The research of Fe-Mn-Al-C K phase

Experiments were carried out on the solidification of iron-manganese alloys containing sulphur and carbon. The alloys were solidified under controlled conditions in a travelling furnace constructed especially for the investigation. Qualitative and quantitative metallography and electron-probe microanalysis were used to determine the solidification structure, dendrite arm spacings, solute concentration profiles and inclusion compositions. The results were interpreted in the light of existing knowledge and concepts especially developed for the purpose of this investigation. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

As ligas do sistema Fe-Mn-Al-C constituem-se numa das famílias mais promissoras para o atendimento dos requisitos crescentes de disponibilidade de aços com altas relações resistência/peso, principalmente nas indústrias de transporte aeronáutica e automotiva, visando a redução no consumo de combustível e a consequente emissão de CO2. Suas densidades, cerca de 10% a 13% inferiores aos dos aços convencionais e a possibilidade de aumento de resistência mecânica por tratamentos de endurecimento pela precipitação de carboneto k (Fe,Mn)Al3C possibilitam a obtenção de elevadas resistências específicas. O uso de técnicas da Engenharia de Superfícies, associadas aos tratamentos térmicos adequados, podem ampliar a faixa de desempenho dessas ligas. Neste trabalho foram realizados tratamentos termoquímicos de boretação em sais fundidos, nitrocementação a plasma e cromização por pó em amostras de um aço com a composição Fe-31,2Mn-7,5Al-1,3Si-0,9C (% em peso), visando à obtenção de camadas de elevados desempenhos mecânicos e físicos. As camadas produzidas foram caracterizadas por meio de ensaios micrográficos, de dureza, desgaste e corrosão. Todos os tipos de tratamentos produziram camadas com resistências ao desgaste muito superiores às do substrato, com destaque para os tratamentos de boretação e de cromização, que produziram camadas com resistências ao desgaste cerca de nove e seis vezes superiores às do substrato, respectivamente. O tratamento de cromização produziu camada com resistência à corrosão por pites muito superior à do substrato. / The alloys of the Fe-Mn-Al-C system belong to one of the most promising families to meet the increasing requirements of availability of steels with high resistance/weight ratio, particularly in the aeronautics and automotive industries, aimed at reducing the consumption of fuel and consequent CO2 emissions. Their densities, between 10% to 13% lower than those of conventional steels, and the possibility of increased strength by hardening treatment by the precipitation of k carbides (Fe, Mn)Al3C, allow to obtain high specific resistance. The use of techniques of surface engineering, attached to suitable heat treatment, can extend the performance range of these alloys. In this work were carried out thermochemical boriding treatment in molten salts, plasma nitrocarburizing and pack chromizing in a Fe-31,2Mn 7,5Al-1,3Si-0,9C(wt%) steel, in order to obtain coatings with high mechanical and physical performances. The layers produced were characterized using micrographic, hardness, wear and corrosion tests. All treatments produced layers with wear resistance superior to that the substrate, especially the boriding and chromizing treatments, which produced layers with wear resistance around nine and six times higher than that of substrate, respectively. The chromizing treatment produced layer with pitting corrosion resistance superior to that of the substrate.

As ligas do sistema Fe-Mn-Al-C constituem-se numa das famílias mais promissoras para o atendimento dos requisitos crescentes de disponibilidade de aços com altas relações resistência/peso, principalmente nas indústrias de transporte aeronáutica e automotiva, visando a redução no consumo de combustível e a consequente emissão de CO2. Suas densidades, cerca de 10% a 13% inferiores aos dos aços convencionais e a possibilidade de aumento de resistência mecânica por tratamentos de endurecimento pela precipitação de carboneto k (Fe,Mn)Al3C possibilitam a obtenção de elevadas resistências específicas. O uso de técnicas da Engenharia de Superfícies, associadas aos tratamentos térmicos adequados, podem ampliar a faixa de desempenho dessas ligas. Neste trabalho foram realizados tratamentos termoquímicos de boretação em sais fundidos, nitrocementação a plasma e cromização por pó em amostras de um aço com a composição Fe-31,2Mn-7,5Al-1,3Si-0,9C (% em peso), visando à obtenção de camadas de elevados desempenhos mecânicos e físicos. As camadas produzidas foram caracterizadas por meio de ensaios micrográficos, de dureza, desgaste e corrosão. Todos os tipos de tratamentos produziram camadas com resistências ao desgaste muito superiores às do substrato, com destaque para os tratamentos de boretação e de cromização, que produziram camadas com resistências ao desgaste cerca de nove e seis vezes superiores às do substrato, respectivamente. O tratamento de cromização produziu camada com resistência à corrosão por pites muito superior à do substrato. / The alloys of the Fe-Mn-Al-C system belong to one of the most promising families to meet the increasing requirements of availability of steels with high resistance/weight ratio, particularly in the aeronautics and automotive industries, aimed at reducing the consumption of fuel and consequent CO2 emissions. Their densities, between 10% to 13% lower than those of conventional steels, and the possibility of increased strength by hardening treatment by the precipitation of k carbides (Fe, Mn)Al3C, allow to obtain high specific resistance. The use of techniques of surface engineering, attached to suitable heat treatment, can extend the performance range of these alloys. In this work were carried out thermochemical boriding treatment in molten salts, plasma nitrocarburizing and pack chromizing in a Fe-31,2Mn 7,5Al-1,3Si-0,9C(wt%) steel, in order to obtain coatings with high mechanical and physical performances. The layers produced were characterized using micrographic, hardness, wear and corrosion tests. All treatments produced layers with wear resistance superior to that the substrate, especially the boriding and chromizing treatments, which produced layers with wear resistance around nine and six times higher than that of substrate, respectively. The chromizing treatment produced layer with pitting corrosion resistance superior to that of the substrate.

