The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country rich in natural resources, including large deposits of tin, tantalum, and tungsten -- metals used to manufacture many of the electronics found in U.S. homes, such as laptops, cell phones, iPods and digital cameras.

U.S. and international electronics companies purchase significant quantities of these metals from the DRC, despite a ten-year civil war that has cost an estimated 5.4 million lives. Rebel groups perpetuating the country's conflict are funded by profits from mining activities, and by unwitting American consumers who purchase electronics using minerals sourced from mines in eastern DRC.

The Congo Conflict Minerals Act, recently introduced by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Russ Feingold (D-WI), would require electronic companies such as Apple, Nokia and Nintendo, to report the exact location of mines in DRC from which they receive tin, tantalum and tungsten. This publicly available information would inform consumers whether the electronics they purchase originate from conflict zones in the DRC.

Passing the Congo Conflict Minerals Act, if accompanied by sufficient publicity, would likely have a significant impact on consumer (and eventually, corporate) behavior. As evident from the effective embargo on blood diamonds from Sierra Leone, many Americans and Europeans are conscientious consumers, sensitive to breaking the link between conflict and natural resources. U.S. and international companies also have reputational concerns. The SEC is a principal source of company information for potential investors.

Under this Act, all SEC-listed companies would be required to fully disclose the amount of money paid to foreign governments for oil, gas, and minerals in their required financial statements. Such transparency would allow companies to build solid reputations based on partnering with governments response to their citizens' needs and concerns. The Act would also mark an important step in ensuring sound revenue management, and fighting the corruption that hinders African countries from translating resource wealth into economic growth.

The pressing reality in eastern DRC, where on Monday Hillary Clinton met victims of one of the world's worst conflicts, underlines the urgency for precedent-setting U.S. action requiring companies to report on their financial flows into war-torn regions.

Despite a nine-year presence by the world's largest United Nations peacekeeping operation -- 18,422 personnel at an annual cost of $1.2 billion -- rebel forces in DRC continue to terrorize innocent citizens. Over one million women and children have become victims of sexual assault and rape in eastern DRC.

Lack of good governance in eastern DRC has played a significant role in allowing these atrocities to occur. Based on research by the World Resources Institute and our local partner organizations in Africa, we believe the Congo Conflict Minerals Act and the Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act would provide a powerful platform for U.S. development assistance to work with governments to ensure revenues from natural resources contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.

Ending the conflict in DRC is a long-standing and high-priority U.S. policy objective. In October 2006, then-President George Bush argued that the conflict constituted "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to our foreign policy. President Obama's administration has made its concern equally clear, hence the secretary of state's visit.

Strong Congressional support is needed now to prioritize and pass both the Congo Conflict Minerals Act and the Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act. While iPods and cell phones are integral in our daily lives, our convenience should not be bought at great detriment to others.

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The sport of darts remains an incredibly popular game, very easy to play when out or at home. For the uninitiated, however, there are lots of options when it comes to selecting the right kind of equipment. Darts themselves are made with a variety of materials, weights and tips, each with their own advantages and disadvantages

Weight of the dart's barrel
In order to fly effectively, darts need a certain amount of weight behind them. The main part of the dart, the barrel, is usually made with metal alloy. Steel and tungsten are both used, as are brass and silver/nickel alloys. The advantage of tungsten over all other types is its density, meaning the dart can be quite weighty while still being slim. This is useful if you throw your darts in close groupings to one another on the board. Fatter shafts will tend to bounce off of other darts and may miss their intended target or even bounce off the board.

The tip of the dart
When it comes to selecting a tip for your darts, the board you play on is the critical factor. The tip of the dart is either made from steel or a soft tip. The steel is weighty enough to stay in the bed of the traditional bristle dartboard. Soft tips are essential for use on the electronic dartboards.

Costs
The cost of your darts may influence your choice. Brass and steel barrels tend to be cheaper, so if you are buying a set for the first time to see whether you enjoy the game, you might wish to try these before committing to the more expensive tungsten darts, which can sometimes be 2-3 times as expensive.

What professionals use
Although the original question asked whether steel darts were better than tungsten, the answer is probably that a combination is best. Professional darts players will typically use tungsten barrels and steel tips.

Personal preference
No matter what the professionals do, however, nothing is more important than how comfortable you are throwing the darts when choosing them. Go to a shop which stocks a variety and they will usually allow you to try them. Experiment with differently weighted darts, different alloys and pick a set which feel right in your hand.

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Protect and enhance the durability of your dart flights using flight protectors. Darts is a game of skill and is played by men and women of all ages. For serious players, a flight protector can help eliminate damage with a regular dart use as well as strengthening your flight so that is able to be used over and over again.

Instructions

1
Purchase flight protectors. Flight protectors can be purchased for a small price from retailers such as sporting good stores and online specialty stores. Typically, for a few dollars you can get several flight protectors in a package.

2
Attach the flight protector to the dart. Flight protectors are small clips that are usually made out of plastic or metal. Clip the flight protectors onto the dart by placing them on the top of each flight making sure to cover all four edges. The flight protectors will fit any shape of flight whether it is a soft tip or steel tip darts.

3
Test out your darts using your flight protectors. The flight protectors may alter the way the darts are thrown since they are also used to help with aerodynamics by keeping the dart flight in good shape. This translates into a more accurate hit when the dart is thrown at the target.

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Introduction
High-speed steels are tool steels that find applications in machine tools that have high rates of material removal. Tungsten high-speed steels (group T) and molybdenum high-speed steels (group M) are two types of high-speed steels. These two groups of high-speed steels have similar hardening abilities and other characteristics.

High-speed tool steels are capable of being hardened to 62 - 67 HRC and their hardness can be maintained at service temperatures up to 540°C (1004°F). This makes them suitable for use in high-speed machinery.

The tungsten series include the T1 to T15 class alloys. Tungsten is a good carbide former that prevents grain growth, enhances toughness and increases red hardness and high temperature strength. Tungsten is used in hot forming tool steels and high-speed steels.

Overview
White and Taylor developed the type T1 series of tungsten high-speed steels. In the early 1900s, they discovered that certain steels exhibited red hardness and such steels comprised more than 14% W, about 0.3% V and about 4% Cr. T1 in its earliest form contained about 18% W, 0.68% C, 0.3% V and 4% Cr. An increase in the quantity of vanadium was seen by 1920. The carbon content of most steels also increased to approximately 0.75% over the years.

The most significant alloying elements found in tungsten high-speed steels include carbon, tungsten, cobalt, chromium and vanadium. Tungsten high-speed steels contain 4% chromium. T4 and T15 are the cobalt-base tungsten varieties that contain different amounts of cobalt. The T1 type of tungsten high-speed steels is free of cobalt or molybdenum.

Classification
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has classified high-speed tool steels into about 40 individual categories. This classification system uses a T for referring to steels in which tungsten the primary alloying element. The letter T is followed by a number which distinguishes each of the tungsten tool steels ranging between T1 and T15.

Hardness
Tungsten high-speed steels have good wear resistance and high red hardness. The maximum hardness of group T steels differs according to the carbon content and also the alloy content. A minimum hardness of 64.5 HRC can be imparted to all types of high-speed steels. Types such as T15 can be hardened to 67 HRC as they have high carbide and carbon content (1.55%). Hence T15 is considered as the most wear-resistant steel of the tungsten high-speed steel series. Tungsten high-speed steels comprising more than 1.0% C and 1.5% V produce a high number of wear-resistant hard carbides in the microstructure due to the presence of high carbon and alloy content. Tungsten high-speed steels are deep hardening when they are quenched from their hardening temperature of 1205 to 1300°C (2200 to 2375°F). Solid tools such as cold extrusion punches and broaches with large diameters are made from tungsten high-speed steels. Full hardness is provided for tools with large diameters using an accelerated oil quench.

Applications
The major applications of tungsten high-speed steels are the following:

•Interrupted-cut applications and delicate tools
•Cutting tools including hobs, milling cutters, bits, reamers, drills, broaches and taps
•Production of dies and punches
•Making high-temperature and high load structural components, e.g., pump parts and aircraft bearings.

