Luis Felipe Verdeja

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at University of Oviedo

Electrochemical energy storage systems based on sulfur and lithium can theoretically deliver high energy with the further benefit of low cost. However, the working mechanism of this device involves the dissolution of sulfur to high‐molecular weight lithium polysulfides (LiPs with general formula Li2Sn, n≥4) in the electrolyte during the discharge p...

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the synthesis of spinel MgAl2O4, a material with key industrial applications, through the calcination of brucite and alumina. The study reveals that a longer heat treatment time at 960°C favors the formation of spinel with spherical morphology and reduces the presence of MgO in irregular agglomerates. XRD...

This manuscript involved a statistical evaluation of the milling-classification loop of the Antapite gold plant in Perú. The current metallurgical process is based on the carbon in pulp, which treats a head gold grade ore of 29.5 g/t. Nowadays, the milling loop uses a ball mill, whose discharged ore feeds a conventional Krebs hydrocyclone. Under cu...

Compared with conventional high-temperature methods based on electricity and fossil fuels, concentrated solar energy route offers distinct advantages in terms of mitigating emissions of contaminants and shortening processing times. Nevertheless, solar-based route also encounters challenges in producing significant quantities of materials, although...

En este trabajo se presenta un análisis, basado en métodos estadísticos, de como ocurre el desgaste de cinco recubrimientos poliméricos de los álabes de los agitadores de alta intensidad empleados para la lixiviación de plata-manganeso. Por contextualizar el problema, se puede señalar que en la actualidad se emplean 4 agitadores que operan en serie...

La molécula de CO2 parece jugar un papel relevante en el cambio climático que está experimentando el planeta ya que: parece existir una correlación entre el incremento de la temperatura media del planeta y la concentración de CO2 en la atmosfera; y, que una capa de este gas en la atmósfera impediría la salida de una parte de la radiación solar que...

Copper is a metal that is widely used in different applications mainly due to its thermal and electrical conductivities, together with its corrosion resistance, particularly when it is alloyed. This chapter intends to be a summary of the copper metallurgy: from the historical aspects and mineral deposits or statistics to the different technologies...

The pathway for improving lithium‐ion batteries′ energy density strongly depends on finding materials with enhanced performance. Although great efforts have been done, on the anode‐side, graphite is still the best choice. In the last decade, silicon elements are attracting growing attention as anode since their use can theoretically increase specif...

En este trabajo, los autores intentan dar razón a los acontecimientos de los últimos 3500 años en los que el hierro, primeramente, y el acero, posteriormente, han sido unos de los elementos funda-mentales de la historia. A lo largo del documento se van introduciendo conceptos de importancia reciente como la descarbonización, asociada a la transició...

Luis Felipe Verdeja González, docente universitario, investigador científico y asesor técnico de industrias nació en Oviedo (Asturias). Se licenció en Ciencias Químicas en la Universidad de Oviedo en 1975, y es doctor también en Ciencias Químicas por la Universidad de Oviedo en 1980. Posteriormente se mudó a México donde trabajó como Asesor Técnico...

El deterioro del revestimiento refractario representa un problema significativo para el buen funcionamiento en la industria de ferroaleaciones, particularmente en la producción de silicomanganeso, debido a los requisitos periódicos de sustitución del refractario dañado. En este con-texto, los refractarios de magnesia se emplean comúnmente en las zo...

En este trabajo, se estudiaron las fases en el sistema Mg-Ti-O utilizando la formulación 1:1 de MgO:TiO2 mezclando brucita sintética de origen mexicano con micropartículas de TiO2 de alta pureza y con un tratamiento térmico a 1100°C durante 1 h. Debido a sus electrones de valencia, el TiO2 puede contribuir al proceso de sinterización para mejorar l...

Se estudia el efecto de las nanopartículas de α-Al2O3 (hasta 5 % en peso) sobre las propiedades físicas, mecánicas y térmicas, así como sobre la evolución microestructural de un refractario de magnesia densa. Se utilizan temperaturas de sinterización a 1300°C, 1500°C y 1600°C. Las pro-piedades físicas de interés fueron la densidad y la porosidad ap...

