The McGill Metals Processing Centre Laboratories accommodate a wide range of experimental research equipment for liquid and solid metal processing studies, including:
1 - Water Modelling Facilities
The MMPC Water Modelling facility allows for the full-scale modelling of typical ladle/tundish/mould flow systems (e.g. flow metering, slag entrainment, vortexing flows, tundish designs, alloy injection simulations, etc.). The laboratory also includes holding tanks, ladles, tundishes and shrouds, a twin roll casting model, etc., in conjunction with sensor systems for mixing studies, flow visualisation, and inclusion sensing equipment. Some illustrations of CFD and Physical Modelling equipment are shown in the figures below.
Full-scale 4 strand delta-shape tundish.
2 - Liquid Metal Quality Analysers
Developed and patented at McGill University, LiMCA equipment (Liquid Metal Cleanliness Analyzer) for liquid metals is now commercially produced for measurements in liquid Al by ABB (previously by Bomem) The LiMCA equipment for measurements in aqueous analog systems was developed and used as the APS III system, at the McGill Metals Processing Centre. These analysers make use of the electric sensing zone, ESZ, principle to detect and to measure the size and number density of inclusions. Metal Windows software for on-line DSP systems allows for the processing and analysis of LiMCA signals. This software can discriminate between different types of inclusions and micro-bubbles. The APS III (Aqueous Particle Sensor) is intensively used in all our tundish water modelling studies of inclusions and bubbles detection and their size distribution.
APS III (Aqueous Particle Sensor) for the detection of inclusions and or bubbles in tundish-water modelling.
The APS III device is used in the research of cleaning the steel melts performed on the small-scale water modeling reactor (showed in the picture below)
Water modelling system for research into cleanliness of steel melts.
3 – High Performance Computer (HPC)
Our High-Performance Computer Cluster was constructed in 2013 by SGI. The system has 1 head node plus six compute nodes. The head node has 24 cores, 8TB storage and 64 GB RAM. In total, the compute cluster has 288 cores, 6TB storage capacity, and 768GB RAM. The operating system of the HPC is Microsoft Windows 2018 R2 HPCC Edition. The computer cluster allows high speed 2D and 3D mathematical modelling of physical and metallurgical processing operations, plus visualization of fluid flows or microstructure simulations.
High Performance, 288 core, Computer Cluster and SCI representative, and maintenance officer, Mr. Michel Dionne.
4 – Materials Characterisation Equipment
The MMPC has a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art equipment available for materials characterisation.
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Clemex Image Analysis System
This microscope system allows for the automated analysis of images. Applications include grain size characterization (grain size and shape measurements), Inclusion ratings for steel, powder analysis (area, length, shape of particles), particle sizing and distribution, thermal spray coating thicknesses, porosity analysis, surface morphology, etc.
Image analysis performed on Clemex system in one of the MMPC's laboratories.
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Lasertec, High Temperature Confocal Scanning Laser Microscope (HTCSLM)
CSLM is a new technique that combines the advantages of confocal optics with a He-Ne laser, thereby making it possible to observe samples at elevated temperatures and high resolution. This technique is ideally suited for in-situ studies of liquid metals, chemical reactions and phase transformations during melting and solidification of metals and alloys, ceramic materials (oxides).
High temperature (2000 0C max), Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope.
By scanning a surface at various focal depths, a 3D image is created, allowing images of uneven surfaces to be discerned. Similarly, the high light intensity of the laser stifles the intensity of thermal radiation, greatly enhancing the resolution of different phases within a field of view.
In-situ, temperature/time/microstructure analyses of phase transformations during cooling and heating of a High SHD, high Mn, high Al, steels.
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Nanovea, 3D Surface Chromatic Profilometer
This equipment uses 3D stereoscopic imagery of surfaces at the micro-level. It is contactless, fully automated, and can be used for detailed characterization of casting surfaces (showed in 3D images below).
Nanovea, 3D Surface Profilometer
5.- Novel Microbubble Generator
A microbubble generator (figure below) was recently developed by the MMPC for liquid metal batch systems. It is based on a rotational shearing mechanism, which can be used to constantly produce microbubbles with sizes within the prescribed size ranges, to enhance metal cleanliness. The fundamentals of microbubble generation, including its performance under different conditions of air inlet flow rate, as well as the rotational speed have been studied in an aqueous medium, as well as low melting point alloy, such as Cerrolow (figures below). Current research on generation of microbubbles for removing deleterious inclusions from melts is performed by: M. Sc. student Ajay Panicker, PhD student Rohit Kumar Tiwari, and PhD student Daniel Gonzalez Morales, and PhD Giacomo Daniel Di Silvestro. Below are presented some significant experimental results, currently obtained.
Experimental set-up for microbubble measurement including LiMCAsystem (left),
and the Mixer device, connected to the microbubble generator (right).
3D scatter plot for rotational speed vs inlet flowrate vs equivalent diameter for microbubbles generated in liquid metal, Cerrolow.
Experimental results of bubble size vs RPM