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No description available.

Oxyborate minerals can represent the most important sink for boron in silica-undersaturated mineralised systems such as those of the Långban-type. Yet, their distribution, characteristics and parageneses are still not completely known. In order to test the hypothesis that the chemical compositions of oxyborates are essentially reflecting their local environments, the present study was set up. Additional observations regarding their assemblages, textures and structure would allow for a broader understanding of their formation and paragenetic interrelationships. A representative selection of Mg-(Fe-Mn) oxyborates and associated minerals have been characterised using optical microscopy, field emission electron probe microanalysis (FE-EPMA) with wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS), and Raman spectroscopy. The studied samples are from a suite of carbonate-hosted Fe-Mn oxide deposits in the western part of the Palaeoproterozoic Bergslagen ore province, in south central Sweden and include the minerals blatterite [(Mn2+,Mg)35(Mn3+,Fe3+)9Sb5+3(BO3)16O32], fredrikssonite [Mg2(Mn3+,Fe3+)BO5], chemically variable ludwigites [c. (Mg,Fe2+)2Fe3+BO5], orthopinakiolite [(Mg,Mn2+)2Mn3+BO5] and pinakiolite [(Mg,Mn2+)2(Mn3+,Sb5+)BO5]. The results show a correlation between the cation distribution in the oxyborates fredrikssonite, ludwigite, orthopinakiolite as well as pinakiolite, and their associated metal oxides consisting of hausmannite and spinel group minerals. This combined with the textural relationships of the phases suggests that the bulk contents of magnesium, manganese and iron in the oxyborates were sequestered from these pre-existing metal oxides. The chemically broad range of hausmannite and spinel group minerals associated with specifically fredrikssonite and ludwigite agrees with their more frequent general occurrence, compared to orthopinakiolite and pinakiolite. Raman spectroscopy verified the structural character of the studied oxyborates and indicates a potential connection between the presence of manganese and whether local BO33- ions are allowed to be positioned in symmetry sites which result in a split E´ mode. The results from this study contribute to the understanding of this family of minerals and their potential diversity in mineralised systems, and form a fundamental prerequisite for their potential application for boron isotope studies. / Mineral är kemiska föreningar eller rena grundämnen som har en väldefinierad kemisk sammansättning, ordnad kristallstruktur och är bildade av geologiska processer. Oxyborater är en typ av sådana föreningar vilka innehåller grundämnena bor och syre samt olika kombinationer av metalliska grundämnen. Oxyboratmineral kan bland annat bildas i och omkring malmfyndigheter där grundämnet kisel är ovanligt eller icke förekommande, och kan utgöra de viktigaste borföreningarna i vissa sådana miljöer. Genom att bättre förstå denna typ av mineral och de kemiska och bildningsmässiga samband som finns mellan dem och andra föreningar kan vi få en större kunskap om hur de bildas, samt hur olika grundämnen kan omfördelas i sådana geologiska system. I denna studie har ett representativt urval av oxyborater undersökts med hjälp av mikroskopi och mikrokemiska samt spektroskopiska metoder för att testa huruvida deras kemiska sammansättning är direkt kopplad till den lokala miljön. De studerade proven kommer från karbonatbundna mineraliseringar i den västra delen av malmprovinsen Bergslagen i södra Mellansverige. De mineral som undersökts närmre är oxyboraterna blatterit, fredrikssonit, ludwigit, ortopinakiolit och pinakiolit. Resultaten visar på direkta kemiska samband mellan uppträdandet av fredrikssonit, ludwigit, ortopinakiolit samt pinakiolit, och de lokalt bergartsbildande mineral som de samexisterar med. Den breda kemiska fördelningen hos de metall- och syreföreningar som finns i samma omgivning som fredrikssonit och ludwigit förklarar också varför dessa två oxyborater generellt är mera vanligt förekommande än ortopinakiolit och pinakiolit. De spektroskopiska analyserna verifierar den tidigare klassificeringen av de studerade oxyboraterna samt visar på ett möjligt samband mellan innehållet av metallen mangan, samt hur grundämnet bor förekommer i deras kristallstruktur. Resultaten från denna studie bidrar med en kombination av nya kemiska, paragenetiska och spektroskopiska data samt ökar förståelsen av dessa värdmineral för grundämnet bor i malmfyndigheter med låg eller ingen kiselhalt. Resultaten ger även en insikt i hur den kemiska sammansättningen potentiellt kan påverka kristallstrukturen hos dessa oxyborater.