This manuscript contains an investigation about the influence of the chromium content on the properties of novel graphite–chromium composites obtained by spark plasma sintering (SPS), with great potential application in heat dissipation. Green compacts of 40 mm in diameter were first obtained by uniaxial pressing at 60 MPa, and then the composite w...

Los autores desarrollan, a tenor de las estructuras que pueden presentar los materiales, las novedades que pueden suscitarse en las propiedades en función de su tamaño.

Steel is an alloy of iron with carbon in different proportions. The maximum carbon content in this alloy is 2.11 wt. % if the alloy does not contain other alloying elements. This chapter is dedicated to the study of the crystalline structures of the iron, as well as to the examination of the solid-state transformations in the iron-carbon system. Th...

The functions of the atmospheres in contact with steels during the heat treatment can be different: 1. they are an instrument that provides thermal energy by convective heat transfer mechanism to heat the steel; 2. they are a source that provides oxygen, carbon, or nitrogen to the steel; 3. they only represent a suitable support for the transfer of...

This chapter deals with the thermochemical treatments of steels. It is relevant since it establishes the fundamentals of three of the most important processes of the steelmaking, recrystallization, hot rolling, and, particularly, controlled rolling. The following section is aimed at the thermomechanical treatment during the transformations of the a...

This chapter is devoted to the treatments of steel that involve heating the part until a certain temperature followed by cooling. We start with the different types of annealing treatments aimed at different objectives and continue later with one of the most relevant heat treatments applied to steels: the quenching and tempering, which are used with...

Alumina/molybdenum nanocomposites were obtained from alumina and molybdenum particles. Alumina with different molybdenum contents (0, 1, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 wt. %) was first uniaxially pressed at 100 MPa to obtain green compacts that were later sintered using a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Scanning E...

Introducción: El grafito es un material carbonoso caracterizado por tener buena conductividad térmica y eléctrica cuando se encuentra adecuadamente sinterizado. Es precisamente la conductividad térmica junto con su bajo coeficiente de expansión térmica los que hacen a este material interesante para aplicaciones de gestión energética como los disipa...

Los primeros vidrios metálicos aparecieron hace aproximadamente 40 años. Éstos han ido adquiriendo interés debido a una serie de propiedades entre las que se incluyen resistencia mecánica, dureza, tenacidad a la fractura, resistencia a la corrosión o un elevado límite elástico. La gran dificultad de los vidrios metálicos ha sido la obtención de un...

Hoy en día existe una creciente necesidad de diseñar disipadores de calor cada vez más pequeños, ligeros y eficientes para su empleo en aplicaciones avanzadas asociadas a los campos de los dispositivos electrónicos, la industria aeroespacial o los trenes de alta velocidad, entre otros. Estos disipadores de calor podrían, potencialmente, extenderse...

En este trabajo se estudió la preparación y diseño microestructural de materiales compuestos de alúmina reforzada con nanopartículas de molibdeno con el objetivo de mejorar las propiedades mecánicas (fundamentalmente la tenacidad a la fractura). Se plantearon dos vías de procesamiento: por un lado, síntesis coloidal y sinterización por Spark Plasma...

In this work, we studied the phases in a Mg-Ti-O system using a 1:1 formulation of MgO:TiO2, mixing synthetic brucite of Mexican origin with TiO2 microparticles of high purity, with a heat treatment at 1100 °C for 1 h. Due to its valence electrons, TiO2 can contribute to the sintering process to improve density in MgO products. The raw materials an...

In this paper, the phases in the Mg-Ti-O system using the 1:1 formulation of MgO:TiO2 mixing synthetic brucite of Mexican origin with TiO2 microparticles of high purity and with a heat treatment at 1100°C for 1 h were studied. The raw materials and formulation by XPS and DRX techniques were characterized. The results demonstrate the presence of dif...

The deterioration of the refractory lining represents a significant problem for the smooth operation in the ferroalloys industry, particularly in the production of silicomanganese, due to the periodic requirements of substitution of the damaged refractory. Within this context, magnesia refractories are commonly employed in the critical zones of the...

