A thermo-insulating moulding sand with a binder made of aluminosilicate microspheres with organic binder was subjected to testing. The aim of the analysis was to determine selected technological properties of the developed compounds. Compressive strength, friability and gas permeability were determined. The binder content was changed within a range of 5÷20 wt% with a 5% step. The applied matrix is characterized by good thermo-insulating properties and a small size of grains, while synthetic organic binder has favourable functional properties, among which the most noteworthy are the extended life and setting time, good rheological properties as well as high resistance to chemical agents. The intended use of the compound is the casting of 3D CRS (Composite Reinforced Skeletons), which are characterized by a well-developed heat transfer surface area, good absorption of impact energy, low mass and a target thickness of connectors within a range of 1.5÷3 mm. The construction of 3D CRS castings is an original concept developed by the employees of the Department of Foundry Engineering at the Silesian University of Technology.
The heavy metal content is one of the criteria for foundry dust commercial use. To assess the possibility of foundry dust use, it is necessary to analyze its composition, including the content of basic heavy metals, and its mechanical properties. The paper presents the results of research on foundry dust from one of the Polish foundries. The aim of the study was to assess the waste management based on its composition and content of heavy metals. Dust samples were taken from one of the Polish foundries, producing iron and steel castings. Samples were taken from several places in the foundry, i.e. from electric furnace dust collectors, shock grating unit, transport of moulding sands unit, pneumatic blast cabinet units and the regeneration of spent foundry sand units. Samples were taken twice from each place at the turn of 2017–2018. The total content of heavy metals such as Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Mn, and Fe for recovery and additionally Hg as environmental pollution was analyzed. Based on the results of the research, it was found that the dust from foundry furnaces and pneumatic cleaners can be used in metallurgy due to a high percentage of iron. It was found that the dust from casting cleaning, transport and regeneration department can be used in the cement or construction industry. In addition, an assessment of the mercury content showed that the re-use of this dust would not cause an environmental hazard. It was found that the profitability of foundry dust use depends on the stability of its composition and requires testing for each batch of dusts.
In this work, we present an extensive investigation of the effect of Al2O3 decoration on the morphological, structural and opto-electronic properties of a porous Si (Sip)/Cr2O3 composite. The Sip layers were prepared by the anodization method. Al2O3 and Cr2O3 thin films were deposited by physical vapour deposition. The morphological and micro-structural properties of Sip/Cr2O3/Al2O3 were studied using the scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. It was found that Al2O3 decoration with different concentration strongly affects the Sip/Cr2O3 microstructure mainly at the level of porosity. Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry demonstrates a strong correlation between optical constants (n and k) of Sip/Cr2O3/Al2O3 and microstructure properties. Dielectric properties of Sip/Cr2O3/Al2O3 such as electrical conductivity and conduction mechanism were explored using impedance spectroscopy over the temperature interval ranging from 340 to 410°C. A semiconductor to the metallic transition has been observed at high frequency.
The aim of this paper is to present the procedure test for calibration and validation of the numerical model for X22CrMoV12-1 steel multilayer welding. On the real multilayer weld was described how to arrange the whole experiment in order to obtain not only relevant input data but also verification data. Tests on a specially prepared specimen, welded with 8 beads in 4 layers, allows to determine the actual geometry of the single welded beads, registration of welding thermal cycles and the hardness distribution in successively deposited beads together with determining the heat influence of subsequent layers. The results of the real welding tests were compared with the results obtained from the numerical simulations and extended by the calculated stresses and distortions distributions of the tested specimen. A new, improved hardness prediction algorithm for high-alloy martensitic and bainitic steels was also proposed.