<p>Prisusutvo&nbsp; arsena&nbsp; u&nbsp; podzemnim&nbsp; vodama,&nbsp; koje&nbsp; se&nbsp; primenjuju&nbsp; za vodosnabdevanje stanovni&scaron;tva je globalan problem. Različiti&nbsp; konvencionalni<br />procesi&nbsp; se primenjuju&nbsp; za&nbsp; uklanjanje&nbsp; arsena iz vode, uključujući koagulaciju i<br />flokulaciju,&nbsp; sorpciju,&nbsp; membransku&nbsp; filtraciju&nbsp; i&nbsp; jonsku&nbsp; izmenu.&nbsp; Uzimajući&nbsp; u<br />obzir relativnu nisku cenu, jednostavnu kontrolu procesa i održavanje, visok<br />stepen uklanjanja arsena, sorpcija se smatra jednom od najpodobnijih tehnika<br />za uklanjanje arsena u tretmanu vode za piće. Premda su na trži&scaron;tu dostupni<br />različiti&nbsp; sorbenti&nbsp; za&nbsp; uklanjanje&nbsp; arsena,&nbsp; postoji&nbsp; potreba&nbsp; za&nbsp; iznalaženjem&nbsp; i<br />razvojem&nbsp; novih&nbsp;<em> low-cost&nbsp;</em> sorbenata,&nbsp; a&nbsp; kojima&nbsp; bi&nbsp; se&nbsp; pak&nbsp; mogao&nbsp; obezbediti<br />visok stepen uklanjanja oba oksidaciona oblika&nbsp; arsena,&nbsp; i&nbsp; As(III) i As(V). Cilj<br />ovog rada bio je usmeren na sintezu i karakterizaciju novih sorbenata na bazi<br />gvožđa&nbsp; i&nbsp; mangana&nbsp; odnosno&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarnog&nbsp; oksida,&nbsp; ispitivanje&nbsp; njihovog<br />potencijala&nbsp; za&nbsp; uklanjanje&nbsp; arsena&nbsp; iz&nbsp; vode&nbsp; i&nbsp; utvrđivanje&nbsp; da&nbsp; li&nbsp; novosintetisani<br />sorbenti po pitanju efikasnosti, mogu konkurisati postojećim komercijalnim i<br />&scaron;iroko kori&scaron;ćenim sorbentima u tretmanima voda.<br />Metodom&nbsp; precipitacije,&nbsp; sintetisani&nbsp; su&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarni&nbsp; oksidi&nbsp; sa&nbsp; različitim Fe:Mn&nbsp; molskim&nbsp; odnosima&nbsp; 1:1,&nbsp; 3:1,&nbsp; 6:1&nbsp; i&nbsp; 9:1,&nbsp; dok&nbsp; su&nbsp; kombinacijom heterogene&nbsp; nukleacione&nbsp; tehnike&nbsp; i&nbsp; precipitacije,&nbsp; sintetisana&nbsp; i&nbsp; četiri&nbsp; sorbenta magnetnih&nbsp; svojstava&nbsp; (Mag,&nbsp; Mag-Fe,&nbsp; Mag-Mn,&nbsp; Mag-FeMn).&nbsp; Modifikacijom biopolimera&nbsp; Chitosana&nbsp; i&nbsp; GAC,&nbsp; sa&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarnim&nbsp; oksidom,&nbsp; razvijena&nbsp; su preostala&nbsp; dva&nbsp; materijala&nbsp; Chit-FeMn,&nbsp; odnosno&nbsp; GAC-FeMn.&nbsp; Sintetisani sorbenti su karakterisani različitim tehnikama i metodama (SEM/EDS, XRD,FTIR, BET).Fizičko-hemijskom karakterizacijom sintetisanih sorbenata ustanovljeno je da se Fe-Mn binarni oksidi i magnetni materijali, karakteri&scaron;u relativno velikim specifičnim&nbsp; povr&scaron;inama&nbsp; (109-300&nbsp; m²/g)&nbsp; i&nbsp; zapreminama&nbsp; mezopora (0,144-0,403&nbsp; cm ³ /g).&nbsp; Velika&nbsp; specifična&nbsp; povr&scaron;ina&nbsp; i&nbsp; razvijena&nbsp; mikroporozna struktura uočena je kod GAC-FeMn (996 m<br />² /g; 0,394 cm^{3 /}g). U poređenju sa ostalim&nbsp; sintetisanim&nbsp; sorbentima,&nbsp; Chit-FeMn&nbsp; je&nbsp; karakterisala&nbsp; najmanja specifična&nbsp; povr&scaron;ina&nbsp; i&nbsp; zapremina&nbsp; mezopora&nbsp; (1,99&nbsp; m<br />²/g;&nbsp; 0,014&nbsp; cm ³ /g).&nbsp; XRD analiza&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarnih&nbsp; oksida&nbsp; ukazala&nbsp; je&nbsp; da&nbsp; je&nbsp; fazna&nbsp; struktura&nbsp; sintetisanih Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarnih&nbsp; oksida&nbsp; slična&nbsp; ferihidratu&nbsp; dok&nbsp; je&nbsp; fazna&nbsp; struktura&nbsp; magnetnih materijala ukazala na prisustvo magemita.<br />Ispitivanja kinetike sorpcionog procesa ukazala su da je mehanizam sorpcije<br />As(III)&nbsp; i&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; na&nbsp; sintetisanim&nbsp; sorbentima&nbsp; sloţena&nbsp; kombinacija&nbsp; povr&scaron;inske<br />hemisorpcije,&nbsp; koja&nbsp; se&nbsp; odvija&nbsp; kroz&nbsp; granični&nbsp; sloj&nbsp; čestica&nbsp; sorbenata&nbsp; i unutarčestične difuzije. Tome u prilog i&scaron;li su i rezultati FTIR analize kojima<br />je potvrđeno da se sorpcija arsena na sintetisanim sorbentima ostvaruje kroz<br />interakcije hidroksilnih grupa gvožđa prisutnih na povr&scaron;ini sorbenata i arsena.