En la actualidad los materiales cerámicos no cumplen con los requisitos exigidos en múltiples aplicaciones innovadoras que, de hacerlo, supondrían un gran avance tecnológico para nuestra sociedad. Por un lado, esto se debe fundamentalmente al hecho de que, hasta el momento actual, no ha sido posible combinar en un mismo material buenas propiedades...

This manuscript proposes subjecting gas-atomized powders of ZrCu39.85Y2.37Al1.8 metallic glass to spark plasma sintering (SPS). This bulk metallic glass (BMG) sinters at a temperature between its crystallization (Tx) and glass transition (Tg) temperatures, found to be 457 °C and 368 °C, respectively, via Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Sev...

Electrofilter powder (EP) is a residue generated in large amounts during the calcination of aluminium hydroxide in the Bayer process. The production of high temperature structural insulator (HTSI) using EP is proposed. Different tests were made using different proportions of the starting materials, although the optimal mixture contained (in wt%) 52...

On the one hand, copper slag is nowadays a waste in copper pyrometallurgy despite the significant quantities of iron (>40 wt. %) and copper (1 to 2 wt. %). On the other hand, solar energy, when properly concentrated, offers great potential in high-temperature processes. Therefore, concentrated solar power (CSP) could be used in the treatment of cop...

This study investigates the corrosion mechanism on 100 wt.% MgO and 95 wt.% MgO with 5 wt.% nano-ZrO2 ceramic composites. First, MgO powder and powder mixtures (MgO + nano ZrO2) were uniaxially and isostatically pressed; then, they were sintered at 1650 °C. Corrosion by copper slag was studied in sintered samples. Physical properties, microstructur...

The electric furnace has been gaining importance in the production of steel since the first decades of the twentieth century. It is possible to produce pig iron in an electric furnace, but this option is very far from being a competitor for the blast furnace or the Corex process, even in those countries with cheap electric power. Other option is to...

Not all the hot-rolled products are used as finished products and most of them are subjected to additional treatments aimed at both increasing their mechanical properties, adjusting their dimensions, or increasing their resistance to corrosion. This way, this chapter is focused on different processes of great importance in steelmaking with the purp...

The iron metallurgy in liquid phase finishes with the processes of forming by casting, molding, or production of powders. We study in this chapter the two most relevant processes of solidification: the molding and the continuous casting. The molding practice is described from the obtaining of the mold to the study of the solidification from the the...

This chapter is dedicated to the group of processes and operations performed in the steelmaking to transform the liquid iron that is obtained either in the converter or in the electric furnace into a melt adjusted in composition and ready for the solidification at the end of the secondary metallurgy. In this chapter, we consider the problem of the...

Hot working is the initial step in the mechanical working of most metals and alloys. Not only does hot-working result in a decrease in the energy required to deform the metal and an increased ability to flow without cracking, but the rapid diffusion at hot-working temperatures aids in decreasing the chemical inhomogeneities of the cast-ingot struct...

This last chapter is aimed at studying, as the own title indicates, the strengths and uncertainties of the steel as structural material. We indicate the different big changes or revolutions in the field of the steel production, and the direction toward which the research will direct in the future. Additionally, we analyze the conflictive aspects th...

The pig iron is an intermediate product obtained in the blast furnace characterized by the high carbon content (3.5–4.5%) and the presence of other impurities (silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, manganese, etc.) that makes it a brittle material without applications. It is used as raw material in the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) to produce steel and in the...

The removal of heavy metals from natural, mining, or industrial ponds or water flows is a problem for metal-lurgical industries. The reason is that heavy metals represent a risk for the health of people living close to these industries. One of these heavy metals is copper, whose removal was widely studied using different aluminous materials (clays,...

This book describes the operations and industrial processes related to the production of steel. The chapters cover the second part of the iron and steelmaking process, called steelmaking, presenting the stages of the process until obtaining the finished steel product in different formats for distinct applications. This book reports significant oper...

Pelletizing is a process of the ironmaking industry used to agglomerate iron ore concentrates with a granulometry <150 µm and low concentration of impurities. In this process, the iron ore concentrate is mixed with water, bentonite, and hydrated lime and treated in a rotary disk to form green pellets. These green pellets are hardened in a furnace a...

