APPLICATION OF REFRACTORY METALS AND ALLOYS

Submitted To: By: Mr . Arvind Jaiswal

Submitted
AJAY KUMAR LAKKAM

(101101122)

CONTENTS

1.
2. 3.

4.
5.

WHAT ARE REFRACTORIES AND REFRACTORY METALS APPLICATIONS-IN GENERAL SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS Molybdenum Tungsten Niobium Tantalum Rhenium PLANSEE (one of the manufacturers of refractory
products)

ALUMINO-SILICATE REFRACTORIES SILICA BRICKS MAGNESITE-CHROMITE

CARBON
SPECIAL REFRACTORIES EMERGING TRENDS

WHAT ARE REFRACTORIES AND REFRACTORY METALS?

Refractories are material having high melting points, with properties that make them suitable to act as heat-resisting barriers between high and low temperature zones. These are generally manufactured based on one or more of the following: Process Parameters Quality Characteristics Best technique for engineering and application.

1. 2. 3.

Refractory metals are a class of metals that are extraordinarily resistant to heat and wear. The most common definition includes 5 elements : Niobium(Nb), Molybdenum(Mo), Tantalum(Ta), Tungsten(W), Rhenium(Re). Another wider definition includes Titanium(Ti) Vanadium(V) Chromium(Cr) etc.

APPLICATIONS- IN GENERAL

Refractory metals and their alloys are used in : Lighting Tools Lubricants Nuclear reaction control rods(as catalysts) Chemical reaction vessels in corrosive environments High temperature furnace products

a) b) c) d) e)

f)

SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS
1. Molybdenum Alloys

a) b) c) d) e)

Mo-based alloys are cheaper than superior Walloys. Most widely used alloy of Mo is TitaniumZirconium-Molybdenum (TZM). Composition of TZM : 0.5% Ti, 0.08% Zr and the rest Mo. Major uses include: Die inserts for casting aluminium, magnesium, zinc, and iron Rocket nozzles Die bodies and punches for hot stamping Tools for metalworking (due to the high abrasion and chatter-resistance of TZM) Heat shields for furnaces, structural parts, and heating elements

Its excellent anti-friction properties lead to its incorporation in greases and oils where reliability and performance are critical. Automotive constant-velocity joints use grease containing Molybdenum.

Mo is used in mercury wetted reed relays as it doesnt form amalgams.

Molybdenum is important in the missile industry, where it is used for high-temperature structural parts, such as nozzles, leading edges of control surfaces, support vanes, struts, re-entry cones, heat-radiation shields, heat sinks, turbine wheels, and pumps.

In the electrical and electronic industries, molybdenum is used in cathodes, cathode supports for radar devices, current leads for thorium cathodes, magnetron end hats, and mandrels for winding tungsten filaments.

2. Tungsten Alloys

Upto 22% Re is alloyed with W to improve its high temperature strength and corrosion resistance.
Thorium as an alloying element is used when electric arcs are to be established. Tungsten wire filaments provide the vast majority of household incandescent lighting and are also common in industrial lighting as electrodes in arc lamps.

Tungsten high melting point makes tungsten a good material for applications like rocket nozzles, for example in the UGM-27 Polaris.

It is used in balance weights for planes and helicopters or for heads of golf clubs. In the Gas tungsten arc welding (TIG)equipment uses a permanent, non-melting electrode. The high melting point and the wear resistance against the electric arc makes tungsten a suitable material for the electrode.

3. Niobium alloys

Niobium is unique in that it can be worked through annealing to achieve a wide range of strength and elasticity, and is the least dense of the refractory metals. It can also be found in electrolytic capacitors and in the most practical superconducting alloys. Niobium can be found in aircraft gas turbines, vacuum tubes and nuclear reactors.

4. Tantalum alloys

Tantalum is one of the most corrosion resistant substances available and is widely used in the medical and surgical fields, and also in harsh acidic environments.

It is also used to make superior electrolytic capacitors. Tantalum films provide the second most capacitance per volume of any substance after Aerogel, and allow miniaturization of electronic components and circuitry. Cellular phones and computers contain tantalum capacitors.

5. Rhenium alloys

Rhenium is useful as an alloy to other refractory metals, where it adds ductility and tensile strength. Rhenium alloys are being found in electronic components, gyroscopes and nuclear reactors. Rhenium finds its most important use as a catalyst. It is used as a catalyst in reactions such as alkylation, dealkylation, hydrogenation and oxidation.

