Ferrouranium, also called ferro-uranium, is a ferroalloy, an
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...
of
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
and
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
, after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
usually
depleted uranium
Depleted uranium (DU), also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy, or D-38, is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope Uranium-235, 235U than natural uranium. The less radioactive and non-fissile Uranium-238, 238U is the m ...
.
Composition and properties
The alloy contains about 35–50% uranium and 1.5–4.0%
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
. At least two intermetallic compounds of iron and uranium were identified: U6Fe and UFe2. Small amounts of uranium can drastically lower the melting point of iron and vice versa. reportedly melts at 1230 °C, at 805 °C; a mixture of these two can have melting point as low as 725 °C, a mixture of iron and can have melting point of 1055 °C. As ferrouranium readily dissolves in mineral acids, its chemical analysis is not problematic.
Use
The first uses of ferrouranium date back to 1897, when the French government attempted to use it for gun barrels. Ferrouranium is used as a deoxidizer (more powerful than ferrovanadium), for denitrogenizing
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
, for forming
carbide
In chemistry, a carbide usually describes a compound composed of carbon and a metal. In metallurgy, carbiding or carburizing is the process for producing carbide coatings on a metal piece.
Interstitial / Metallic carbides
The carbides of th ...
s, and as an alloying element. In ferrous alloys, uranium increases the elastic limit and the
tensile strength
Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS, tensile strength, TS, ultimate strength or F_\text in notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials, the ultimate ...
toughness
In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing.strength in amounts between 0.05 and 5%. Uranium-alloyed steels can be used at very low temperatures; nickel-uranium alloys are resistant to even very aggressive chemicals, including
aqua regia
Aqua regia (; from Latin, "regal water" or "royal water") is a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, optimally in a molar concentration, molar ratio of 1:3. Aqua regia is a fuming liquid. Freshly prepared aqua regia is colorless, but i ...
.
Economics
The alloys did not prove to be commercially successful in the long run. However, during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and afterwards, uranium-doped steels were used for tools; large amounts of ferrouranium were produced between 1914 and 1916.