The sintering process can be defined as a thermal agglomeration process that is applied to a mixture of iron ore fines, recycled ironmaking products, fluxes, slag-forming agents, and solid fuel (coke) with the objective of obtaining a product with the suitable characteristics (thermal, mechanical, physical, and chemical) to be fed to the blast furn...

The iron and the steel have been fundamental for the development of our society, together with other metals. This importance is clearly described in this chapter by comparison with the other families of materials (ceramics, polymers, and composites). Steel is produced following one of the three main routes: the integrated iron and steel route (blas...

Scrap or recycled steel is a basic material for the electric steelworks. The problem is the shortage of this material in certain regions of the world due to the construction of new electric steel plants and the simultaneous break down of blast furnaces. An alternative to produce high-quality synthetic scrap free of residual impurities is the instal...

The Iron Age began when the humans, probably by chance, discovered iron sponge when they were heating iron ores that were easily reduced. From that moment, the technologies to produce iron/steel have been significantly developed. This way, nowadays, there are three routes: the utilization of Direct Reduction Iron, the electric furnace steel plant,...

This chapter is dedicated to the future perspectives of the iron metallurgy. The future distribution of the iron production within the different technologies described in previous chapters is analyzed considering different scenarios: the increase of the world population (that could be accompanied by an increase of primary steel production) and the...

The coke used in the ironmaking must guarantee a certain characteristics as a good resistance to compression at high temperature, an acceptable resistance to compression at room temperature, a suitable porosity to favor the kinetics of the Boudouard gasification reaction and a high resistance to abrasion and wear with the purpose of resisting the f...

This study investigated the corrosion mechanism on 100 wt. % MgO and 95 wt. % MgO with 5 wt. % nano-ZrO 2 ceramic composites. First, MgO powder and powder mixtures (MgO + nano ZrO 2 ) were uniaxially and isostatically pressed and, then, they were sintered at 1650 °C. Corrosion by copper slag was studied with sintered samples. Physical properties, m...

In the present work, the effect of mineral aggregates (pumice stone and expanded clay aggregates) and chemical admixtures (superplasticizers and shrinkage reducing additives) as an alternative internal curing technique was investigated, to improve the properties of high-performance concrete. In the fresh and hardened state, concretes with partial r...

The effect of α-Al2O3 nanoparticles (up to 5 wt.%) on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties, as well as on the microstructural evolution of a dense magnesia refractory is studied. Sintering temperatures at 1300, 1500, and 1600 °C are used. The physical properties of interest were bulk density and apparent porosity, which were evaluated b...

This textbook explores the production of pig iron, covering the first part of the steel production process, known as ironmaking. Divided into seven chapters, it discusses the following topics: raw materials for steel production (coking coal, iron ore, slag-forming agents and fluxes, scrap, ferroalloys and pre-reduced materials), the sintering proce...

The chemical environment and the internal conditions of the furnaces and ladles are extremely aggressive for the refractories, so metallurgical industries demand refractory linings with greater durability and resistance to avoid unforeseen stoppages and to reduce the changes of the furnace lining. Therefore, the current work aims to evaluate the im...

This chapter is dedicated to one of the most important structural materials: ceramic materials. For that reason, this chapter is mainly connected with several phase diagrams: CaO–MgO, CaO–SiO2, SiO2–Al2O3, CaO–Al2O3, and CaO–Al2O3–SiO2, which define most ceramic materials. Cement is particularly important in this group of structural materials. The...

In this chapter, we consider cost, although cost was used as a factor of selection in several exercises included in previous chapters. Charts for the comparison of materials based on one criterion of selection, apart from cost, are included in this section. They are very useful because we can define regions that comprise materials with the desired...

This chapter is dedicated to materials used in the manufacture of flat and long products (length > width >> height) and plates. The influence of different sections on the second moment of the area of the cross-section is also described in this section. This way, different geometries are studied to determine the most suitable geometry when stiffness...

This chapter is dedicated to metallic structural materials. We review the main properties and applications of metallic materials and provide different exercises that enable the reader’s understanding of the utilization of metals in each application. For that reason, the Ellingham’s diagrams are described at the beginning of the chapter.

