High-temperature Electromagnetic Instrumentation for Metal Production (Hi-TEMP)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Abstract
The metals industry is a vital part of the UK economy directly contributing >£10bn to the UK GDP and employing thousands of people. In particular, as the only metal produced and consumed in volume in the UK, steel is a foundation industry underpinning the UK economy.
The microstructure of a steel dictates its functional and structural properties, with thermal processing being a critical factor governing the microstructure. Therefore, the ability to measure changes in microstructure at high temperature is critical to researchers in this area and important concern for steel manufacturers and component producers.
Our previous collaborative work led to commercial sensors such as EMspecTM, which is used to monitor transformation in the hot strip mill, where the strip above the sensor is at temperatures up to 800 degree C, but the sensor is kept at room temperature in a water cooled jacket.
In this proposal, we will make the next big step: to realise a new suite of electromagnetic instrumentation for measuring the properties of metal samples and products dynamically during thermal processing, with THE SENSORS THEMSELVES operating in the high temperature environment. This will create a suite of lab tools fitting inside furnaces that have not been available before for characterising steel at high temperatures, complementary to current dilatometry and calorimetry, which measure volumetric and thermic changes. Some important microstructural changes such as those associated with small enthalpy and/or length changes (e.g. recovery and recrystallisation events, tempering of martensitic steels) could potentially be resolved where DSC and DSD are hard to resolve. Furthermore, the instrument can potentially become a new routinely used tool in full scale metal production, e.g., on continuous annealing production lines (CAPL) or batch annealing furnaces to enhance product quality control and energy efficient operation of these processes.
The microstructure of a steel dictates its functional and structural properties, with thermal processing being a critical factor governing the microstructure. Therefore, the ability to measure changes in microstructure at high temperature is critical to researchers in this area and important concern for steel manufacturers and component producers.
Our previous collaborative work led to commercial sensors such as EMspecTM, which is used to monitor transformation in the hot strip mill, where the strip above the sensor is at temperatures up to 800 degree C, but the sensor is kept at room temperature in a water cooled jacket.
In this proposal, we will make the next big step: to realise a new suite of electromagnetic instrumentation for measuring the properties of metal samples and products dynamically during thermal processing, with THE SENSORS THEMSELVES operating in the high temperature environment. This will create a suite of lab tools fitting inside furnaces that have not been available before for characterising steel at high temperatures, complementary to current dilatometry and calorimetry, which measure volumetric and thermic changes. Some important microstructural changes such as those associated with small enthalpy and/or length changes (e.g. recovery and recrystallisation events, tempering of martensitic steels) could potentially be resolved where DSC and DSD are hard to resolve. Furthermore, the instrument can potentially become a new routinely used tool in full scale metal production, e.g., on continuous annealing production lines (CAPL) or batch annealing furnaces to enhance product quality control and energy efficient operation of these processes.
Publications
Wilson J
(2024)
Adaptation of a Differential Scanning Calorimeter for Simultaneous Electromagnetic Measurements
in Sensors
Zheng X
(2024)
Diffusion Velocity of Eddy Current in Metallic Plates Using Point-Tracing Method
in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics
| Description | The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) is widely used instrument in materials laboratories for studying the thermally induced microstructural changes in metals through the measurement of their thermophysical properties. However, due to competing influences on the signal, not all microstructural changes can be fully characterised this way. For example, accurate characterisation of recrystallisation, tempering, and changes in retained delta ferrite in alloyed steels becomes complex due to additional signal changes due to the Curie point, oxidation, and the rate (and therefore the magnitude) of transformation. However, these types of microstructural changes have been shown to invoke strong magnetic and electromagnetic (EM) responses; therefore, simultaneous EM measurements can provide additional complementary data which can help to emphasise or deconvolute these complex signals and develop a more complete understanding of certain metallurgical phenomena. We have been able to demonstrate that an EM sensor can be retrofitted to a standard commercial DSC. These findings show that the combined DSC-EM apparatus has the potential to provide a powerful tool for the analysis of thermally induced microstructural changes in metals, feeding into research on steel production, development of magnetic and conductive materials, and many more areas. |
| Exploitation Route | We hope that the EM sensor will become a routine option for DSC instruments in the future. |
| Sectors | Electronics Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |