Students’ Perceptions on Reciprocal Peer Tutorial Assessment in an Undergraduate Course in Process Metallurgy

Tutorials play a key role in the teaching and learning of engineering sciences. However, the efficacy of tutorials as platforms for providing personal and academic support is continuously being challenged by factors such as declining faculty-to-student ratios and students’ under-preparedness. This study adopted reciprocal peer tutorial assessment as an instructional strategy in a capstone course in Process Metallurgy. The findings from highlighted the delicate balance between the obvious benefits and the unintended consequences of adopting reciprocal peer assessments during tutorials. The obvious benefits of RPTA included opportunities for synergistic peer learning, healthy competition among students, self-directed learning, among others. However, the benefits of RPTA were negated by factors such as low level of trust among peers, anxiety over year marks, time constraints, and discomfort due to perceived incompetency when compared to their peers. Finally, the findings from the present study provided opportunities for iterative design and continuous improvement.

Design of Forming Processes: Sheet Metal Forming

This article addresses sheet metal deformations processes and are classified as secondary processing methodologies. Sheet metal forming processes are further classified as processes with: compressive stresses, tensile stresses, compressive and tensile stresses, bending, and shear. Additional discussion on sheet metal processing includes: process metallurgy and microstructure, process design, processing parameters, prevention of failures, formability and testing, and modeling.

The (love & hate) role of entropy in process metallurgy

Process metallurgy is the basis for the production, refining and recycling of metals and is based on knowledge of transport phenomena, thermodynamics and reaction kinetics, and of their interaction in high-temperature, heterogeneous metallurgical processes. The entropy concept is crucial in describing such systems, but, because entropy is not directly observable, some effort is required to grasp the role of entropy in process metallurgy. In this paper, we will give some examples of how entropy has a positive effect on efforts to reach the process objectives in some cases, while in other cases, entropy acts in contradiction to the desired results. In order to do this, it is necessary to have a closer look at both the entropy concept itself as well as at other functions like free energy and exergy since they encompass entropy. The chosen case is the production of silicon. It is the huge entropy change in the process that is utilized. The case is not chosen arbitrary. Indeed, it is the authors’ strong belief that silicon will be one of the foundations for the environmental and energy future planned for in the “Paris-agreement”. We will also explore relatively recent research in physics and thermodynamics that led to the description of the concepts like “dissipative systems and structures”. Dissipative systems are thermodynamically open systems, operating out of, and often far from thermodynamic equilibrium and exhibit dynamical regimes that are in some sense in a reproducible self-organized steady state. Such structures can arise almost everywhere provided this structure, feeding on low entropy resources, dissipates entropy generated in the form of heat and waste material in parallel with the wanted products/results. Examples range from metallurgical processes to the emergence of industrial symbiosis.

The Integration of Process and Product Metallurgy in Niobium Bearing Steels

A review of the technological integration of both the process and physical metallurgical advancements of value-added niobium (Nb) microalloyed thermo-mechanical controlled process (TMCP) steels have evolved into the development of higher quality steels for more demanding end user requirements. The connection of process and physical metallurgy is evolving through the integration of research that is aimed at improving product quality. However, often the connection of the process metallurgical parameters is not reported, especially with industrial data. The importance of this innovative metallurgical connection is validated by the market demand for reduced fuel consumption, improved quality, and CO2 emissions in both the automotive and construction sectors. This situation has further increased the demand for new higher quality Nb-bearing steel grades. This integrative process/physical metallurgical (IP/PM) approach applies to both low and high strength steel grades in numerous applications. Often, the transition from laboratory melted and TMCP to the production scale is challenging. The methodology, process control, and key production steps that are required during the melting, ladle metallurgy, continuous casting, thermal, and hot rolling production conditions often vary significantly from the laboratory conditions. Understanding the reasons and corrective action for these variations is a critical product development success factor. These process metallurgy parameters for the industrial melting, casting, reheating, and hot rolling of Nb grades are connected and correlated to the resultant microstructures, physical metallurgy, and mechanical properties. These advanced high strength steels are microalloyed with Nb, V, Ti and/or other elements, which affect the austenite-ferrite transformation. Niobium enables the achievement of substantial grain refinement when the plate or sheet is rolled with the proper reheat, hot reduction, and thermal schedule. A recently developed key metallurgical transition is in progress applying this integrative approach with the use of MicroNiobium. A reduction of Mn and C levels with the complementary refinement of the microstructural grain size through MicroNiobium additions improves the robustness of the steel to better accommodate some process metallurgy variations. Applications are evolving in lower strength steels with Nb to achieve complementary grain refinement.