Engineering Commons^™

Cascaded Sapphire Fiber Bragg Gratings Inscribed By Femtosecond Laser For Molten Steel Studies, Dinesh Reddy Alla, Deva Prasad Neelakandan, Farhan Mumtaz, Rex E. Gerald, Laura Bartlett, Ronald J. O'Malley, Jeffrey D. Smith, Jie Huang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This research reports a distributed fiber optic high-temperature sensing system tailored for applications in the steel industry and various other sectors. Recent advancements in optical sensor technology have led to the exploration of sapphire crystal fibers as a solution for sensing in harsh environments. Utilizing a femtosecond (fs) laser, cascaded fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) were meticulously fabricated within a multimode sapphire optical fiber. These FBGs endowed the system with distributed sensing capabilities and underwent rigorous testing under extreme temperatures, reaching up to 1,800 °C. The study delves into the investigation of the FBG reflection spectrum, facilitated by the development of …

In Situ And Real-Time Mold Flux Analysis Using A High-Temperature Fiber-Optic Raman Sensor For Steel Manufacturing Applications, Bohong Zhang, Hanok Tekle, Ronald J. O'Malley, Todd Sander, Jeffrey D. Smith, Rex E. Gerald, Jie Huang

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Continuous Casting in Steel Production Uses Specially Developed Oxyfluoride Glasses (Mold Fluxes) to Lubricate a Mold and Control the Solidification of the Steel in the Mold. the Composition of the Flux Impacts Properties, Including Basicity, Viscosity, and Crystallization Rate, All of Which Affect the Stability of the Casting Process and the Quality of the Solidified Steel. However, Mold Fluxes Interact with Steel during the Casting Process, Resulting in Flux Chemistry Changes that Must Be Considered in the Flux Design. Currently, the Chemical Composition of Mold Flux Must Be Determined by Extracting Flux Samples from the Mold during Casting and Then …

Real-Time Air Gap And Thickness Measurement Of Continuous Caster Mold Flux By Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometer, Abhishek Prakash Hungund, Hanok Tekle, Bohong Zhang, Ronald J. O'Malley, Jeffrey D. Smith, Rex E. Gerald, Jie Huang

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mold Flux plays a critical role in continuous casting of steel. Along with many other functions, the mold flux in the gap between the solidifying steel shell and the mold serves as a medium for controlling heat transfer and as a barrier to prevent shell sticking to the mold. This manuscript introduces a novel method of monitoring the structural features of a mold flux film in real-time in a simulated mold gap. A 3-part stainless-steel mold was designed with a 2 mm, 4 mm and, 6 mm step profile to contain mold flux films of varying thickness. An Extrinsic Fabry-Perot …

Strain And Temperature Measurement From Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors In Performance-Based Fire Engineering, Yanping Zhu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Strain and temperature measurement of steel and concrete structures under fires is critical to the understanding of structural performance yet historically challenging due to a significant gap in measurement science. This Ph.D. study characterizes in six parts low-cost distributed fiber optic sensors and applies them to strain, and temperature measurements based on Rayleigh and Brillouin light scattering. The first part aims to quantify the Rayleigh scattering based measurement accuracy of distributed fiber optic sensors under a heating-holding load protocol and characterize the effect of polymer coating on the sensors as the polymer softens and melts at elevated temperatures. The second …

Inclusion Control In Steel Castings, Koushik Karthikeyan Balasubramanian

Masters Theses

“Non-metallic inclusions are mainly comprised of oxides, sulfides, and nitrides, and are formed in liquid steel during the melting and refining process, as a result of reoxidation, worn-out refractories, or entrained slag. The notch toughness of high strength steels is particularly susceptible to the type, number, size, and distribution of non-metallic inclusions. High manganese and aluminum austenitic steels, or Fe-Mn-Al steels, have gained much interest in the military and automotive sector because of their excellent combinations of high strength and toughness. However, these steels are subject to both oxide bifilms and aluminum nitride, AlN, inclusions which form during melting and …

