Ferrovanadium is an alloy used as an additive to improve the quality of ferroalloys. It is also used in the manufacturing of steel for the products to be light weight and have high tensile strength. Ferrovanadium is a combination of iron and vanadium, and the content of vanadium varies from 35% to 80%. It improves corrosion resistance to sulfuric and hydrochloric acids as well as alkali solutions. Apart from iron and vanadium, small amounts of certain elements are also found in ferrovanadium such as aluminum, silicon, sulfur, carbon, arsenic, phosphorus, copper, arsenic, and manganese. Depending on the concentration of these substances, the grade of ferrovanadium is determined.
Application of Ferrovanadium
The most common application of ferrovanadium is in the production of steel. Over the years, ferrovanadium has found its applications in various other industries as well. The largest use of vanadium accounts in ferrovanadium for 85% or more. Based on the vanadium content, there are two common grades of ferrovanadium, a 45-55% vanadium product and a 78-82% vanadium product.
Ferrovanadium is used in many steel products for different applications ranging from construction alloy steels to microalloy steels. Ferrovanadium is the best strengthening substance for steel and enhances its tensile strength. Therefore, it is highly applicable in construction, provides required strength for the architectural design, and reduce catastrophic destruction in natural disaster prone areas.
Other applications of ferrovanadium include rail steels, die steels, heat resisting tool, and other special steels. Such products are used infrastructure including road and railways, in buildings, and production of appliances. Owing to excellent structural strength, hardness, and ductile properties, ferrovanadium also has myriad applications in pipelines, automotive, ships, aerospace, and many more.
In the late 1800s, vanadium steel was used to protect the outer covering of battleships so as to make them impenetrable to explosive shells. Microalloy steels or high-strength low alloy steel is another large application of ferrovanadium. These are extensively used in concrete reinforcing bars, structural plates and shapes for construction, and in different components of automobiles.
Ferrovanadium toughens the steel making it highly resistant to temperature and corrosion. Apart from being a component of steel, ferrovanadium can also be used as a coating. Nitrated ferrovanadium increases the abrasion resistance of steel by 30-50%. Growing applications of hardened steel in the manufacturing of bicycles, frames, crankshafts, axles, and other steel components will enhance the use of ferrovanadium to wider extent. Ferrovanadium is also used in titanium alloy for the manufacturing of jet engines.
www.wikitimes.co.uk