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When you buy an incandescent light bulb, you never know how long it will burn. Its service life is limited mainly by microscopic cracks in the tungsten filament. A simulation model for materials reveals crack formation before and after the drawing process.

Ideally, light bulbs last for 42 days in continuous operation – or so the manufacturers would have us believe. But the reality is not quite so lustrous: Some light bulbs do not burn out for years, but others last only a few days. Fine cracks in the tungsten filament, which eventually cause it to break, preclude a more uniform product quality. This is a problem also faced by Osram and Philips, the world’s biggest light bulb manufacturers. The industry has so far relied on trial and error to improve the drawing process for the filament. Production processes can be enhanced more strategically by simulating the material behavior. Supported by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, the manufacturers are investigating the cracks and the resultant difficulties when spiraling the wire. Osram project manager Bernd Eberhard is confident that “Once we have more insight into the composition and behavior of the filament, we will be able to optimize and standardize our production processes.”

With an average diameter of 40 micrometers depending on the type of lamp, the tungsten filament is only about half as thick as a human hair. To reach this diameter, the wire has to be pulled repeatedly through a wire-drawing die that stretches it lengthwise and makes it progressively thinner. Depending how often the process is repeated, it may acquire a varying number of longitudinal cracks. Splits of this kind form primarily during the first stages of the drawing process, when the wire is thinned from almost four millimeters to only 0.3. The fine cracks grow longer when the wire is stretched further to a diameter of as little as five micrometers. This fact can be attributed to the tension that remains in the wire after drawing out, as IWM project manager Holger Brehm and his predecessor Sabine Weygand have discovered. “We have already succeeded in mathematically describing the behavior of the wire and the cracks that form during and after the drawing-out process. For the first time ever, the tungsten filament can be monitored on the screen during the entire thinning-out process.”

Crack formation is being further investigated and other decisive factors are integrated in the model. One such factor is the friction between the wire and the wire-drawing die. High friction makes the metal hotter. The researchers are therefore currently integrating the temperature change during and after drawing into their simulation. “The drawn wire cools faster on its surface than on the inside,” Brehm summarizes the latest experimental findings. “Unfortunately, splits can occur during this process as well.”

source from www.azom.com

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Introduction
Hot work tool steels are steels capable of withstanding high abrasion, heat and pressure conditions that prevail in manufacturing units that perform processes such as forming, shearing and punching of metals at high temperatures of 480 to 760°C (900 to 1400°F). These steels have wear resistance up to 540°C (1000°F).

Hot work tool steels are designated as group H steels and they have 0.35% to 0.45% carbon, 6% to 25% chromium, with vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten as the other alloying elements. Tungsten is primarily used in hot forming tool steels due to its high temperature strength, toughness and resistance to grain growth.

Overview
Tungsten hot-work steels constitute the H21 to H26 types of hot work steels. These steels have similar characteristics as those of other of high-speed steels. The hot work steel type H26 has low carbon content when compared to that of T1 high speed steel. The primary alloying elements of tungsten hot-work steels include tungsten, carbon, chromium and vanadium.

Properties
Tungsten hot work steels have high alloy content, which enhances their heat resistance. The high alloy content also makes the tungsten steels brittle and unsuitable for the water-cooling process. Breakage of tungsten hot work steels can be reduced if they are preheated to operating temperatures prior to use. Tungsten steels have normal working hardness of 45 to 55 HRC. Thermal shock resistance and toughness of these steels can be improved by reducing the carbon content. In such cases, it is necessary to adjust the tungsten and vanadium content also as these two reduce the hardenability of steel by trapping large amount of carbon in the form of carbides.

Scaling can be reduced by quenching tungsten hot-work steels in oil or hot salt. Tungsten hot-work steels are resistant to distortion when they are air- hardened, and have higher hardening temperature when compared to chromium hot-work steels.

Applications
Tungsten hot work steels find applications in the following areas:

•Manufacturing mandrels and extrusion dies for high temperature applications, such as extrusion of brass, nickel alloys, and steel
•Hot-forging dies of rugged design.

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Background
Silver/Tungsten alloys containing between 25 and 50% silver are used for electrical contacts. These materials are produced via powder metallurgical techniques due to their widely different melting points.

