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ABSTRACT
Machining swarf consists of finely divided iron powder generated from machining of metal components. This material spontaneously heats due to rapid oxidation of the metal, which can lead to fires. While it is known that spontaneous heating of metal powders requires water as a reactant, there has been no quantitative information regarding how much moisture must be present for the material to spontaneously heat. The purpose of this paper is to determine the general heating characteristics of swarf and measure the effects moisture has on spontaneous heating. The moisture content and the effects of repeated water additions were studied. These experiments were conducted using a newly developed spontaneous heating test specifically designed for this purpose, as no suitable standard methods were useful. It was determined that spontaneous heating was most severe from 10 to 25% moisture by weight for the swarf sample studied.