PLANSEE

PLANSEE is the leading manufacturer of powdermetallurgically processed refractory and special metals. Application Fields of PLANSEE Materials:

a) Sintering of metals and ceramics b) Powder processing (calcining, reduction, agglomeration) c) Brazing, high-temperature annealing and heat treatment d) Metal injection moulding (MIM)

e) Annealing of stainless and electrical steel in N2/H2 atmospheres f) Aerospace including maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) g) Medical technology h) Electronics and semiconductor industries i) Lighting industry j) Production of nuclear fuel k) Thermal waste treatment l) Research and development

The unique properties of PLANSEE materials make them indispensable to many industries such as: -Lighting Industry - Electronics - Coating Technology - Medical Technology - Power Technology - Material and Processing Technology

Spreader for AI wheel casting made of PLANSEE material

TZM hot runner nozzles

High temperature vacuum batch furnace

W-Cu plasma spray nozzles and electrodes

ALUMINO-SILICATE REFRACTORIES
1) Firebricks

These appear in Blast furnace stack, bosh& hearth and in ladles. They appear in the openhearth wherein they fill the checkers. They appear in small furnaces in foundaries, nonferrous industries and in steam-raising plants.

2) High Alumina Bricks

Mullite(70-73% alumina) is used to line the bosh of he blast furnace. Sillimanite and andalusite are used in lower stack of blast furnace. Mullite and andalusite are incorporated in the upper course of checker work in regenerators and cowper stoves. Non-ferrous metallurgical applications include brass melting reverberatories, lead drossing reverberatories and aluminium smelting furnaces.

SILICA BRICKS
It is used in construction of certain structures such as roofs of open-hearth steel-making furnaces and walls of coke-ovens. It can withstand compressive forces in an arched roof at temperatures up to 1873K.
It is used in some small acid electric arc furnaces and small foundry cupolas. It is used in the domes and upper checker work of Cowper stoves.

MAGNESITE-CHROMITE REFRACTORIES
1) Magnesite These are used in basic electric and open-hearth furnaces, under the hearth and in the walls to some extent. 2) Dolomite Also used in electric arc furnace as a partial replacement for magnesite. 3) Forsterite It is used in copper smelting and has also been applied to open hearth back walls, in downtakes and also in checker- work.

4) Chromite It is used as a single neutral course b/w the basic walls and acid roof of a basic open-hearth furnace. It also protects firebricks and silica. 5) Magnesite-Chrome These are the most highly developed basic bricks and are used in basic open-hearth furnace in gas uptakes and burner zones. These can also be used in electric steel furnaces and in hearths of soaking pits. In non-ferrous extraction they are used in copper reverberatories.

CARBON

Both Carbon and Graphite are used as electrodes in arc furnaces and in electrolysis plants such as for producing aluminium. Carbon is also used as an electrical resistor in resistance furnaces, in the form of rods or tubes or as granules. These bricks are used in iron blast furnaces, especially in hearth. These are used as linings for furnaces making Phosphorus, calcium carbide, aluminium and magnesium.

SPECIAL REFRACTORIES

Alundum cement is useful mixture of fused alumina and clay which can be water-tempered and hand-moulded to any shape for laboratory uses.

Laboratory alumino-silicates Porcelains and mullites are used as insulators e.g. On thermocouples and electric heating elements.
Laboratory silica available as Vittreosil is used for replaceable thermocouple sheaths for use up to steel bath temperatures.

Magnesia is made into crucibles for melting pure metals. Zirconia is particularly useful for containing refractory alloys and is used as nozzles through which steel flows in continuous casting equipment. Zircon is used in glass industry, in foundaries as a moulding sand, in the re-melting of aluminium. Silicon Carbide or Carborundum is used in form of tubes in recuperators and in bars or spiral form as electric resistors. Beryllia (BeO) is mainly used for crucibles for obtaining very pure metals. It is also used as radiation shield in carbon resistance furnaces.

Refractory lining of a furnace arch

Refractory walls of a furnace interior with burner blocks

EMERGING TRENDS

Refractory has undergone many changes to meet the diversified requirements of the industry particularly steel industry. The main objective is to increase the lining life at reduced cost by developing: a) High quality refractory for critical applications in steel making at e.g. slag line, impact area of molten steel stream, bottom tuyere refractory in hybrid blowing, immersion nozzles in continuous costing etc. In this connection mention may be made of some refractory like MgOC, Al2O3 Si C C, MgO Ca O C, Al,Mg and AlSi alloy stabilized MgO C brick, zircon based refractory, and Al2 O3 C

b) Repairing methods like slag splashing, slag coating, hot patching, gunning (flame gunning involves melting and spraying on hot surface). c) Monolithic refractory

THANK YOU