• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.581-593
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• 2018

Studies on ancient iron production technologies still have challenges to overcome, although there have been many results that have enabled us to understand these old technologies. The purpose of this study is to propose a suitable temperature condition for smelting experiments. The target for reconstruction is a smelting-smithing process in the ancient Jungwon area, and the experiment was designed on the basis of published research, such as archaeological evidence. Experiment A was performed at a low temperature to produce low-carbon iron, while Experiment B was conducted at a relatively high temperature to synthesize high-carbon iron. In addition, the low-carbon iron proved to be suitable for the smithing process. Moreover, aspects such as the microstructure and chemical composition of the slag and the surface condition of the furnace wall showed that the low-temperature smelting process was closer to the ancient method. It is important to mention the premise that the reconstruction of ancient technology can be achieved when the results of an experiment replicate the conditions of a real site. The results show that direct smelting, which produces low-carbon iron bloom under a low-temperature condition, should be the subject of smelting experiments concerning the iron production technologies of the ancient Jungwon area.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.519-532
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• 2017

Studies on ancient ironmaking technologies are primarily based on archaeological surveys and scientific analysis data, and technological systems are examined by comparing the results of restorative experiments. In this study, to examine the ancient iron production technologies such as smelting and smithing in the Jungwon area, a restoration experiment was conducted based on archaeological data, and the iron and slag, etc. produced in the experiment were analyzed. Further, the changes in physicochemical properties due to the smelting of the raw material, specifically, iron ore were determined, and the smithing process, which involves fabrication of ironwares, was analyzed along with the characteristics of each step. In the case of smelting, increasing recovery rates and production of high-quality primary iron material were important for the following processes. For the iron bars produced through the smithing process, it was found that quality improvements made by reducing physical defects such as inclusions or gas holes were more important than the composition of the iron itself. The study also yielded comparative study data for various byproducts, such as smithing slag, which could be utilized in other ironmaking technology studies.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.297-312
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• 2017

In the ancient iron-making process, a slag former was often added so that iron and other minerals in the ore could be smoothly separated. However, there are insufficient data for judging whether a slag former was added. Thus, in this study, we conducted a smelting experiment to understand the material characteristics of a steel structure that differed depending on the addition of a slag former. It was found that the steel structure produced in the first experiment had a total Fe content of 39.45-52.94 wt%, which decreased to 34.89-38.92 wt% in the second and third experiments. CaO compounds such as calcite, gehlenite, and hercynite appeared, in addition to iron oxides, after the addition of a slag former. As a result of an assessment of whether a slag former was added by comparing the ratio between the components, it was found that the ratio of $CaO/SiO_2$ was 0.42. From a comparative analysis of $Al_2O_3/SiO_2$ and $CaO/SiO_2$, it was judged that the ratio of $Al_2O_3$ and $SiO_2$ can be utilized as an index to judge similar systems of smelting process (ore, furnace wall, and fuel).

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.6-25
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• 2024

This study concentrated on a report on the results of smelting experiments conducted eight times by the Jungwon National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, put together the goals and results of the operation, and examined changes in the content of experiments and in the experimental results. First, changes related to operation, such as the ratio of raw materials to fuel and the presence or absence of additives, were reviewed depending on the operation goal. In addition, the results of metallurgical analysis of raw materials, formations, and byproducts were summarized and reviewed by comparing them with materials excavated from the ruins. The operation method varied up to the eighth smelting experiment in terms of iron ore roasting, additives, and raw material/fuel ratio. After reviewing the results again, pure iron with a low carbon content began to be confirmed through metallurgical analysis. As a result, it was confirmed that the charging ratio of raw materials and fuel plays an important role depending on the purpose of production. In addition, most of the products are gray cast iron, and it was deemed that this is due to changes in the internal structure of the pig iron while it was left in the furnace for a long time. The iron was an ingot that was in a molten state even though the carbon content did not reach 4.3%, where the process reaction takes place, and it was deemed to have been caused by excessive operating temperature. Based on the previously reviewed results and the structure and shape of the experimental furnace used in other ironmaking technology restoration experiments, this study finally attempted to restore the structure of an ancient iron smelting furnace, including the furnace's upper structure. By comprehensively referring to the remaining conditions of the excavated iron smelting furnace and the characteristics of the blow pipe, the form of the ancient iron smelting furnace was subdivided into six categories: furnace wall thickness, furnace height, blower height, blow pipe size, furnace inner wall shape, and top shape, and a restoration plan was proposed. To improve the problems of the restoration plan and the Jungwon National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage's experiments that have been conducted through continuous trial and error, an experiment that reflects changes in operating methods by lowering the furnace height and controlling the blowing volume is necessary.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.75-83
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• 2017

This study produced smelting slag through the reproduction of an ancient iron manufacturing technique, with the aim of facilitating a comprehensive understanding of the process by analyzing the slag components. The research suggests an interpretation method using the ratio of the subcomponents relative to the main slag components as an alternative to existing methods. We investigated the component source within the smelting furnace from which the slag is derived by developing an understanding of the tendency between slags. Based on bivariate graph and triangular coordinate data analysis, it was found that a slag can be categorized according to its components. The groups were identified as the ore slag group(centered on the ore), and the clay slag group(centered on clay and granite soil). This research determined that it is possible to estimate the components derived from the slag, depending on which group they belong to or resemble, as shown in Figure 4~7. It was found that a comprehensive understanding of the ratio between the components was more accurate than a simple analysis of the contents, for the interpretation of ancient iron manufacturing processes. This is based on the fact that a higher ratio of $TiO_2$ was detected by the components analysis, and an analysis of all the slag showed that the value of $CaO/SiO_2$ ratio was lower than 0.4, which corresponds to the reproduction experiment condition in which flux was not used.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.138-153
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• 2015

