Department of Materials Engineering awards a Master’s degree in Materials Engineering in the field of Industrial Development
The Department of Materials Engineering at the University of Technology awarded a Master’s degree to researcher Hassan Hadi Hilal on Thursday, 19/12/2024, in the Graduate Studies Hall in Building B, for his thesis entitled”Improving the Mechanical Properties of the Mast by Heat Treatment”.
The study aimed to enhance the wear resistance of low-carbon structural steel (St52-3), widely used in the framework of oil drilling rig masts. The experimental methodology involved applying a nickel-based powder coating to steel samples using the flame thermal spraying technique, in addition to performing heat treatment on separate samples to conduct a comparative evaluation of both methods. The findings demonstrated a substantial improvement in the surface properties of the coated samples, with surface hardness and mechanical wear resistance increasing by nearly threefold compared to the base alloy. This enhancement was attributed to the formation of intermetallic phases and compounds during the coating process, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Furthermore, microstructural examinations using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a coating layer with uniformly distributed, fine-grained particles. The study highlights the effectiveness of flame thermal spraying as a surface modification technique for improving the mechanical properties of St52-3 steel. These findings provide valuable insights into potential applications for structural components exposed to high wear conditions, particularly in oil drilling operations.
The discussion committee consisted of Assist. Prof. Dr. Jamal Jalal Daoud as chairman and the membership of each of Assist. Prof. Dr. Jabbar Hussein Mohammed, and Assist. Prof. Dr. Sura Salem Ahmed. The thesis was supervised by the Senior Chief Engineer Dr. Hussein Mohammed Yousef/Ministry of Industry – General Company for Steel Industries, Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Omeid Zain Al-Abidin/Department of Materials Engineering. The thesis was also scientifically evaluated by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Faleh Hassan, Prof. Dr. Ali Munther Mustafa, and linguistically by Lect. Dr. Ali Abdul Karim Mohsen.
