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Steel Making Methods

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Steel Making Methods

| Advantages | Disadvantages | Basic Oxygen Furnaces | * Very high production rates and low residual element * Does not burn fuel | * Good efficiency requires large amount of pig iron to continue production. * Requires costly filtering process due to high levels of pollutants produced. * High refurbishing costs. * High dependence on blast furnace/coking. | Electric Arc Furnaces | * Minimal emissions/pollution. * Filtering of scrap not necessary. * Easy temperature control. * Precise alloying. * Economical to use scrap metal. * Contamination free. * Simultaneous deep deoxidising and desulfurization actions. | * Excessive electricity required. * Requires a steady supply of scrap …show more content…

Case Hardening Methods

Case hardening crucial for steel components that are subjected to severe or continuous impacts, high temperatures and high pressures. It is a heat treatment process that produces the required attributes of a hard, wear and fatigue resistant surface layer whilst maintaining a tough, durable core that allows for high stress situations. These properties are achieved by altering the chemical, metallurgical and physical properties of the components exterior without affecting its more ductile interior. For gears, case hardening is required to prevent pitting and deformation of the gears teeth under cyclic stresses. This method is preferred to through hardening, which is the uniform hardening of the entire component, as hardened metal is relatively less ductile and although strong, would not offer the same degree of toughness desired at its core.

There are several different case hardening techniques used in the manufacturing industry. The different methods determine which physical properties, (such as surface hardness, strength, ductility, case depth and wear resistance) the component gets. This can be done by altering temperatures, heat source, time period, and quench media.

Carburising

This is a diffusion-based process used on low-carbon or mild steels where a component is subjected to thermochemical phases. The component is packed in a carbon-rich environment at high

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