English Reader for Technical Students

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РФ 

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ АВТОНОМНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ  
ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ  
«НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ «МИСиС» 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

№ 3 

Кафедра русского и иностранного языков и литературы

 
 
 

English Reader for Technical 
Students 

Учебное пособие 

 

Рекомендовано редакционно-издательским  
советом института 

Москва  2012 

УДК 811.111 
 
 

Р е ц е н з е н т  
канд. филол. наук, проф. К.С. Махмурян 

Авторы: Е.Н. Галкина, С.Е. Зайцева, Е.В. Смирнова, Л.А. Тинигина 
 
 
English Reader for Technical Students: Учеб. пособие / English 
Reader for Technical Students. – М.: МИСиС, 2012. – 65 с. 

Пособие представляет собой новую разработку, в которой содержится 
материал по чтению для студентов технических специальностей. Пособие состоит из четырех глав, посвященных следующим темам: Ferrous metals, Nonferrous and precious metals, Physical and chemical departament. 
Пособие предназначено для студентов, обучающихся на следующих факультетах: физико-химическом, черных металлов и факультете цветных и 
драгоценных металлов. 

© НИТУ «МИСиС», 2012 

Contents 

Chapter 1. Ferrous metals...........................................................................4 
1.1. History of the problem.....................................................................4 
1.2. Compact electric-arc melting furnace..............................................6 
1.3. Ineel’s super-hard steel one of this year’s top  
100 technological achievements.......................................................9 
1.4. Why steel isn’t so stainless............................................................13 
1.5. Blast furnace..................................................................................15 
Chapter 2. Non-ferrous and precious metals ............................................18 
2.1. Better metals are vital to technological progress...........................18 
2.2. Copper ...........................................................................................21 
2.3. Zinc................................................................................................24 
2.4. Lead ...............................................................................................26 
2.5. Brass. .............................................................................................30 
2.6. The world of metals and its paradoxes ..........................................32 
Chapter III. Physical and chemical departament ......................................38 
3.1. Stone age, iron age, polymer age...................................................38 
3.2. Libraries into space........................................................................41 
3.3. A lithium-powered heart................................................................44 
3.4. Experiments in time reversal .........................................................47 
Chapter 4. Metallurgy systems and technologies .....................................50 
4.1. Furnace design and operation........................................................50 
4.2. Troubleshooting generated atmospheres .......................................53 
4.3. Secondary metallurgy for steelmaking ..........................................57 
4.4. Vacuum induction melting ............................................................60 
4.5. Vacuum arc remelting (VAR) .......................................................62 

CHAPTER 1. FERROUS METALS 

1.1. History of the problem 

Long time ago in blast-furnace processing there appeared a tendency for 
reduction of coke consumption needed for production of one ton of iron. It 
was stipulated by the deficit of coke coals on the one hand and by environmentally unsafe production of coke itself on the other hand. The reduction of 
coke consumption can be achieved through its partial substitution by hydrocarbon blowing additions (mazut, natural gas etc.)and by pulverized coal fuel. 
Application of these additions has provided in the last 20 – 25 years 20 
to 25 % reduction of coke consumption which resulted in achieving of the 
level of 400 – 450 kg/t. of iron. In accordance with scientific research 
studies the technology based on injection of hot reducing gases (HRG) 
into blast-furnace is an alternative and more efficient way of coke consumption reduction. 

.
 

To receive HRG one can use the blast furnace-gas in the process of its 
recirculation. The idea of using blast furnace gas for reduction of coke 
consumption appeared at the end of the last century. However, its practical implementation was postponed for quite a continuous period of time 
due to the fact that it was vitally necessary to purify the blast furnace gas 
from oxidizers (carbon dioxide and water). The purification process is 
rather energy consuming so it considerably influences the efficiency 
(profitability) of HRG process application. 

Old methods of technological gases purification from carbon dioxide 
did not allow to provide the technical and economic parameters necessary 
to achieve profitability of blast furnace process. The fact can be well 
proved by the analytical research concerning the process under consideration performed by Dr.Ramm in early seventies as well as by a production 
experiment run at Novotulsky metallurgical plant in late eighties. 