<br />Dodatno, pokazano je da se za razliku od sorpcije As(V), sorpcija As(III) na sorbentima&nbsp; koji&nbsp; pored&nbsp; oksida&nbsp; gvožđa&nbsp; sadrže&nbsp; i&nbsp; okside&nbsp; mangana&nbsp; (Fe-Mn binarni oksidi, Mag-FeMn, Mag-Mn,Chit-FeMn i GAC-FeMn) odvija u dva koraka. U prvom koraku As(III) se oksiduje do As(V), dok u drugom koraku, oksidovani&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; mehanizmom&nbsp; ligandne&nbsp; izmene&nbsp; formira&nbsp; komplekse&nbsp; na povr&scaron;ini ovih sorbenata.<br />Afiniteti sorpcije Fe-Mn binarnih oksida (na osnovu K_d vrednosti)&nbsp; za As(III) opadali su u nizu Fe-Mn 3:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 1:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 6:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 9:1 odnosno kod&nbsp; As(V):&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; 6:1&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; 3:1&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; 9:1&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; 1:1.&nbsp; Kod magnetnih kompozita,&nbsp; najveća K_d vrednost za As(III) i As(V) ustanovljena je kod&nbsp; Mag-FeMn.&nbsp; Uop&scaron;teno,&nbsp; Kd<br />vrednosti&nbsp; za&nbsp; As(III),&nbsp; kod&nbsp; magnetnih kompozita,&nbsp; opadale&nbsp; su&nbsp; u&nbsp; nizu:&nbsp; Mag-FeMn&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag-Mn&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag-Fe, Slično, afinitet sorbenata za As(V), opadao je na sledeći način: Mag-FeMn &gt; Mag&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag-Fe&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag-Mn.&nbsp; U&nbsp; poređenju&nbsp; sa&nbsp; neimpregniranim,&nbsp; K_d vrednosti bile su daleko veće kod obloţenih materijala, Chit-FeMn i GAC-FeMn, &scaron;to je ukazalo&nbsp; na&nbsp; značajan&nbsp; doprinos&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarnog&nbsp; oksida&nbsp; adsorpcionom kapacitetu neimpregniranih medija za As(III) i As(V). U&nbsp; odnosu&nbsp; na&nbsp; ostale&nbsp; ispitivane&nbsp; anjone,&nbsp; najveći&nbsp; uticaj&nbsp; na&nbsp; sorpciju&nbsp; oba&nbsp; oblika arsena&nbsp; na&nbsp; svim&nbsp; sintetisanim&nbsp; sorbentima&nbsp; uočen&nbsp; je&nbsp; kod&nbsp; fosfata,&nbsp; dok&nbsp; je&nbsp; uticaj nitrata i hlorida, u svim slučajevima bio bez značaja. Uticaj ispitivanih anjona na&nbsp; sorpciju&nbsp; As(III)&nbsp; i&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; na&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarnim&nbsp; oksidima,&nbsp; magnetnim materijalima, Chit-FeMn kao i na sorpciju As(V) na GAC-FeMn, opadao je u nizu: fosfati &gt; silikati &gt; karbonati &gt; sulfati &gt; nitrati &gt; hloridi. Slično, uticaj ispitivanih&nbsp; anjona&nbsp; na&nbsp; sorpciju&nbsp; As(III)&nbsp; na&nbsp; GAC-FeMn&nbsp; je&nbsp; opadao&nbsp; na&nbsp; sledeći način: fosfati &gt; silikati &gt; sulfati &gt; karbonati &gt; nitrati &gt; hloridi.Primenom&nbsp; sme&scaron;e&nbsp; NaCl-NaOH-NaOCl&nbsp; odnosno&nbsp; primenom&nbsp; 0,1&nbsp; M&nbsp; i&nbsp; 0,5&nbsp; M&nbsp; rastvora NaOH, ustanovljeno je da se sintetisani sorbenti mogu jednostavno i&nbsp; efikasno&nbsp; regenerisati&nbsp; i&nbsp; vi&scaron;estruko&nbsp; primeniti,&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; je&nbsp; od&nbsp; izuzetnog&nbsp; značaja&nbsp; sa ekolo&scaron;kog i ekonomskog aspekta.&nbsp; Najmanje smanjenje sorpcionog kapaciteta&nbsp; i za As(III) i za As(V), nakon pet ciklusa sorpcije -desorpcije, ustanovljeno je kod binarnog oksida sa Fe:Mn molskim odnosom 3:1 i Mag-FeMn.&nbsp; Na osnovu rezultata prikazanih u ovom radu, može se zaključiti da sintetisani sorbenti,&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binarni&nbsp; oksidi&nbsp; i&nbsp; magnetni&nbsp; kompoziti,&nbsp; posebno&nbsp; Mag-FeMn, mogu&nbsp; biti&nbsp; efikasna&nbsp; i&nbsp; ekonomična&nbsp; alternativa&nbsp; skupim&nbsp; komercijalnim sorbentima&nbsp; i&nbsp; drugim&nbsp; sofisticiranim&nbsp; tehnologijama.&nbsp; Visok&nbsp; oksidacioni&nbsp; i sorpcioni kapacitet ovih&nbsp; materijala, koji obezbeđuje istovremeno uklanjanje&nbsp; oba oksidaciona oblika arsena daje veliku prednost ovim sorbentima i čini ih veoma&nbsp; atraktivnim&nbsp; i&nbsp; obećavajućim&nbsp; u&nbsp; tretmanu&nbsp; voda.