CENTRAL PROCESS LABORATORY
(Pakistan Steel).
Central
Process Laboratory of Pakistan Steel provides an array of material test methods help select raw materials, evaluate
production processes, investigate root cause of any failure and verify the
quality of end products for customers satisfaction.
Process
testing laboratory is equipped with the essential testing facilities mentioned
below:
Spectrometric Analysis.
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometric Analysis.
Chemical Analysis.
Instrumental Analysis.
Refractory Physical Testing.
Cement and Concrete Testing.
Lubrication Oil Testing.
Water Testing.
Mechanical Testing.
Non-destructive Testing.
Few of the test facilities may be discussed as
under:
Spectrometric Analysis.
An electrical arc is passed through a metal sample, under an
argon atmosphere, heating and exciting the atoms within the sample of the
material.
While discharging energy the atoms give off a characterstic
wavelength of light that is detected and measured to obtain an accurate weight
percentage of the elements like Carbon, Silicon, Manganese, Phosphorous and
Sulphur etc. present in the steel sample.
To keep harmony in fast pace of production cycle and quality requirements,
a similar spectrometer is provided in
express laboratory of steelmaking department to get prompt analysis of pig iron (hot metal), ready
steel and cast steel samples.
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometric Analysis.
XRF is a proven technique for material analysis in a broad
range of applications.
This is performed for quantitative analysis of major, minor,
and trace elements in Rocks, Minerals, and Meteorites by using
Wavelength-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry.
A
stable atom comprises a nucleus and the electrons orbiting it. Orbiting
electrons are organized into shells: each shell is made up of electrons with
the same energy. When a high energy incident (primary) X-ray collides with an atom it
disturbs this stability. An electron is ejected from a low energy level (eg K
shell: see diagram) and a space is created. As a result an electron from a
higher energy level (e.g L shell) falls into this space.
The
difference in energy produced as the electron moves between these levels is
released as secondary X-rays which are characteristic of the element. This
process is called XRF.
Each of the elements present in a sample produces a unique
set of characteristic x-rays that is a “fingerprint” for that specific element. XRF analyzer
determines the chemistry of a sample by measuring the spectrum of the
characteristic x-rays emitted by the different elements in the sample when it
is illuminated by x-rays.
Ultrasonic Testing.
Ultrasonic Test is used to find internal and
external defects or to measure wall thickness discontinuities in materials and mechanical
parts. The process is nondestructive, which means the test item is not damaged
during testing.
The
Ultra sound testing’s are also performed on large equipments/ vessels like 1300
Tonne Mixer and 130 Tonne LD-Converter
at site during capital repairs to check the soundness of equipments to continue
onward operation.
Metallographic analysis.
.Metallographic analysis is performed with optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and
X-ray diffraction to identify and characterize different crystalline phases and
other critical materials properties that are invisible to the naked eye.
The
execution of metallographic analysis enables very precise analysis of
metallographic elements, such as: shape
and size of crystal grains, orientation of crystal grains, length and type of
micro cracks, extracted carbides, non metallic inclusions and other material
defects. All these elements significantly affect the desired mechanical
characteristics of the final products.
Metallographic analysis helps in developing solutions to
identify the root causes of failures of materials and improve the integrity of
the production processes.
Mechanical Testing Facilities:-
TENSILE TEST.
Electrically
operated analogue Tensile Testing Machine is used for testing tensile strength and
elongation of ferrous and non-ferrous materials in Pakistan Steel.
IMPACT TEST.
Notch
toughness (Charpy v notch test) is the ability
that a material possesses to absorb energy in the presence of a flaw. The quantitative result
of the impact test, the energy needed to fracture a material can be used to
measure the toughness of the material and the yield strength.
This
test is used for testing building and construction materials used in the
construction of pressure vessels, bridges and to see how storms will affect engineering
materials used in building.
HARDNESS TESTS.
Hardness is related to the strength of a material and is a
measure of a material’s resistance to plastic deformation by scratching or
indentation.
Mechanical
testing facilities at central laboratory of Pakistan steel encompass Analogue Brinell,
Rockwell and Vicker hardness tests as shown above.
Bend test.
A bend test is used to determine whether a specific piece of
metal in query will break or fracture under pressure. The bend test essentially measures a
metal’s ductility. Ductility defines how easily a metal can bend without
breaking. The higher the ductility of a metal, the more it can bend without
breaking or becoming deformed from its original shape.
By performing regular tensile and bending tests along with metallographic
test for uniform crystallized structure, the favorable mechanical properties of
products are controlled and conformity of required standards are guaranteed.
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