Exercise 1. Match the English words and word-combinations given 
below with their Russian equivalents: 
1) согласованность 
a) hot reducing gas 
2) показываться, появляться 
b) blast furnace 
3) значительно 
c) accordance 
4) потребление, расход 
d) consumption 
5) зависимость 
e) to appear 
6) эффективный 
f) considerably 
7) окружающая среда 
g) dependence 
8) выполнение 
h) efficient 
9) влияние, воздействие 
i) environment 
10) вливание 
j) injection 
11) исполнять, выполнять 
k) influence 
12) оттягивать, откладывать 
l) to provide 
13) обеспечивать 
m) reduction 
14) циркуляция 
n) to stipulate 
15) снижение 
o) implementation 
16) доменная печь 
p) to perform 
17) горячий сжимающийся газ 
q) substitution 
18) обусловливать 
r) recirculation 
19) замена 
s) to postpone. 

Exercise 2. Find the antonyms and translate them: 
appear, reduce, increase, necessary, scientific, purify, safe, dependence, decrease, extend, raise, disappear, unnecessary, pollute, soil, dangerous, at risk, 
independence, unscientific. 

Exercise 3. Agree o disagree with the statements given below: 
• Long time ago in blast-furnace processing there appeared a tendency for 
increase of coke consumption needed for production of one ton of iron. 
• Application of these additions has provided in the last 20 – 25 years 20 to 
50 % reduction of coke consumption which resulted in achieving of the level 
of 400 – 450 kg/t. of iron.  
• To receive HRG one can use the blast furnace-gas in the process of its 
recirculation. 
• The purification process is rather energy consuming so it considerably 
influences the efficiency (profitability) of HRG process. 

Exercise 4. Answer the following questions: 
• How can we receive hot reduction gas? 
• When did the idea of reduction of coke consumption appear? 
• What was the needed tendency for production of iron appeared? 
• How was the coke consumption changed? 

Exercise 5. Render the text. 

1.2. Compact electric-arc melting furnace 

Purpose 
Melting of a wide range of experimental alloys with special properties, 
including alloys of chemically active, refractory and precious metals. 
Production of commodity batches of alloys for machine-building industry, instrument making, aviation and medicine. 

Description 
The furnace consists of a vacuum-gas unit, 
power supply unit for the arc, arc-control block 
and console, and a melting chamber with a cathode unit input device. Melting is performed in a 
copper water-cooled mould by an arc discharge 
with a non-melting electrode in a controlled atmosphere of neutral and reducing gases. 
Use of an automated vacuum-gas unit with a 
control and measurement system allows to preliminary pump air out of the melting chamber, 
fill it with working medium up to the demanded 
pressure and ensure its stabilization during the 
melting process. 

A compact power supply unit with the arc control unit ensures ignition 
of discharge and smooth regulation of the arc current. The melting furnace 
is supplied with replaceable mould of different forms. 

Advantages 
Compared with its analog – LK 6 electric-arc furnace of Leybold 
(Germany) this product has the following advantages: 
High-temperature (up to 3400 °С) regulated melting can be performed 
in a wide range of stabilized pressure of plasma-forming medium 
(1,3 ⋅ 103 1,5 ⋅ 105 Pа), which allows to conduct targeted refinement and 
decontamination of metals, to suppress the process of their evaporation, to 
optimize the conditions of melting of special alloys, to implement nitration and surface handling of ingots. 
At low pressures (1,3 ⋅ 104 Pа) a special mode of melting is possible 
with energy release regulated and localized in space (102 – 104 W/см3). 
This allows to change smoothly the magnitude and density of power 
brought to metal, to increase considerably (2,5 times) the melting ability 
of the arc, to change within broad limits the area of contact of plasma with 
metal, to reduce considerably the expenditure of rare gas during melting 
of little-evaporating metals, to improve durability of electrodes at highcharge currents, to use metals in powdery form as raw materials. 
Smaller mass-size parameters and price (2,5 – 3 times). 

Development stage 
An industrial prototype of the furnace has been created. Experimental 
meltings of different metals and alloys have been done. The designer 
documentation on its units has been prepared.  

Novelty 
A new kind of product with considerably improved technical and economic characteristics and broader technological possibilities. 

Exercise 1. Find the English equivalents for the following words and 
word-combinations given below: 
компактная электродуговая плавящая печь, процесс плавления, производство товарных партий сплавов, гарантирует начало выброса и 
плавного регулирования потока дуги, плавящая печь, вакуумногазовая единица, значительно улучшить, сырье, предварительно выкачивать воздух из камеры плавления, широкий диапазон экспериментальных сплавов.