Removal Of Non-Metallic Inclusions From Molten Steel By Ceramic Foam Filtration, Soumava Chakraborty

Doctoral Dissertations

”Ceramic filters are routinely used in steel foundries to remove non-metallic inclusions from steel melt. Removal efficiency for both solid and liquid inclusions by magnesia-stabilized zirconia foam filters (10ppi) were evaluated and distribution of the captured inclusions through the filter thickness was also investigated. A mold design was developed using a commercial computational fluid dynamics software package to produce two castings that fill simultaneously, one with a filter and the other without a filter, from a single ladle pour, while also matching the fill rates and avoid turbulence and reoxidation during pouring. An industrial-scale experiment was also performed to investigate …

Effect Of Wall Thickness And Build Quality On The Compressive Properties Of 304l Thin-Walled Structures Fabricated By Slm, Myranda Spratt, Sudharshan Anandan, Rafid M. Hussein, Joseph William Newkirk, K. Chandrashekhara, Heath Misak, Michael Walker

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The specific strength of lightweight lattice structures built with SLM is of interest to the aerospace industry. Honeycombs were manufactured with increasing wall thicknesses (which increases density) and tested under compression. The optimal strength to density ratio was determined from the resulting data. The build quality was also evaluated to determine how/if the results were influenced by the specimen quality. Differences between the nominal and as-built geometry were identified, but considered to be minimal. Microstructural evaluation of the specimens revealed a possible dependence on the ‘border scan’ properties, as the thickness of the specimens was such that the board scan …

Efficiency Of Solid Inclusion Removal From The Steel Melt By Ceramic Foam Filter: Design And Experimental Validation, Soumava Chakraborty, Ronald J. O'Malley, Laura Bartlett, Mingzhi Xu

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An investigation was performed to measure the efficiency of solid alumina inclusion removal by filtration during casting. A mold design was developed using modeling software to produce two castings that fill simultaneously, one with a filter and the other without a filter. The design avoided vortex formation and thus air entrainment, which helped to avoid reoxidation inside the mold cavity. Samples from these castings were analyzed utilizing an SEM/EDS system with automated feature analysis (AFA) to measure the efficiency of inclusion removal using a 20 ppi zirconia foam filter. This study also documents the occurrence of inclusion flotation and agglomeration …

Numerical And Experimental Analysis Of Local Buckling Of Axially Loaded Steel Tubes Confined By Concrete And Frp, Nicholas Colbert

Masters Theses

“The hollow core Fiber-Reinforced-Polymer (FRP) concrete circular-steel (HC-FCS) column consists of an outer circular fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tube, an inner thin-walled circular steel tube concentrically aligned, and a concrete shell between them. Research has been performed on the performance of the member as a whole, but to date, there has been no investigation into the behavior of the steel tube confined in the column. 17 small-scale columns were tested under axisymmetric axial compressions applied directly to the steel tube under displacement control. The conducted parametric study examined the effects of diameter-to-thickness (D/t) ratio, concrete unconfined compressive strength, FRP thickness, …

Carbon Transfer From Magnesia-Graphite Ladle Refractories To Ultra-Low Carbon Steel, Andrew Arthur Russo

Masters Theses

"Ultra-low carbon steels are utilized in processes which require maximum ductility. Increases in interstitial carbon lower the ductility of steel; therefore, it is important to examine possible sources of carbon. The refractory ladle lining is one such source. Ladle refractories often contain graphite for its desirable thermal shock and slag corrosion resistance. This graphite is a possible source of carbon increase in ultra-low carbon steels. The goal of this research is to understand and evaluate the mechanisms by which carbon transfers to ultra-low carbon steel from magnesia-graphite ladle refractory.

