A hidh-study PhD. student Zainab Aziz Butti from Materials Engineering Department at UOT discussed her dissertation tagged:

“Study to improve the mechanical properties of high-chromium iron casting by constant temperature parametes”

The researcher delivered that some engineering materials are known for their superior properties in a specific field, but this does not mean that they will not be exposed to failure after certain periods when they are used in various applications and this means that these materials are far from the (ideal) state in properties for example, white cast iron High chromium, known to have good wear resistance, over time is exposed to failure and this is what happens in the Kufa Cement Factory, which uses the mills liners made of this iron. Therefore, it is possible to conduct advanced scientific experiments to make their properties better than they were.

Five different thermal treatments were applied to this type of iron to study its effect on its mechanical properties. These parameters are: 1- Annealing, 2- Air cooling, 3- Martempering treatment at different suppression periods (using the hydroxide mixture as an extinguishing medium which is considered as a cheaper and more widely used alternative in Iraq than the nitrate mixture used in the normal treatment and the results were compared to the two mixes), 4 Cryogenic treatment (using three different cooling media) 5- Finally, use a periodic annealing treatment.

 Iron hardness, durability, wear resistance and microstructure properties were tested. A local wear device was also manufactured to measure wear resistance. Methods were used to measure X-ray diffraction, electronic microscopy, optical microscopy, measurement of macro hardness (Fikers) and durability test (Sharpe) in addition to the homemade wear device to study the effect of various factors on the properties of this iron.

The results showed that each treatment affected differently the microscopic and mechanical properties of this iron. Some treatments enhance hardness and wear resistance, while others enhance durability.

The percentage of enhanced wear resistance is approximately 93%.

The discussion committee consisted of:

- AssisProf. Dr. Alaa Abdul-Hussein (the head)

- Prof. Dr. Mona Khudair Abbas (member)

- Prof. Dr. Ahmad O. Jassem / University of Babylon (member)

 - Prof. Dr. Emad Saadi Abdul-Karim (member)

 - Assist. Prof. Dr. Mohsen Talib Muhammad (member)

 - prof. Dr. Ali Hussein Atewi (supervisor)

-  Prof. Dr. Jasim Muhammad Salman / University of Babylon (scientific advisor)

 - Assist. Prof. Samir Ali Amin / University of Technology (linguist advisior)