The steelmaking team produced three batches of steel/cast iron with different carbon percentages to meet their goals. They encountered issues with pressure loss in the furnace, faulty equipment, and difficulties pouring from crucibles. In total they produced around 26 pounds of steel/iron, more than six times the amount of the previous team. Batches included high carbon (>3% C), low carbon (<0.8% C), and medium carbon (1.5-2.5% C) steel/iron. Metallographic analysis showed the carbon goals were met although improvements could be made. Lessons learned included practicing with equipment and refining pouring techniques.

1. Steelmaking Team
4/22/14
• Angelica Moore
• Devin Rowe
• Thomas Simpson
• Justin Twohy

2. Main Goal and Customers
• To produce 10 lbs of steel/cast iron with each
of the following carbon percentages by weight:
< 0.8
1.5-2.5
> 3.0
• Any iron oxide may be used
• The customers are future sword-manufacturing
design teams and the MET department

3. Iron Oxide Source
Hematite Pellets were crushed
with a ¼ inch gap in the roller
the first pass and then about
1/16 - 1/8 inch the second and
final pass through the rolling
crusher.

4. Crucible Selection
Inner-Diameter:
27.9cm
Height:
28.6cm

5. How to Accomplish
1.Reduce hematite pellets with coke
2.Based on a mass balance of iron and carbon, estimate needed
ratios to Create 10 pounds of the carbon steel ( <0.8 wt% C),
high carbon steel/cast iron (1.5-2.5 wt% C), and the high carbon
(>3 wt% C) cast iron
3. Perform metallography/ analysis to determine the above goals
were met
4. Normalize and decarburize as necessary.

6. What is Left To Do
• Week (4/22)– Attempt to decarburize and normalize the metal
from Batch 2 for use in forging a blade. Continue work on final
report and electronic binder.
• Week (5/3)– Finish and submit final report and electronic binder

7. Problems Encountered
Pressure loss
• Continual gas expansion
• Temperature drops at end of
run
• Inefficient gas use
• A heated blanket was used to
offset the temperature slightly
Air Preheater
• Large open flame
• Burns wood too quickly
• Unsteady temperatures
• Oak charcoal used in later runs, produced higher and
more constant temperatures.

8. Problems Encountered Continued
Faulty Thermal Couple
• Ice water was warmer than the
furnace
• A short was found and corrected
O2 Sensor cracked
• Thermal shock brought on by improper
heating.
• Nichrome wire melted (Melting point
1400oC)
• One data point measured but probably
flawed

9. Problems Encountered Continued
Difficulties Pouring
First Crucible (right)
• First run metal was not hot enough and we were
unprepared.
• Inaccurate assessment of crucible’s integrity led us
to destroy it to free the metallic iron product.
Second Crucible (left)
• Smaller and thinner than first, though advertised the
same and purchased from same link. (Ebay go figure)
• Thinner walls contributed to a leak in the crucible.
• Half of the last batch of iron product was at the
bottom of the caster. Later recovered

10. Accomplishments
• 3 Batches of steel/iron product with different carbon percentages were
successfully smelted.
• Total amount produced, approximately 26 pounds.
• About 6X more than the previous team, who were the only Steelmaking
team besides us to reduce iron.

11. Accomplishments Continued
Batch 1
• Approximate weight: 11lbs
• Our attempt at > 3.0 wt%
carbon.
• The amount of coke used forced
this batch to be completed in
two runs,
• Unable to pour, destroyed first
crucible to liberate it.
• Very porous large amounts of
unused coke imbedded in it.
• Too hard to cut but brittle
enough to chip off a sample.
Metallography (next slide)
• Large amounts of pearlite and
Cementite.
• Determined to be above 3.0 wt% C

13. Accomplishments Continued
Batch 2
• Approximate weight: 7.3lbs
• Our attempt at < 0.8 wt% carbon.
• Only successful pour.
• Much less porous than previous batch.
• Soft enough to cut a sample.
• Attempts to homogenize through forging
failed. Possibly was not hot enough.
Metallography
• Large amounts of voids in metal
• Largely pearlite, small amounts of ferrite
and cementite grains.
• Estimated to be between .76-.90 wt% C

15. Accomplishments Continued
Batch 3
• Approximate weight: 7.7lbs
• Our attempt at 1.5-2.5 wt% carbon.
• Hole in crucible lead to only a partial
pour.
• Molten iron spilled over a small area
in front of the caster as well. Most
recovered later. One of the cooled
pools of spilt molten metal used for
sample.
• More porous than Batch 2 but less
than Batch 1.
Metallography
• Large amounts of voids in metal
• Largely pearlite with veins of
cementite a grain boundaries.
• Estimated to be above 0.90 wt% C

17. What We Would Do Differently
• Perform practice runs to make sure our equipment
worked with our crucibles/ figure out the best fuel to air
ratio
• Use a mixture of charcoal and coke as fuel
• Start trying to smelt iron/steel product earlier
• Kill the steel with ferromanganese or ferrosilicon
• Attempt to make a suitable crucible out of castable
refractory material
• Normalize our ingots before working
• Shield the O2 sensor adequately
• Make more s’mores
• Keep better records of fuel to air ratio before the gauge
stuck

18. Secretly We Are Also The S'mores Making Team

19. We are now open for
Questions or Comments