&nbsp; Dodatni&nbsp; benefit<br />magnetnih&nbsp; sorbenata,&nbsp; pre&nbsp; svega&nbsp; Mag-FeMn,&nbsp; ogleda&nbsp; se&nbsp; u&nbsp; njegovoj jednostavnoj separaciji iz vodenog medijuma i recirkulaciji u sistemu. Glavne prednosti&nbsp; sintetisanih&nbsp; Chit-FeMn&nbsp; i&nbsp; GAC-FeMn,&nbsp; ogledaju&nbsp; se&nbsp; u&nbsp; mogućnosti&nbsp; njihove primene kao efikasne filtracione ispune.</p> / <p>The&nbsp; presence&nbsp; of&nbsp; inorganic&nbsp; arsenic&nbsp; in&nbsp; groundwater&nbsp; used&nbsp; for&nbsp; drinking&nbsp; water supply&nbsp; is&nbsp; a&nbsp; global&nbsp; problem.&nbsp; Different&nbsp; techniques&nbsp; such&nbsp; as&nbsp; oxidation, coagulation,&nbsp; adsorption,&nbsp; ion&nbsp; exchange,&nbsp; and&nbsp; membrane&nbsp; filtration&nbsp; have&nbsp; been developed&nbsp; and&nbsp; applied&nbsp; for&nbsp; arsenic&nbsp; removal&nbsp; from&nbsp; aqueous&nbsp; media.&nbsp; Among these&nbsp; technologies,&nbsp;&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; is&nbsp; regarded&nbsp; as&nbsp; one&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; most&nbsp; promising approaches to remove arsenic from water because of its high efficiency, low cost, simplicity of operation. Although many sorbents for arsenic removal are available on the market, there is still a need to identify and develop new&nbsp; lowcost&nbsp; sorbents which are highly effective in removing both oxidation states of arsenic, As(III) and As(V). This dissertation therefore presents the synthesis and&nbsp; characterization&nbsp; of&nbsp; ten&nbsp; new&nbsp; iron&nbsp; and&nbsp; manganese&nbsp; based&nbsp; sorbents specifically developed for effective As removal. The Fe- Mn binary oxides were prepared with Fe:Mn molar ratios of 1:1, 3:1,6:1 and 9:1, while four heterogeneous magnetic composites (Mag, Mag-Fe,Mag-Mn,&nbsp; Mag-FeMn)&nbsp; were&nbsp; synthesized&nbsp; by&nbsp; combining&nbsp; the&nbsp; heterogeneous nucleation&nbsp; technique&nbsp; with&nbsp; precipitation.&nbsp; The&nbsp; remaining&nbsp; two&nbsp; materials, Chit-FeMn&nbsp; and&nbsp; GAC-FeMn,&nbsp; were&nbsp; created&nbsp; by&nbsp; modifying&nbsp; the&nbsp; Chitosan&nbsp; and GAC&nbsp; biopolymers&nbsp; with&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binary&nbsp;&nbsp; oxide&nbsp; (Chit-FeMn&nbsp; and&nbsp; GAC-FeMn).Multiple&nbsp; techniques&nbsp; were&nbsp; applied&nbsp; to&nbsp; determine&nbsp; the&nbsp; physical&nbsp; and&nbsp; chemical characteristics&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; resulting&nbsp; sorbents&nbsp; (including&nbsp; SEM/EDS,&nbsp; XRD,&nbsp; FTIR and BET analyses). In order to establish which sorbents show&nbsp; the greatest promise for application during&nbsp; drinking&nbsp; water&nbsp; treatment,&nbsp; the&nbsp; sorption&nbsp; capacity&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; sorbents,&nbsp; theAs(III)&nbsp; and&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; sorption&nbsp; mechanisms,&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; impact&nbsp; of&nbsp; various&nbsp; factors relevant to arsenic sorption, including the regeneration potential and the reuse potential of the sorbents, were all investigated in&nbsp; batch experiments. During the physical characterisation, the Fe-Mn binary oxides and magnetic materials&nbsp; were&nbsp; found&nbsp; to&nbsp; have&nbsp; relatively&nbsp; large&nbsp; specific&nbsp; surface&nbsp; areas (109-300 m 2 /g) and mesopore volumes (0.144-0.403 cm 3 /g).&nbsp; A large specific surface&nbsp; area&nbsp; and&nbsp; microporous&nbsp; structure&nbsp; was&nbsp; observed&nbsp; for&nbsp; GAC-FeMn&nbsp; (996 m 2 /g;&nbsp; 0.394&nbsp; cm 3 /g).&nbsp; In&nbsp; comparison&nbsp; with&nbsp; the&nbsp; other&nbsp; synthesized&nbsp; sorbents,&nbsp; Chit-FeMn has the smallest specific surface area and pore volume (1.99 m 2 /g; 0.014&nbsp; cm 3 /g).&nbsp; XRD&nbsp; analyses&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binary&nbsp; oxides&nbsp; indicated&nbsp; that&nbsp; the phase&nbsp; structure&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; synthesized&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binary&nbsp; oxides&nbsp; was&nbsp; similar&nbsp; to ferrihydrate,&nbsp; while&nbsp; the&nbsp; phase&nbsp; structure&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; magnetic&nbsp; materials&nbsp; showed&nbsp; a good agreement with the XRD diffractogram of maghemite. Investigations into As sorption process kinetics have shown that the sorption mechanism&nbsp; for&nbsp; both&nbsp; As(III)&nbsp; and&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; synthesized&nbsp; sorbents&nbsp; is&nbsp; a combination&nbsp; of&nbsp; surface&nbsp; hemisorption,&nbsp; which&nbsp; takes&nbsp; place&nbsp; through&nbsp; the boundary&nbsp; layer&nbsp; of&nbsp; sorbent&nbsp; particles,&nbsp; and&nbsp; intracellular&nbsp; diffusion.