Course Title: Metallurgical Engineering

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Metallurgical Engineering

Credit Points: 6.00


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

PROC2057

City Campus

Undergraduate

120H Civil, Environmental & Chemical Engineering

Face-to-Face

Sem 2 2006

Course Coordinator: Ass.Prof. Doug Swinbourne

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2201

Course Coordinator Email: drs@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 7:1:4


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no formal prerequisite courses.  However, it is assumed that you have a basic understanding of inorganic chemistry and chemical thermodynamics.


Course Description

In this course you will learn the central principles of pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, and how they are used to design and control plants to produce metals.  The production of copper will be used to illustrate pyrometallurgy, and the production of zinc to illustrate hydrometallurgy.  At the completion of this course you will have a deeper understanding of applied chemical thermodynamics, especially as it applies to multiphase equilibria, and will have developed the ability and confidence to analyse complex industrial processes.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the conclusion of this course you will have developed many of the skills needed to carry out metallurgical design and operations. These will include graphical and analytical skills to control the quality of the outputs of processes, as well as minimise losses of valuable materials.


At the conclusion of this course you will have developed many of the skills needed to carry out metallurgical design and operations. These will include graphical and analytical skills to control the quality of the outputs of processes, as well as minimise losses of valuable materials.


Overview of Learning Activities

There are weekly lectures which will help you understand technical issues and help you identify the important concepts.  This will also be aided by concept tests scattered through the classes, and through calculations done during tutorial times -  which are embedded in the classes.  There will be ample time for discussion with your lecturer, both during and after scheduled class times. 


Overview of Learning Resources

All class notes will be available from the DLS.  There are some general texts on extractive metalurgy in the library which could prove useful, but are not essential.


Overview of Assessment

There are only two assessment tasks.  One is a class test in week 7 on copper smelting, worth 50% of the overall mark.  The other is a class test in week 13 on zinc production, also worth 50% of the overall mark.  Both tests are 2 hours long and will include concepts and calculations, short questions and long questions.