This study investigated the effects of oxidative firing parameters and raw material characteristics on the pelletization of Australian and Minh Son (Vietnam) iron ore concentrates. The influence of firing temperature (1050°C–1150°C) and holding time (15–120 min) on pellet compressive strength was examined, focusing on microstructural changes during consolidation. Green pellets were prepared using controlled particle size distributions and bentonite as a binder. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses revealed that grain boundary diffusion, liquid phase formation, and densification significantly improved mechanical strength. X-ray diffraction confirmed the complete oxidation of magnetite to hematite at elevated temperatures, a critical transformation for metallurgical performance. Optimal firing conditions for both single and blended ore compositions yielded compressive strengths above 250 kgf/pellet, satisfying the requirements for blast furnace applications. These results provide valuable guidance for improving pellet production, promoting the efficient utilization of diverse ore types, and enhancing the overall performance of ironmaking operations.
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) exhibit complex phase formation behavior, challenging conventional predictive methods. This study presents a machine learning (ML) framework for phase prediction in HEAs, using a curated dataset of 648 experimentally characterized compositions and features derived from thermodynamic and electronic descriptors. Three classifiers—random forest, gradient boosting, and CatBoost—were trained and validated through cross-validation and testing. Gradient boosting achieved the highest accuracy, and valence electron concentration (VEC), atomic size mismatch (δ), and enthalpy of mixing (ΔHmix) were identified as the most influential features. The model predictions were experimentally verified using a non-equiatomic Al₃₀Cu₁₇.₅Fe₁₇.₅Cr₁₇.₅Mn₁₇.₅ alloy and the equiatomic Cantor alloy (CoCrFeMnNi), both of which showed strong agreement with predicted phase structures. The results demonstrate that combining physically informed feature engineering with ML enables accurate and generalizable phase prediction, supporting accelerated HEA design.
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Preparation and Arc Erosion Behavior of Cu-Based Contact Materials Reinforced with High Entropy Particles CuCrNiCoFe Jiacheng Tong, Jun Wang, Huimin Zhang, Haoran Liu, Youchang Sun, Zhiguo Li, Wenyi Zhang, Zhe Wang, Yanli Chang, Zhao Yuan, Henry Hu Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Amorphization and crystallization behaviors of Ti_50Cu_50Ni_20Al_10 powders during high-energy ball milling and subsequent heat treatment were studied. Full amorphization obtained after milling for 30 h was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope. The morphology of powders prepared using different milling times was observed by field-emission scanning electron microscope. The powders developed a fine, layered, homogeneous structure with prolonged milling. The crystallization behavior showed that the glass transition, T_g, onset crystallization, T_x, and super cooled liquid range DeltaT=T_x-T_g were 691,771 and 80 K, respectively. The isothermal transformation kinetics was analyzed by the John-Mehn-Avrami equation. The Avrami exponent was close to 2.5, which corresponds to the transformation process with a diffusion-controlled type at nearly constant nucleation rate. The activation energy of crystallization for the alloy in the isothermal annealing process calculated using an Arrhenius plot was 345 kJ/mol.
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Mechanical Properties of Bulk Amorphous Ti50Cu20Ni20Al10Fabricated by High-energy Ball Milling and Spark-plasma Sintering H.V. Nguyen, J.C. Kim, J.S. Kim, Y.J. Kwon, Y.S. Kwon Journal of Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute.2009; 16(5): 358. CrossRef