Analysis of Steel Electrical-Resistance Kinetics during High-Temperature Experiments using an Embedded System

Abstract

Metals’ properties can be enhanced through high-temperature treatments. These treatments can also enhance the mechanical properties of metals, such as strength, hardness, and ductility. This is achieved by altering the microstructure of the metal, which can improve its ability to withstand stress and deformation. To ensure the effectiveness of the processes, samples undergo mechanical and optical characterization. During high-temperature treatments, oxidation kinetics is often studied through controlled experiments. However, traditional methods involve a complicated, time-consuming, and iterative process to track oxidation changes at different intervals, leading to limited data. This paper proposes the use of metals’ electrical resistance as a method to monitor oxidation kinetics during high-temperature experiments with AISI-304. An embedded system has been developed to control and record pertinent experimental data. The four-point method, backed by the Ordinary Least-Square Estimator, is employed to measure electrical resistance. Data analysis shows an increase in resistance value, which is attributed to the loss of mass/area caused by high-temperature oxidation.