Lamellar graphite cast iron was investigated with carbon equivalents varied between CE = 3.4 and 4.26, cast at various cooling rates between 0.195 and 3.5 °C s-1 covering the limits used for technical applications in the production of complex-shaped lamellar graphite cast iron. Registered cooling curves displaced in two positions in the casting were used to predict the solidification and microstructure formation mechanisms. The predicted volume fraction of primary austenite was compared with the fraction of primary austenite measured on colour micrographs with the help of image analyses. A good correlation has been obtained for medium and slow cooling conditions, while a less good correlation at fast cooling condition was attributed to the used protective environment to preserve thermocouples. The observed fraction and the predicted fraction of primary austenite were in good correlation and followed a consequent variation dependent on the carbon equivalent. Furthermore, the quality of the prediction was dependent on the used numerical algorithm involving cooling information from either one or two thermocouples.
Binders present an important part of the powder metallurgy technology as they are vital to provide efficient powder agglomeration and/or lubrication during shaping. At the same time, they have to be easily removed from the compacts during initial stages of sintering without any harmful effect for the base material, as well as for the environment. Therefore, behavior of gelatin as a binder for stainless- and tool-steel gas-atomised powder compacts was studied by thermal analysis and electron microscopy. Thermal analysis showed that peak mass-loss occurred in the range between 340 and 370 °C, depending on the base powder and heating rate. Risk for base powder oxidation at temperatures below 425 °C was detected. Based on the obtained results, it is recommended to perform debinding at ~425 °C after applying a heating rate of around 7.5 °C min-1. Only in this way efficient enough binder removal can be obtained concurrently to avoiding base powder oxidation.
Self-ignited fires at municipal solid waste (MSW) storage sites are relatively common. The minimization of the phenomenon of self-heating in the waste can reduce the risks for smouldering combustion. The purpose of this work was to develop a method that can be used to measure and characterize the heat production in MSW. The method is based on isothermal heat conduction microcalorimetry (IMC). The heat production in MSW was determined based on sampling from two sites in two different geographical locations in Sweden. Both the original waste and milled/homogenised waste were tested. The heat production was measured at different temperatures together with gas analysis using micro-gas chromatography. The activity in the waste, in terms of its heat flow, increased when the temperature increased up to 60 °C and decreased at higher temperatures, e.g., 70 and 80 °C. The consumption of oxygen and the production of carbon dioxide, together with the heat production, indicated that aerobic metabolism was responsible for the heat production. This is further strengthened by the marginal heat production observed for ultraviolet treated waste. The results showed that IMC is a valuable tool for characterising the self-heating in municipal and industrial waste. © 2021, The Author(s).