Influence of the Content of Reducing Agent and Scheelite Concentrate in Thermite Charges on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Alloys Produced by Aluminothermy

Under industrial conditions, melt for the production of cast products from wear-resistant steels is produced mainly by modifying iron-carbon-based alloys with ferrotungsten. Ferrotungsten production is a material-intensive and energy-consuming process that does not allow the direct use of ore concentrates as a modifier due to their complex chemical composition. The growth of the global consumption of wear-resistant steels and products from them necessitates search for and development of alternative methods to produce such alloys. The aluminothermic remelting of mixtures consisting of scale, reducing agent, and tungsten-containing component is aimed at solving the problems of processing man-made formations to produce metal products in the form of wear-resistant steel castings. Scheelite concentrate is used in the experimental process, which makes it possible to reduce the processing chain of tungsten use to one stage. The results of studies of the aluminothermal process of producing castings from thermite compositions are presented. The pattern of influence of the content of reducing agent and scheelite concentrate on the physical and mechanical properties of the metal is experimentally established.