&nbsp; The&nbsp; FTIR analyses&nbsp; confirmed&nbsp; that&nbsp; arsenic&nbsp; sorption&nbsp; was&nbsp; accomplished&nbsp; through&nbsp; the interactions&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; hydroxyl&nbsp; groups&nbsp; of&nbsp; iron&nbsp; present&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; surface&nbsp; of&nbsp; the sorbents and arsenic. In contrast to the sorption of As(V), it was also shown that&nbsp; As(III)&nbsp; sorption&nbsp; onto&nbsp; sorbents&nbsp; containing&nbsp; manganese&nbsp; oxides&nbsp; (Fe-Mn binary&nbsp; oxides,&nbsp; Mag-FeMn,&nbsp; Mag-Mn,&nbsp; Chit-FeMn&nbsp; and&nbsp; GAC&nbsp; -FeMn)&nbsp; takes place in two steps. In the first step As(III) is oxidized to As(V), while in the second&nbsp; step,&nbsp; the&nbsp; oxidized&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; forms&nbsp; complexes&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; surface&nbsp; of&nbsp; the sorbents via ligand exchange. The&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binary&nbsp; oxide&nbsp; sorption&nbsp; capacities&nbsp; (expressed&nbsp; as&nbsp; Kd values)&nbsp; for As(III)&nbsp;&nbsp; followed the trend Fe-Mn 3:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 1:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 6:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 9:1, whereas the&nbsp; As(V) trend was Fe-Mn 6:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 3:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 9:1 &gt; Fe-Mn 1:1. In the magnetic&nbsp; composites, the largest&nbsp; Kd value for As(III) and As(V) was&nbsp; obtained&nbsp; for&nbsp; Mag-FeMn.&nbsp; Generally,&nbsp; the&nbsp; Kd values&nbsp; for&nbsp; As(III)&nbsp; in&nbsp; the magnetic composites decreased in the series: Mag-FeMn &gt; Mag-Mn &gt; Mag &gt; Mag-Fe.&nbsp; Similarly,&nbsp; the&nbsp; affinity&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; sorbents&nbsp; for&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; was&nbsp; as&nbsp; follows: Mag-FeMn&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag-Fe&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; Mag- Mn.&nbsp; In&nbsp; comparison&nbsp; to&nbsp; the&nbsp; nonimpregnated&nbsp; materials,&nbsp; the&nbsp; Kd values&nbsp; were&nbsp; much&nbsp; higher&nbsp; for&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp; boated materials,&nbsp; Chit-FeMn&nbsp; and&nbsp; GAC-FeMn,&nbsp; demonstrating&nbsp; the&nbsp; significant advantage&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binary&nbsp; oxides&nbsp; provide&nbsp; in&nbsp; increasing&nbsp; As(III)&nbsp; and&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; adsorption capacities. One&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; most&nbsp; problematic&nbsp; limiting&nbsp; factors&nbsp; in&nbsp; applying&nbsp; adsorption technologies during drinking water treatment is the presence of other water constituents which interfere with the adsorption process.&nbsp; Investigations into the inhibitory effect of competive anions on the adsorption of both forms of arsenic&nbsp; revealed&nbsp; that&nbsp; phosphates&nbsp; were&nbsp; the&nbsp; worst&nbsp; offenders&nbsp; in&nbsp; terms&nbsp; ofreducing&nbsp; the&nbsp; arsenic&nbsp; removal&nbsp; efficacy&nbsp; of&nbsp; sorbents&nbsp; investigated.&nbsp; From&nbsp; the largest&nbsp; to&nbsp; the&nbsp; smallest&nbsp; negative&nbsp; influence&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; anions&nbsp; investigated,&nbsp; for As(III)&nbsp; and&nbsp; As(V)&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; on&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binary&nbsp; oxides,&nbsp; magnetic&nbsp; materials and Chit-FeMn, as well as As(V) adsorption on GAC-FeMn, the order was: phosphates &gt; silicates &gt; carbonates &gt; sulfates &gt; nitrates &gt; chlorides, with the presence&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; latter&nbsp; two&nbsp; anions&nbsp; proving&nbsp; almost&nbsp; irrelevant&nbsp; to&nbsp; the&nbsp; As adsorption&nbsp; process.