This introductory chapter shows the conversion between different units of measurement: temperature, length, power, energy, weight, etc. Moreover, several solved exercises are included at the end of the chapter.

This chapter introduces the selection of structural materials. Chapter 7 will be the starting point for the following chapters, in which the selection of materials, based on different physical and mechanical properties, will be performed. In this chapter, we include a table listing the properties we will use in the problems and case studies include...

This chapter is dedicated to materials used for struts and columns. We describe in this chapter the selection of materials for columns when considering a design based on resistance to buckling. In the same way, we study the use of struts subjected to tension efforts. Additionally, we include two cases of application: tower cranes and beverage cans.

This introductory chapter provides a definition of structural and functional materials. The relation between different properties is established. The first part of this chapter discusses the differences between structural and functional properties for natural materials, metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites; the second part is devoted to discu...

This chapter provides several additional comments that should be considered, along with those mentioned in previous chapters, in relation to structural materials and their properties and selection. The importance of metallic materials is highlighted in this section, although we must not overlook other traditional materials, such as concrete and tim...

This chapter is entirely dedicated to fatigue resistance as a very important factor for the selection of materials. From the materials resistant to fatigue, steels are one of the best options. The chapter, complemented with exercises, focuses on heat treatments, particularly the quenching and tempering treatments, applied to steels with the purpose...

We can find a wide number of polymeric materials in the nature both organic, as wood, petroleum, rubber, etc., and inorganic, as asbestos and kaolin. This chapter is dedicated to organic polymers, and particularly to artificial organic polymers. Polymers are usually classified in thermoplastics, thermosetting, elastomers, and foams, and in this cha...

According to the modern view of fracture mechanics, when we break a structure by tension load, we ought not regard fracture as being caused directly by the action of the applied load pulling on the chemical bonds between the atoms in the material. The direct result of increasing the load on the structure is only to cause more strain energy to be st...

This chapter is dedicated to composites; the objective of composites is to benefit from the advantageous properties of each family of materials by combining them. The main types of composites are described and classified depending on the family of the matrix material: polymeric matrix composites, metallic matrix composites, and ceramic matrix compo...

This chapter is entirely dedicated to the behaviour of materials at different temperatures both high and low. In the case of polymers, they seem limited to low-temperature applications, whilst ceramic materials can be used in a wide range of temperatures, but they have special interest in high-temperature applications as a result of their propertie...

Searching for alternatives to the traditional energy sources based on the fossil and nuclear fuels together with the zero-waste generation economy are deeply rooted in the policies of the both countries and industries. This way, solar energy, when properly concentrated, offers a great potential in metallurgy and materials science because of the hig...

Energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions are a problem in the metallurgical industries. The synthesis of manganese and silicomanganese using concentrated solar energy is proposed in this paper. Mixtures of oxide of manganese (IV) and silicon (50 wt% and 75 wt%) were treated in a 1.5 kW solar furnace located in Odeillo. Results demonstrated t...

Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) slag is one of the sub-products generated in the steelmaking process. This waste is characterized by its free lime and free magnesia contents that limit its application in construction. Moreover, the iron content in BOF slag of 14-30 wt% is a quantity which is problematic in the manufacture of cements. On the other hand,...

The book covers the most important materials (naturals, metals, ceramics, polymers and composites) to be used mainly as structural engineering materials. Their main applications based on the properties are described in the first chapters of the book: mechanical, physical and chemical. The second part of the book is dedicated to the conceptual desig...

This chapter describes the process of cast irons production in cupola furnace, main type of furnace used in the production of this engineering material. Different solved problems about mass and energy balances will help the reader in the understanding of the cast irons production. The importance of raw materials is also considered in this chapter,...

In this chapter, first, classification of the cast irons based on the Fe–C binary diagram is carried out. White cast irons are those that follow the metastable Fe–C diagram and give eutectics with ledeburite and cementite. Grey cast irons are those that follow the stable Fe–C diagram and give eutectics with graphite and austenite. In this first cha...

