New Approaches to Understanding Grain Boundary Chemistry. This project will provide a fundamentally better understanding of the relationship between grain boundary segregation and the recrystallisation behaviour of steel and Al alloys. This knowledge will lead to more efficient thermomechanical processing techniques, which will be of benefit to Australia's steel and light alloy industries. The experimental techniques to be developed will be the first of their kind. They have enormous potential f ....New Approaches to Understanding Grain Boundary Chemistry. This project will provide a fundamentally better understanding of the relationship between grain boundary segregation and the recrystallisation behaviour of steel and Al alloys. This knowledge will lead to more efficient thermomechanical processing techniques, which will be of benefit to Australia's steel and light alloy industries. The experimental techniques to be developed will be the first of their kind. They have enormous potential for use in future segregation studies of other alloy systems and are expected to make a major contribution to fundamental and applied research over the next few years.Read moreRead less
"Metal dusting" of austenitic alloys: mechanisms and interventions. "Metal dusting" is a catastrophic form of metal corrosion which we do not yet understand. It affects industries important to Australia: reforming of natural gas and (potentially) ceramic oxide fuel cells. This project aims to understand the process of austenitic alloy dusting, and thereby design materials to resist this form of attack. This will allow new natural gas processing industries in Australia to be internationally compe ...."Metal dusting" of austenitic alloys: mechanisms and interventions. "Metal dusting" is a catastrophic form of metal corrosion which we do not yet understand. It affects industries important to Australia: reforming of natural gas and (potentially) ceramic oxide fuel cells. This project aims to understand the process of austenitic alloy dusting, and thereby design materials to resist this form of attack. This will allow new natural gas processing industries in Australia to be internationally competitive.
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Controlling corrosion of steel by carbon dioxide-rich gases at high temperatures. A growing difficulty for Australia is the need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst maintaining the economic advantages of coal fired power stations. Technologies for capturing CO2 from these stations are being developed, but inevitably involve the need to handle hot CO2-rich gases. These are surprisingly corrosive to the materials of which power stations are constructed, in a way which is not fully unde ....Controlling corrosion of steel by carbon dioxide-rich gases at high temperatures. A growing difficulty for Australia is the need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst maintaining the economic advantages of coal fired power stations. Technologies for capturing CO2 from these stations are being developed, but inevitably involve the need to handle hot CO2-rich gases. These are surprisingly corrosive to the materials of which power stations are constructed, in a way which is not fully understood. This project aims to achieve this understanding, and to provide the basis for future alloy design.Read moreRead less
Inter-metallic Inclusion Reduction in Continuous Metallic Coating. The ZINCALUMER coating process is a core business of BlueScope Steel. Operational and quality issues are being experienced due to inter-metallic particles in the liquid metal bath. The particles cause defects in the metal coating and agglomerate, resulting in periodic shutdowns to remove the dross. Both of these factors impact significantly on the profitability of the operation. In this project a new strategy is being investigate ....Inter-metallic Inclusion Reduction in Continuous Metallic Coating. The ZINCALUMER coating process is a core business of BlueScope Steel. Operational and quality issues are being experienced due to inter-metallic particles in the liquid metal bath. The particles cause defects in the metal coating and agglomerate, resulting in periodic shutdowns to remove the dross. Both of these factors impact significantly on the profitability of the operation. In this project a new strategy is being investigated, whereby the fluid mechanics and heat transfer mechanisms within the bath will allow inter-metallic particles to be continuously removed in the metal coating before they reach the critical size that adversely affects product quality. This will also reduce dross accumulation, thereby reducing shutdown time.Read moreRead less