Session Type
PRESENTATION/PANEL/DISCUSSION
Location
Upton 230
Start Date
16-11-2012 10:15 AM
End Date
16-11-2012 10:45 AM
Description
Metal casting has historically been an industrial process performed by large foundries. In the 1950-60’s artists began to employ the technology of blast furnaces for small scale cast iron production. Much of the knowledge of building and running a small scale furnace has been obtained heuristically, with basic scientific understanding of what is happening thermodynamically inside the furnace. This presentation aims to broaden the knowledge of an iron caster by discussing the many processes inside an iron melting furnace. These thermodynamic and chemical processes will be explained with the aid of a computational program that models iron furnaces. With an intimate understanding of how iron melts the presentation will then address different fuels and furnace designs. The presentation will end with a group discussion about the successes and failures of alternative furnace designs and fuels.
Iron Melting Thermodynamics Demystified
Upton 230
Metal casting has historically been an industrial process performed by large foundries. In the 1950-60’s artists began to employ the technology of blast furnaces for small scale cast iron production. Much of the knowledge of building and running a small scale furnace has been obtained heuristically, with basic scientific understanding of what is happening thermodynamically inside the furnace. This presentation aims to broaden the knowledge of an iron caster by discussing the many processes inside an iron melting furnace. These thermodynamic and chemical processes will be explained with the aid of a computational program that models iron furnaces. With an intimate understanding of how iron melts the presentation will then address different fuels and furnace designs. The presentation will end with a group discussion about the successes and failures of alternative furnace designs and fuels.
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