Laboratory dip tests were performed in a vacuum induction furnace under …

A Study On Non-Metallic Inclusions In Foundry Steel Process, Marc Leonard Harris

Masters Theses

"The effects of sample area and automated SEM/EDS feature analysis parameters (step size, magnification and threshold) on nonmetallic inclusion characterization results has been investigated and optimized. A post-processing program was developed to automatically determine average inclusion chemistry, total element concentrations within inclusions, and for generating joint ternary diagrams with size visualization for representing nonmetallic inclusion populations. Using these tools the evolution of nonmetallic inclusions was examined for 4320 steel at a participating industrial steel foundry. The steel was sampled throughout electric arc furnace melting through ladle refining to the final casting where an in-mold sampling procedure was developed to procure …

Electromagnetic Modeling Of Saltwater Ingress In Mortar At Microwave Frequencies, Shanup Peer, R. Zoughi, K. E. Kurtis

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Corrosion of reinforcing steel is a major cause of damage and deterioration in reinforced concrete structures. Therefore, as the presence of a sufficient concentration of chloride ions can lead to the onset of corrosion in embedded steel, it is of utmost importance to be able to determine the free salt content and its distribution in these materials. Moreover, it is important to obtain this information nondestructively. Previous investigations have shown the capability of near-field microwave nondestructive evaluation methods, using open-ended rectangular waveguide probes, to evaluate many important properties of cement-based materials. In this Investigation, the temporal microwave reflection properties of …

Microwave Reflection And Dielectric Properties Of Mortar Subjected To Compression Force And Cyclically Exposed To Water And Sodium Chloride Solution, Shanup Peer, Joseph Toby Case, Eric Gallaher, K. E. Kurtis, R. Zoughi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Corrosion of the reinforcing steel is a major cause of damage and deterioration in reinforced concrete structures such as concrete bridge decks and columns. Chloride intrusion into concrete can lead to depassivation of the steel and initiation of corrosion. Thus, it is very important to be able to nondestructively detect and evaluate the free chloride content in concrete. Near-field microwave nondestructive testing techniques, using open-ended rectangular waveguide probes, have shown great potential for evaluating various properties of concrete, including the successful detection of sodium chloride added to mortar mixing water. In this study, several mortar samples are cyclically soaked in …

Performance Of Cold-Formed Steel-Framed Shear Walls: Alternative Configurations, Kelly A. Morgan, Mark A. Sorhouet, Reynaud Serrette

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

This report presents the results of twenty shear wall tests that were conducted to evaluate the performance of wall configurations not currently (2002) permitted in the building codes. Ten (10) walls were evaluated under reversed cyclic loading and the other ten (10) under monotonic loading. Brief descriptions of the test program and results are presented in the following paragraphs. The reversed cyclic load tests comprised 4 ft. x 8 ft. 54- and 68-mil framed walls with 7/16-in. OSB rated sheathing on one or both sides of the wall and 33-mil framed walls with 27-mil sheet steel. The sheet steel wall …

Real-Time And On-Line Near-Field Microwave Inspection Of Surface Defects In Rolled Steel, R. Zoughi, Christian J. Huber, Nasser N. Qaddoumi, Emarit Ranu, Vladimir Otashevich, Radin Mirshahi, Stoyan I. Ganchev, Thomas Johnson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The potential and limitations of near-field microwave inspection techniques for detecting various surface defects in rolled steel have been investigated. The focus of this study has been to investigate this potential for tin mill products containing gross and subtle defects including steel induced defects, roll marks, holes, scratches and gouges.

Measurement Parameter Optimization For Surface Crack Detection In Metals Using An Open-Ended Waveguide Probe, R. Zoughi, Stoyan I. Ganchev, Christian J. Huber

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fatigue and stress induced surface crack detection in metals is an important practical issue. A newly developed microwave inspection approach, using an open-ended rectangular waveguide, has proved to be an effective tool for detecting such cracks. This novel microwave approach overcomes some of the limitations associated with the standard detection methods for surface crack detection. In addition, this approach is applicable to exposed, filled (with a dielectric such as dirt, rust, etc.) and cracks under dielectric coatings such as paint. This paper presents the basic foundation of this surface crack detection methodology along with the ways by which measurement parameters …