A Jincheon Seokjangri B23 furnace was reconstructed and iron smelting experiment was performed to investigate an ancient Baekjae iron production process. The work mainly described in this paper is the $1^{st}$ and $2^{nd}$ experiments among the several experiments carried out at Jungwon National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. Iron ore(magnetite) and oak charcoal were used as a source and a foot bellow was used for air supply. Common results of the experiments are masses of iron, slag and charcoal formed in the furnace. Most iron lumps were formed nearby the tuyere rather than the area of tapping hole. Metallographic and chemical analysis shows that the iron lumps can be used for either forge or cast depending on their carbon content. Low Fe content and glassy texture of the inner slags suggest that the operation environment was quite reducing. Based on the results of the iron smelting experiments, measurements and analysis, various information was obtained regarding physical-chemical and metallurgical processes of the ancient iron smelting process. It is firmly believed that its undisclosed contents can be revealed more in depth with continual reconstitution experiments.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 2018

This study replicated traditional smelting methods to produce iron blooms from sand iron. The metallurgical properties of the slag and the iron blooms were analyzed. The sand iron materials used in the smelting experiments, which were based on ancient documents, were collected from Gyeong-Ju and Pohang. Analysis by WD-XRF and XRD showed that Gyeong-Ju's sand iron contains a high-titanium, with magnetite, and Pohang's sand iron contains a low-titanium, which magnetite and ilmenite were mixed. Analysis of the slag with XRD, and the micro-structure with metal microscopes and SEM-EDS, confirmed that the major compounds in the slag of the Gyeong-Ju's sand iron were fayalite and $w\ddot{u}stite$, and those in the slag of the Pohang's sand iron were titanomagnetite and fayalite. The differences in the main constituents were confirmed according to the Ti quantity. Finally, we observed the microstructures of the iron blooms. In the case of the iron bloom produced from Gyeong-Ju's sand iron, the outside was found to be dominantly a pearlite of eutectoid steel, while the inside was a hypo-eutectoid steel where ferrite and pearlite were mixed together. While, the major component of the iron bloom produced from Pohang's sand iron was ferrite, which is almost like pure iron. However, there were many impurities inside the iron blooms. Therefore, this experiment confirmed that making ironware required a process that involved removing internal impurities, refining, and welding. It will be an important data to identify the characteristics of iron by-products and the site through traditional iron-making experiments under various conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.310-316
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• 2020

In this study, the stability and EMP shielding performance of metal-based industrial by-products aggregates with excellent conductivity and easy procurement to be used as concrete aggregates for EMP shielding are evaluated. The industrial by-products are electronic-arc-furnace oxidizing slag, copper smelting slag, and ferro-moldibdenum. The composition analysis of aggregates and aggregate stability are evaluated. As a result of the experiment, ferro-moldibdenum is shown to have l ow stability as an aggregate due to its high Free-CaO. The remaining aggregates are evaluated to be safe to use as aggregates for concrete. In addition, industrial by-products aggreagate-specimens excluding ferro-moldibdenum are shown higher compressive strength than the plain specimen. The recycle aggregates, electronic-arc-furnace oxidizing slag and copper smelting slag, are shown excellent EMP shielding performance, the EMP shielding performance is expected to increase if the average particle diameter of the aggregate is small or evenly distributed.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.738-747
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• 2021

This study attempted to investigate the metallurgical characteristic through material scientific analysis of hammer scale produced as a direct smelting method restoration experiment for each raw material of iron. To this end, four hammer scale groups were set up, respectively, by experimenting with Gyeongju-Gampo Iron sand and Yangyang Iron ore. For the analysis, principal component analysis, compound analysis, microstructure observation, and chemical composition were confirmed. As a result of principal component analysis, as forging and refining progressed, the content of Fe increased and the content of non-metallic objects decreased. As a result of compound analysis, iron oxide-based compounds were identified. As a result of confirming microstructure and chemical composition, Wüstite and Fayalite were observed overall, and agglomerated Wüstite were observed in some. Magnetite on shape of polygon and pillar was observed. In addition, it was confirmed that internal defects, impurities, and non-metallic interventions gradually decreased. In the future, it is necessary to investigate the metallurgical characteristic through material scientific analysis of hammer scale produced through restoration experiments using various raw material of iron, and compare them with those excavated from Iron manufacture ruins.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 2013

This study aims at identifying the variation of physicochemical properties for galena ore in order to use it in understanding of manufacturing techniques in terms of metallurgical method and smelting or refining process for obtaining lead. The ores in the study obtained from the operating mine have been washed and pre-treated for a test. Metallic lead has been extracted by roasting process. The result displays that galena is still in present in the matt despite of exposure to high temperature, over $1000^{\circ}C$. Nearly $11.1g/cm^3$ specific gravity metallic lead has been collected from the refining test of which aim was to remove the remnant galena and a trace of concentrated silver has been identified at the grain boundary. The result suggests that at least one refining process was essential to acquire high purity metallic lead and cupellation had been executed to remove remnant silver.