Xiaomeng Zhang

Preparation of Eco-Friendly Composite Ceramic from Iron Ore Tailings

In this paper, the research mainly focused on utilization of iron ore tailing of Panzhihua region. Based on the analysis of its components, Carbothermal Reduction Nitridation (CRN) method was selected to synthesize eco-friendly composite material. Different additives were tried to improve the property of the samples. The influence of different sintering temperature, holding time and contents of additives were taken into account, and orthogonal design was employed to obtain the optimal parameters. It indicated that only when the temperature was 1450°C and the holding time was 5 hours, the samples with the bulk density of 3.42g/cm3 was obtained. The phase and surface morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Experimental results showed that the phases of the product were Fe3Si and TiC0.3N0.7. The research provided a novel recycling process for ore tailings.

Reaction Processes and Thermodynamic Modeling for SiAlON Structural Ceramic Powders Synthesized from Nonmetallic Mine

SiAlON family matrix materials have been fabricated from nonmetallic mine. The process of Carbothermal Reduction and Nitridation (CRN) is selected on the basis of raw rocks containing various Si/Al ratios. Thermodynamic analysis of Si-Al-O-N system at different sintering temperatures indicates once the temperature is above 1673 K, a series of chemical reactions occur in sequence, SiO2, SiO, Si2N2O, SiO2+Al2O3, mullite, X-SiAlON, O′-SiAlON, β-SiAlON, SiAlON- polytypiods and Si3N4+AlN. Moreover, most of the reactions are exothermal and are promoted by further heating. The adding or in-situ formed SiC can reduce mullite and Al2O3 to produce O′- or β-SiAlON, and its reaction is surprisingly endothermic and is inhibited when further heated. Also, atmosphere is essential to affect the sintering process. Either raising N2 partial pressures or reducing CO partial pressures can accelerate CRN progress. Correspondingly, phase content and microstructure of the product converted from nonmetallic ore are in detail investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Influence of Protective Coating at High Temperature on Surface Quality of Stainless Steel

A ceramic matrix coating for minimzing steel loss of stainless steel at high temperatures was prepared by handled air-spraying technique, and the influence of coating on surface quality of stainless steel was mainly investigated in laboratory. Experimental results showed that the protective coating reduced the oxidation of stainless steel by more than 91% and minimized high-temperature scaling and also enhanced steel surface quality. The scales of coated specimen were removed completely and the scales of uncoated specimen were partly residual on the surface after cooling process. Mn-rich and Fe-rich zones were found in the oxides. The Cr2O3 found in scales came from the underlying stainless steel and formed a Cr-rich layer along the spalled surface.

Influence of a Protective Coating Slurry on Enhancing the Descaling Ability and Oxidation Resistance of 9% Nickel Steel

A kind of ceramic slurry was prepared and sprayed onto the surface of 9Ni steel at room temperature. The coating layer will not only reduce the depth of the formed Ni-enriched entanglement at high temperature but also have an excellent ability to resist oxidation of the 9Ni steel. Compared to bare specimen, the depths of the entanglement of the coated 9Ni specimen could be successfully reduced by 74.1% and the oxidation loss be decreased by 62.3% by heating at 1 250 °C for 60min. In addition, the coated specimen indicates no trace of oxide pegs. It proves that the coating has outstanding improvement to internal oxidation resistance. Some characterization methods such as metalloscopy, XRD, XPS, SEM and EDX have been used to reveal a possible protective mechanism. The result shows that the coating layer reacts with the iron oxide to form MgFe2O4 on the surface of the coated specimen, which could provide a smaller diffusion coefficient rate of Fe ion. The coating with a low cost and easy implementation is promisingly applicable in the slab-reheating process of the 9Ni steel.

Preparation and Characterization of Low-melting Glasses Used as Binder for Protective Coating of Steel Slab

The low-melting phosphate glass was prepared for production of glass binders for protective coating of steel slab. Effects of different O/P ratios on glass structures and properties were analyzed. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) techniques were applied for low-melting glass binder. It was found that the glass transition temperature(Tg) was about 300 °C and softening temperature(Tf) was about 480 °C. The choice of O/P ratio was very important to the glass transition and softening temperatures. When more P=O bonds existed in the glass networks, P-O-P bond angle was deformed with decreasing of the ratio of O/P. The coatings could adhere to the substrates instantaneously at 800 °C when the content of binder exceeded 3wt%. The optimal content of glass binder was 5wt%.

Mechanical properties of SiC/FexSiy composites

The SiC/FexSiy composites were synthesized by reaction sintering process with iron tailings as raw material and carbon as reductant. The room and high temperature flexural strengths and fracture toughness of composites were studied in this paper. Fracture surfaces were observed by means of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the room temperature flexural strength of SiC/FexSiy composites changed along with the different contents of FexSiy and sintering temperature. The flexural strength of composites reaches the maximum at 900°C. The correlation between flexural strength and temperature is consistent with curveⅠ.The fracture toughness of composites is related to the content of FexSiy. The fracture behavior of composites is mainly transcrystalline in room temperature and intercrystalline in high temperature.

Synthesis of Fe3Si-Ti(C0.3, N0.7) Multiphase Composite Ceramic from Iron Tailings and its Properties

The output quantity of iron tailings increases rapidly with the development of metallurgical industry and the growth of the requirement for minerals in the world, which could cause severe hazard to our environment. Therefore, it is very important to recover and reuse these tailings to protect the environment and use natural resources effectively. In this paper, the Fe-Si-Ti multiphase composite ceramic has been synthesized from the Iron ore tailings of Panzhihua region with the carbothermal reduction nitridation (CRN) method. The phases and microstructures of sintered body were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FSEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The XRD pattern indicates that the main phases of the samples are Fe3Si and Ti(C0.3, N0.7). Meanwhile, FSEM and EDS show that Fe3Si is surrounded by Ti(C0.3, N0.7). Besides, the physical properties of the sample are tested, especially the wear resistance. The test results show that the synthesized Fe3Si-Ti(C0.3, N0.7) composite ceramic has good wear resistant property, high hardness and larger thermal expansion coefficient, which indicates it can be used as the abrasion-proof material or transition layer between the metal and inorganic coating. At last, based on FSEM and EDS, the microstructure and elements of the abraded surface of sample is analyzed.

Synthesis of Silicon Carbide Powders from Iron Tailings

Silicon carbide powders were prepared by the carbothermal reduction method. The starting powders used were iron tailings and graphite. The XRD results showed that the main crystal phase was SiC and the main impurity was FexSiy in as-fabricated silicon carbide. The SEM results revealed that the grains of SiC-phase in as-fabricated silicon carbide were flaky-like or globular-like. It is found that the carbon addition and the reaction temperature play a key role to obtain SiC-phase, while the holding time and argon flow rate had a little effect on the yield of SiC as the excessive carbon addition are used. The optimum sintering temperature, holding time, argon flowing rate, the ratio of n(C): n(SiO2) are 1500 °C, 8 h, 0.6 L/min, 5:1, respectively.