Tungsten oxides and tungstates form on the surface of these metals. This can lead to increasing contact resistance over time.

If more arc resistance is required then these materials can withstand or if contact resistance becomes a problem, silver/tungsten carbide materials offer an alternative.
 
Key Properties
Silver/Tungsten metals combine the high thermal and electrical conductivities of silver with the arc resistance of tungsten.
 
Applications
As mentioned above, silver/tungsten materials are used for electrical contacts. Typically they are used in heavy duty devices subject to high currents. The presence of the refractory material tungsten, reduces the chances of welding and improves resistance to arc erosion. Optimal compositions are found by balancing conductivity and non-welding properties.

Devices that utilise silver/tungsten materials include:

•         Circuit breakers (often in the 50-100Amp range)

•         Relays that require good arc resistance
 

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Background
200 million tungsten bullets a year, using an ounce of tungsten each. That makes more than 5,500 t, or one eighth of existing annual tungsten consumption in the world.
 
Green Bullets
In 1999 the US Army began manufacturing "green" bullets. The bullets - which are used primarily for shooting practice during peace time - are as deadly to humans as their predecessors but less deadly to the Earth.

Lead bullets, which the Army currently uses, tend to bioaccumulate in the environment, often ending up in sediments, surface water, and groundwater, according to A Multimedia Strategy for the Management and Reduction of Lead Hazards released by the US Environmental Protection Agency Region 5. Accumulated lead can adversely affect wildlife and people who get their drinking water from a contaminated source, according to the report. Lead slugs are such a water quality hazard that the federal district court in New York ruled that spent lead shot is a "pollutant" as defined by the Clean Water Act.

The lead slugs the Army uses in traditional 5.56 mm bullets have been bioaccumulating at shooting ranges, forcing several to close. These slugs will be replaced with environmentally friendly tungsten-based slugs, according to Wade Bunting, project manager for environmental armament technologies at the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. Not only is tungsten more environmentally "benign" than lead, but ozone depleting chemicals and volatile organic compounds have been eliminated from the bullet manufacturing process - resulting in pollution prevention and money savings, he says. Although tungsten is more expensive than lead, the cleanup of the manufacturing process actually will result in savings of $0.01 to $0.05 per round, or $5 million to $20 million per year, he explains.

The bullets also will allow several indoor and outdoor shooting ranges that closed because lead concentrations became a human health or environmental hazard to reopen, cutting down the costs of transporting troops to far away, still-operational shooting ranges and eliminating associated pollution he adds.

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Background
Tungsten was among the first alloying elements systematically used - as early as the middle of the 19th century - to improve steel properties. It has been one of the most important alloying constituents in tool steels and constructional steels and was added to enhance the properties of hardness, cutting efficiency and speed of tools.

These highly alloyed steels are used primarily in working, cutting and forming of metal components. They must thus possess high hardness and strength, combined with good toughness, over a broad temperature range.
 
Tungsten Alternatives
During World War II, a shortage of tungsten and an increasing demand for tools forced US and European steel makers to find a substitute, and molybdenum was chosen to replace tungsten in varying percentages. This was also cost efficient as the price was lower and the atomic weight is only half that of tungsten (1% Mo is roughly equivalent to 2% of W).

Tool Steels
Tool steels are usually classified in four groups:

•         Ledeburitic Cr-steels with less than 1% W - normally used for producing thread rolls and dies

•         Cold work steels with 0.5 - 3% W, of which cutting tools for instance are made

•         Hot work steels with 1.5 - 9% W, for dies and extrusion tools working up to 500°C and more

•         Steels for plastic moulding which does not include W-bearing steel grades

High Speed Steels
When tool steels contain a combination of more than 7 % tungsten, molybdenum and vanadium, along with more than 0.60% carbon, they are referred to as high speed steels (HSS).

This term is descriptive of their ability to cut metals at the "high speeds" in use through the 1940’s.

The T-1 type with 18% W has not changed its composition since 1910 and was the main type used up to 1940, when substitution by molybdenum took place. Nowadays, only 5-10% of the HSS in Europe is of this type and only 2% in the USA.

The addition of about 10% of tungsten and molybdenum in total maximises efficiently the hardness and toughness of high speed steels and maintains these properties at the high temperatures generated when cutting metals.