&nbsp; Similarly,&nbsp; the&nbsp; negative&nbsp; influence&nbsp; of&nbsp; anions&nbsp; on&nbsp; As(III) sorption on GAC-FeMn was: phosphates &gt; silicates &gt; sulphates &gt; carbonates &gt; nitrates &gt; chlorides. Another&nbsp; issue&nbsp; with&nbsp; applying&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; in&nbsp; real&nbsp; treatment&nbsp; conditions&nbsp; is&nbsp; the need to regularly&nbsp; regenerate and/or replace the spent sorbent. In this work, a simple&nbsp; and&nbsp; efficient&nbsp; process&nbsp; for&nbsp; sorbent&nbsp;&nbsp; rfegeneration&nbsp; is&nbsp; demonstrated.&nbsp; This regeneration&nbsp; process&nbsp; can&nbsp; be&nbsp; applied&nbsp; to&nbsp; the&nbsp; sorbents&nbsp; investigated&nbsp; multiple times, and uses an NaCl-NaOH-NaOCl mixture, or 0.1 M and 0.5 M NaOH solutions.&nbsp; This&nbsp; finding&nbsp; is&nbsp; of&nbsp; great&nbsp; importance&nbsp; from&nbsp; an&nbsp; ecological&nbsp; and economic point of view. The minimum reduction in the sorption capacity for both As(III) and As(V), after five sorption-regeneration cycles, was found in&nbsp; the&nbsp; binary&nbsp; oxide&nbsp; with&nbsp; a&nbsp; 3:1&nbsp; Fe:Mn&nbsp; molar&nbsp; ratio&nbsp; and&nbsp; Mag-FeMn.&nbsp; Arsenic sorption&nbsp; behaviour&nbsp; was&nbsp; also&nbsp; investigated&nbsp; using&nbsp; real&nbsp; groundwater&nbsp; samples, with the results demonstrating the great potential of 3:1 Fe-Mn binary oxide and Mag- FeMn. However, Chit-FeMn and GAC-FeMn were less effective at adsorbing As from the groundwater samples.Based on the results presented in this dissertation, it can&nbsp; be concluded that the synthesized&nbsp; sorbents,&nbsp; especially&nbsp; the&nbsp; Fe-Mn&nbsp; binary&nbsp; oxides&nbsp; and&nbsp; magnetic composites,&nbsp; and&nbsp; Mag-FeMn&nbsp; in&nbsp; particular,&nbsp; can&nbsp; be&nbsp; efficient&nbsp; and&nbsp; economical alternatives&nbsp; to&nbsp; expensive&nbsp; commercial&nbsp; sorbents&nbsp; and&nbsp; other&nbsp; sophisticated&nbsp; As removal&nbsp; technologies.&nbsp; The&nbsp; high&nbsp; oxidation&nbsp; and&nbsp; sorption&nbsp; capacity &nbsp; of&nbsp; these materials,&nbsp; which&nbsp; ensure&nbsp; the&nbsp; simultaneous&nbsp; removal&nbsp; of&nbsp; arsenic&nbsp; with&nbsp; both oxidation states, is a large advantage for these sorbents and makes them very attractive&nbsp; and&nbsp; promising&nbsp; for&nbsp; application&nbsp; in&nbsp; drinking&nbsp; water&nbsp; treatment.&nbsp; An additional&nbsp; benefit of the magnetic sorbents, primarily Mag-FeMn, is the ease with&nbsp; which&nbsp; they&nbsp; may&nbsp; be&nbsp; separated&nbsp; from&nbsp; the&nbsp; aqueous&nbsp; medium,&nbsp; allowing&nbsp; for simple&nbsp; recirculation within a system. Similarly,&nbsp; the main advantages of&nbsp; the synthesized Chit- FeMn and GAC-FeMn are reflected in their application as effective filtration media.</p>

Processing of nanostructured WC-Co and W-Co powders,modelling of Fe-Mn-Si alloy, swelling of Fe-Cu alloy, andmechanical properties and sintering of Fe-Mn-Si steels havebeen studied in the present thesis. W-Co precursors made by chemical synthesis were used toproduce nanostructured WCCo and W-Co powders by calcination,reduction and carburization. The phase constituents in thecalcined powders depend on temperature and atmospheres. Cobaltcan accelerate the reduction rate of the W-Co precursors as acatalyst, and cobalt influences the formation of intermediatephases during the reduction of the precursors. The ratio of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide controlscarburization process, gives different intermediate phases andcarburization rates. There exist several intermediate phases: W6Co6C, W3Co3C, W2C due to varying carbon monoxide content in thecarburization gases. Nanostructured WC-Co powders with aparticle size of 20-50 nm have been obtained. The effect of silicon content on the particle sizedistribution of milled Fe-Mn-Si master alloy powders is muchmore significant than that of manganese content. A finer finalparticle size can be obtained in the alloy powders with highersilicon compositions. Long