This chapter is entirely dedicated to the properties of the grey cast irons and the main uses of this kind of irons. Grey cast irons are metal matrix composites with several interesting properties that make them usable in several applications in different fields. Maybe two of the most relevant properties of grey cast irons are their low shrinkage a...

This chapter is entirely dedicated to the stable eutectic, that of austenite and graphite. This eutectic is abnormal due to the significant differences in both the proportions and the melting temperatures of each constituent. This last aspect will have an important influence on the structure and properties of the eutectic. The type and size of the...

This chapter is entirely dedicated to exercises, problems and case studies. This way, the reader could strength the knowledge acquired during the reading of the book. Different situations, some of them real case-studies, will help the reader in the full understanding of the cast irons applications, with problems of moulding practice as well as exer...

Chromium has been hardly mentioned in previous chapters, and it has only pointed out its carburigen and antigraphitizing character. It is the moment of considering the influence of chromium in the microstructures derived from the Fe–C–Cr system. That is because chromium is an essential element in some high-alloy cast irons. Fe–C–Cr system is also b...

The solidification according to the stable or metastable diagrams will depend on both the composition, size of the parts to be cast and the superheating. In this way, we have seen in Chap. 1, the elements that favour one or other solidification. In this chapter, we will see the effect of the parts size and the superheating, and we will see that it...

In previous chapters, low and medium alloy cast irons were considered. In those cast irons, silicon was the main alloying element, although others in small quantities were considered. However, in this chapter, cast irons with more than 10% in alloying elements will be presented, having as objective improving abrasion, corrosion and heat resistances...

The main advantage of cast irons is the possibility of obtaining near-shape parts by moulding, without forging after solidification. The term malleable refers to the possibility of conferring more deformability to the cast irons through heat treatment in solid state. Two kinds of ferritic malleable irons will be described in this chapter, white and...

The main disadvantage of grey cast irons, regarding the mechanical properties, is the notch effect caused by the flakes of graphite. A model proposed to describe the grey cast irons is a steel with cavities filled with graphite. If this lamellar graphite is transformed into spheroidal graphite, mechanical properties will improve. This chapter is, f...

Transformations that can take place in the cooling of a molten cast iron, with the possibility of obtaining either a white or a grey cast iron, but also a mottled iron depending on several factors were studied in previous chapters. This chapter also studies the transformations that take place during the cooling in solid state, and in this way, the...

New energy sources have been researched with the objective of achieving a reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases as well as other polluting gases. Solar energy is one of the options as when properly concentrated offers a great potential in high temperature applications. This paper offers a review on all fields connected with materials where...

Solar energy when properly concentrated offers a great potential in high temperature applications as those required in metallurgical processes. Even when concentrated solar energy cannot compete with conventional metallurgical processes, it could find application in the treatment of wastes from these processes. These by-products are characterized b...

Until the 1950s of the last century, the oxidized iron ores that were loaded into the blast furnace had granulometries within 10 and 120 mm. However, the depletion of high-grade iron ore sources has made necessary the utilization of concentration processes with the purpose of enriching the iron ore. Because of these processes, a fine granulo-metry...

Manganese is an element of interest in metallurgy, especially in ironmaking and steel making, but also in copper and aluminum industries. The depletion of manganese high grade sources and the environmental awareness have led to search for new manganese sources, such as wastes/by-products of other metallurgies. In this way, we propose the recovery o...

Monografía sobre las fundiciones férreas. La monografía hace un barrido a lo largo de nueve capítulos con ejercicios resueltos de las fundiciones férreas, donde los cinco primeros capítulos se dedican a las fundiciones de media y baja aleación, los capítulos seis y siete se centran en las fundiciones maleables y las fundiciones dúctiles, y los capí...

This textbook focuses on cast irons, the second material in production and consumption after steel. The authors describe the Fe-C stable and metastable diagrams from the physical-chemical metallurgy point of view. The main properties of cast irons are presented and justified for all kinds of cast irons: low cost, excellent castability, mechanical p...

The mechanisms of solidification during cooling of a metal from an atomic point of view are analyzed using the liquid-solid surface free energy and wetting angles for different solid and liquid materials. The process for homogeneous nucleation and critical nucleus size calculations are explained from a thermodynamic (free energies) point of view as...