Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fig 1 Some of The Ladle Metallurgy Processes
Fig 1 Some of The Ladle Metallurgy Processes
After tapping of steel from a primary steelmaking furnace such as BOF, EAF or EOF, molten steel for high
quality or specialty applications is subjected to further refining in a number of alternative processes
collectively known as ladle metallurgy. Ladle metallurgy is sometimes also called ladle refining or
secondary steelmaking. Ladle metallurgy processes are commonly performed in ladles. Tight control of
ladle metallurgy is associated with producing high grades of steel in which the tolerances in chemistry and
consistency are narrow. The objectives of ladle metallurgy are the following.
Homogenization – Homogenization of chemical composition and temperature of liquid steel in the
ladle
Deoxidization or killing – Removal of oxygen
Superheat adjustment – Heating of the liquid steel to a temperature suitable for continuous
casting
Ferro alloys and carbon additions – Making adjustments in the chemistry of liquid steel.
Vacuum degassing – Removal of hydrogen and nitrogen
Decarburization – Removal of carbon for meeting the requirement of certain grades of steel.
Desulfurization – Reduction of sulfur concentrations as low as 0.002%
Micro cleanliness – Removal of undesirable nonmetallic elements
Inclusion morphology – Changing the composition of remaining impurities to improve the
microstructure of the steel
Mechanical properties – Improvement in toughness, ductility, and transverse properties
Depending on the types of steel required, one or more of the following ladle metallurgy processes are
used. These are (i) rinsing or stirring, (ii) ladle furnace, (iii) ladle injection (iv) ladle refining, (v) degassing
processes, (vi) AOD process, and (vii) CAS-OB (Composition adjustment by sealed argon bubbling with
oxygen blowing) process. Some of the ladle metallurgy processes are shown in Fig 1.