time milling results in theagglomeration of small particles. The grinding process can bedescribed using classic batch grinding equation based on thepopulation balance model. A swelling model for Fe-Cu alloyssintered at the temperatures above the melting point of copperhas been established based on the penetration mechanism. In themodel, the particle coordination number and heating rate wereused to express the porosity and the thickness of the diffusionlayers between iron and copper particles respectively. The effects of sintering temperature and time on theproperties of sintered steels have been studied. Fe-Mn-Simaster alloys made by cast-milling, atomizing, and acombination of atomization and milling have been covered. Themilled, and atomizationmilled alloy steels showed goodmechanical properties with small dimensional change. Transientliquid phase of the Fe-Mn-Si alloys accelerates densification,and offer fast diffusion of alloying elements. The addition ofa small amount of Fe-Mn-Si master alloy to Astaloy 85Mo powdercan lead to high strength with zero dimensional change. <b>Key words:</b>Processing; Modelling; Nanostructured powder;WC-Co; W-Co; Calcination; Reduction; Carburization; Particlesize; Sintered steel; Fe-Cu alloy; Swelling; Fe-Mn-Si masteralloy; Mechanical properties; Sintering parameters.

Ni-Co-Mn-In system is a new type of magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs) where the first order structural and magnetic phase transitions overlap. These materials can generate large reversible shape changes due to magnetic-field-induced martensitic transformation, and exhibit magneto-caloric effect and magnetoresistance. Ni-Co-Mn-Sn alloys are inexpensive alternatives of the Ni-Co-Mn-In alloys. In both materials, austenite has higher magnetization levels than martensite. Fe-Mn-Ga is another MSMA system, however, whose magnetization trend is opposite to those of the Ni-Co-Mn-X (In-Sn) systems upon phase transformation. The MSMAs have attracted great interest in recent years, and their magnetic and thermo-mechanical properties need to be further investigated. In the present study, the effects of indium concentration, cooling, and annealing on martensitic transformation and magnetic response of single crystalline Ni-Co-Mn-In alloys were investigated. Increasing indium content reduced the martensitic transformation start (Ms) temperature, while increasing temperature hysteresis and saturation magnetization. Increasing annealing temperature led to an increase in the Ms temperature whereas annealing at 400 degrees C and 500 degrees C led to the kinetic arrest of austenite. Cooling after solution heat treatment also notably affected the transformation temperatures and magnetization response. While the transformation temperatures increased in the oil quenched samples compared to those in the water quenched samples, these temperatures decreased in furnace cooled samples due to the kinetic arrest. The possible reasons for the kinetic arrest are: atomic order changes, or precipitate formation. Shape memory and superelastic response, and magnetic field-induced shape recovery behavior of sintered Ni43Co7Mn39Sn11 polycrystalline alloys were also examined. The microstructural analysis showed the existence of small pores, which seem to increase the damage tolerance of the sintered polycrystalline samples. The recoverable transformation strain, irrecoverable strain and transformation temperature hysteresis increased with stress upon cooling under stress. Moreover, magnetic-field-induced strain due to the field-induced phase transformation was confirmed to be 0.6% at 319K. Almost perfect superelastic response was obtained at 343K. A magnetic entropy change of 22 J kg-1 K-1 were determined at 219K from magneto-caloric effect measurements which were conducted on annealed Ni43Co7Mn39Sn11 ribbons. Magnetic characteristics and martensitic transformation behavior of polycrystalline Fe-Mn-Ga alloys were also examined. Cast alloys at various compositions were undergone homogenization heat treatments. It was verified by magnetization measurements that the alloys heat treated at 1050 degrees C shows martensitic transformation. The heat treatment time was determined to be 1 day or 1 week depending on the compositions.