While the melting is going on, the limestone forms a slag with the
impurities.

Fig. 2.2 Typical blast furnace

2.3. Steel Production Furnaces
The iron picks up carbon from the coke and impurities from the ore. The amount of
carbon picked up by the iron is more than is needed in the production of steel. The

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

carbon becomes part of the pig iron used in the making of steel. The control of this
carbon during the subsequent processes determines the properties of the steel.
The crude (pig) iron is then processed for purification work for production of various
kinds of iron and steel in form of ingots (large sections) using different furnaces.
The steel ingots can be further processed in rolling mill or blooming mill to produce
different structural shapes and sections of steel.

Fig. 2.3 Flow chart for converting pig iron into useful iron and steel
2.3.1. Bessemer Convertor
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-
production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor,
Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The key principle is
removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the
molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it
molten. The process is carried on in a large ovoid steel container lined with clay or
dolomite called the Bessemer converter. The capacity of a converter was from 8 to
30 tons of molten iron.

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

Fig. 2.4 Bessemer Convertor

2.3.2. Open Hearth Furnace
In open hearth furnace, pig iron, steel scrap etc. are melted to obtain steel. The hearth
is surrounded by roof and walls of refractory bricks as shown in Fig. 2.5. The charge
is fed through a charging door and is heated to 1650°C mainly by radiation of heat
from the burning of gaseous fuels above it. The products of combustion at the same
time pass through the checkers at the other end of the furnace, then process then
reverses itself.
Oxygen is one of the most important elements used in the reduction of the molten
metal. Twice the oxygen input quantity will double the carbon reduction and
increases the steel production of the furnace.
For magnesite lined furnace, the charge consists of pig iron, limestone, and scrap
iron. The slag reacts with the sulfur and the phosphorus in the metal, while the
bubbling air causes oxidation of the carbon and silicon. For acid lining furnace, the
charge should be scrap iron and low-phosphorus pig iron.

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

Fig 2.6 open hearth furnace

2.3.3. Electric-arc steelmaking Furnace

About one-quarter of the world’s steel is produced by the electric-arc method, which
uses high-current electric arcs to melt steel scrap and convert it into liquid steel of a
specified chemical composition and temperature. External arc heating permits better
thermal control than does the basic oxygen process, in which heating is
accomplished by the exothermic oxidation of elements contained in the charge.
The electric-arc furnace (EAF) is a squat, cylindrical vessel made of heavy steel
plates. It has a dish-shaped refractory hearth and three vertical electrodes that reach
down through a dome-shaped, removable roof (see figure). The shell diameter can
be reached to 9m and can produce about 300-ton.
The roof is also made of water-cooled panels and has three circular openings,
equally spaced, for insertion of the cylindrical electrodes. Another large roof
opening, the so-called fourth hole, is used for off-gas removal. Additional openings
in the furnace wall, with water-cooled doors, are used for lance injection, sampling,
testing, inspection, and repair.

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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Principles of Engineering Production I(ME 134) Lecture 03: Ferrous Metal Production

Fig 2.6 Electric-arc steelmaking furnace

YouTube: https://youtu.be/JrH9m5wfIBs

Dr. Raheem Al-Sabur

Basrah University – Engineering College
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