The main use of high speed steels continues to be in the manufacture of various cutting tools: drills, taps, milling cutters, gear cutters, saw blades, etc., although usage for punches and dies is increasing.

Coating
In 1979, the Western World’s production of HSS reached 120,000 tons/year, which has never been achieved again. The production in 1996 was 70,000 tons. One important reason for this is the world-wide rapid spread of coating techniques like the PVD procedure, e.g. the coating of HSS tools with a thin layer of TiN and other types of coating.

Coating increases the life of drills by up to 10 times, or it enables the cutting speed (productivity) to be doubled while the lifetime remains the same as for uncoated.

Another reason for declining consumption in HSS is the increasing switch-over to cemented carbide tools.

Heat Resisting Steels
In certain cases, where corrosion resistant steels are used in higher temperature ranges, tungsten is added. Heat resisting steels are chromium/nickel steels with up to 6% tungsten. The main use is as valve steels for combustion engines, containing around 2% W. Such steels are, for instance, used for the valves on the outlet side of automotive engines, where the red-hot hardness has to be combined with high temperature corrosion resistance.

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Catalysts
In chemical processes, catalysts are used to modify the mechanisms of chemical reactions. By providing an energetically favourable pathway, catalysts accelerate reactions which would normally be too slow or would not even take place. After the reaction, the catalyst remains essentially unchanged.

The main chemical application of tungsten is in the form of catalysts.

•         DeNOx catalysts for the removal of nitrogen oxides from combustion power plant stack gases by selective catalytic reduction with ammonia; the products are harmless nitrogen and water vapour. Typical DeNOx catalysts are honeycomb-shaped TiO2WO3V2O5 ceramics.

•         Catalysts for hydrocracking, hydrodesulphuration and hydrodenitrification of mineral oil products, where tungsten and nickel oxides on ceramic carriers are used. These catalysts help to increase the yield of gasoline and other light hydrocarbons in crude oil processing and to make the products more environmentally friendly by reducing the contents of aromatic hydrocarbons, sulphur and nitrogen compounds.

•         Other tungsten containing catalysts for various applications in the chemical industry, for example dehydrogenation, isomerisation, polymerization, reforming, hydration and dehydration, hydroxylation, epoxidation, etc

Catalyst production usually starts with the very water soluble ammonium metatungstate [(NH4)6H2W12O40 . x H2O], tungstic acid [H2WO4] or ammonium paratungstate. In the finished catalyst, tungsten is mostly present in the form of tungsten oxide or sulphide, or in the form of phosphotungstic acid (a "superacid" in the organic chemist’s terms).

Another example of catalytically active tungsten compounds is superfine tungsten carbide, mostly prepared by thermal decomposition of organic substances in the presence of a suitable tungsten compound.

Chemical Products
For the manufacture of chemical products, commercially available tungsten compounds such as sodium tungstate, ammonium tungstates, tungstic oxide or tungstic acid are commonly used as raw materials. The following list gives a few examples.

•         Inorganic pigments for ceramic glazes and enamels. Tungstic acid or tungsten oxide is used for bright yellow glazes. Tungsten bronzes, i.e. partly reduced alkali and alkaline earth tungstates, are available in many bright colours.

•         Barium and zinc tungstate are examples for bright white pigments. Coloured organic dyes and pigments based on phosphotungstic acid and phosphotungsto-molybdic acid are made for paints, printing inks, plastic, rubber and other materials.

•         Tungsten disulphide is a lubricant for temperatures above the application range of molybdenum disulphide. It has also been used to form a self-lubricating surface on razor blades.

•         Organic tungsten compounds have been patented as viscosity stabilisers in lubricant oils.

Laboratory ApplicationsIn laboratories, tungsten is used in several applications, for example

•         High purity sodium tungstate as a reagent in biochemical analysis

•         Sodium metatungstate for the preparation of heavy liquids to be used for the separation of minerals by density in mineralogy or for density gradient centrifugation in biochemical analysis

•         High purity tungsten granules as an accelerator in the determination of carbon and sulphur in metals by combustion in an induction furnace.
 

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