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Analysis and prevention of frequent occurrences of Uniform Scaffold on the

internal diameter of Hood during steel refining in the Ladle Metallurgy Furnace

Conference Paper · July 2019

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Analysis and prevention of frequent occurrences of Uniform Scaffold on the internal
diameter of Hood during steel refining in the Ladle Metallurgy Furnace

Kanan Kumar Sahoo1*, Ranjan Kumar Pathak2, Santanu Dey3

1.
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, RINL, Wire Rod Mill-2, Visakhapatnam, India
2.
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, RINL, Research and Development, Visakhapatnam, India
3.
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, RINL, Steel Melt Shop-2, Visakhapatnam, India
Corresponding Author *: kanansahoo@vizagsteel.com

Abstract

During Ladle metallurgy Furnace (LMF) refining of steel, the internal diameter of movable hood present
upon the ladle is diminishes due to accumulation of debris known as “Hood Scaffold” which is mainly a
mixture of steel and slag and is a common phenomenon affecting productivity. However, it is very
surprising that, yet no attention has been focused to study on this kind of problem. In the present
investigation, argon gas bubble bursting on the free surface of metal, and the arc interaction with metal
and slag interface which are the most influential mechanisms responsible for metal and slag droplet
generation eventually scaffold formation are analyzed in detail. It is found that the increase in argon
flow rate increases the mass of metal and slag droplet generation. Low arcing tap selection during initial
arc heating increases the depth of cavity on the surface of melt bath which result in an increase of
droplet splashing. Furthermore, it is also investigated that the viscosity and electrical conductivity of
slag plays an important role in hood scaffold formation. It is further observed that, significant scaffold
formation occurs during the ladle refining of high carbon grade steel as compared to low carbon steel
grades due to low operating temperature regime and high percentage of SiO 2 of the former grade. The
minimization of hood scaffold formation is achieved by optimization of slag composition, proper argon
gas stirring, and standardizing the electrical arc heating of high carbon steel grades while refining .

Keywords: Ladle furnace, scaffold, gas-bubble, cavity, arcing, viscosity, error-function

1. Introduction

LMF operational efficiency mainly depends on the AC electrical arcing, argon gas stirring intensity
regime, operating temperature and physical properties of slag and steel. The lower operational efficiency
in case of high carbon steel grades are owing to crusty top slag, erratic regime of electrical arc heating,
and high argon gas stirring intensity as compared to low carbon steel grades. Therefore, excessive
spitting of steel and slag droplets with improper heat transfer which promotes the scaffold formation in
the internal diameter of LMF hood during refining of high carbon steel grades. The frequent occurrence
of hood scaffold will not only lead to yield/iron loss, it also reduces the LMF availability time as well.
There appears to be no information on the mechanism by which the hood scaffold is formed and a
complete theory of the process is as yet not developed. The present paper attempts to reveal the
mechanisms that influence the hood scaffold formation. The Hood scaffold is mainly a mixture of steel
and slag and Table-1 illustrates the analysis of 0.183 kg weight the hood scaffold collected from LMF
and magnetically separated which reveals that it contains 81wt. % metallic iron and 19 wt. % of slag.
The XRF analysis of hood scaffold slag part is shown in Table-2. From both tables it is clear that, in the
current operational practice of LMF operation the physical properties of slag, argon gas bottom stirring
and electrical plasma arc heating regime are not optimized which eventually leads to scaffold formation.

APM 2019 conference, July 4-5, IISc Bangalore, India Page 1

In the present investigation intermediate steel and slag samples of 12 heat data are collected out of
which 7 are of high carbon and 5 are of low carbon steel grade respectively. The following influential
factors: the nature of LMF slag during low carbon Al-killed (LCAK) and high carbon Si-killed (HCSK)
steel refining, the mechanism of AC electrical plasma arc generation, the effect of different flow rates of
argon gas stirring, and the heat transfer between the cooling channels and the adhered materials of the
internal diameter of the LMF hood has been analyzed in detail to understand the reason for hood
scaffold formation. Eventually, optimized parameters were suggested to reduce the scaffold formation
during steel refining in LMF.

Table 1 The amount of metal and slag in the hood scaffold pieces.
Activity Weight
Initial wt. of hood jam sample collected 0.183 kg
Wt. after sieving and separating metallic part 0.148 kg
Wt. of slag particles 0.0355 kg
% of slag in the whole sample 19.3
% of steel in the whole sample 80.7

Table 2 XRF analysis of hood scaffold slag in wt. %.

CaO MgO SiO2 Al2O3 FeO MnO P2O5
41.6 4.69 8.85 12.85 28.89 1.62 0.40

2. Analysis of scaffold formation mechanisms

2.1. Physico-chemical properties of low and high carbon steels

Generally in LMF, the liquid steel is heated by means of electrical energy. Therefore, the low viscosity
and high electrical conductivity of slag is required to increase the arc heating efficiency. These
properties are inversely related to each other but depend on the ionic structure and degree of
polymerization of slag which can be defined by NBO/T and is represented as the ratio of the number of
non-bridging O atoms to O atoms in tetragonal co-ordination [1] The attributes of low viscosity and high
electrical conductivity of slag in LCAK and vice versa in HCSK are due to difference in operational
practices. In addition to that, the higher liquidus temperature 323-343 K (refer Table 3) of LCAK than
HCSK steel grades restricts to refine these grades differently. The viscosity and electrical conductivity
of slag is calculated on the basis of models proposed by Urbain [1] and Zhang and Chou [1] respectively
while degree of polymerization is calculated on the basis of Mills [1] model. It is also found that, the
NBO/T ratio is less in HCSK owing to high amount of SiO2 present in slag which has more bridging
oxygen (O°) than non-bridging oxygen (NBO or O-). In order to optimize the electrical conductivity and
viscosity of slag in HCSK steel grades, optimization of slag composition has been performed by using
error function.

2.2. The mechanism of droplet formation due to argon gas stirring in the ladle:

Argon gas bubbles form during argon gas stirring through the bottom porous plugs and when these
bubbles reaches the liquid steel surface, it bursts leaving a hemispherical dome. The liquid from the
surrounding tries to fill the dome by which a liquid ligament is formed, which fragments further into
droplets as shown in Fig (1). However, the above phenomena happen only when the diameters of

APM 2019 conference, July 4-5, IISc Bangalore, India Page 2

generated bubbles are lower than the critical bubble diameter for the same amount of argon gas flow
rate. The bubble diameters are estimated by the Mori et al [2] for different gas flow rates as Eq. (1).

Fig. 1 Schematic of ligament of a jet after bursting of bubble Fig.2 Schematic of force acting on melt

1/2 1/3
3𝜍𝑔−𝑚 𝑑 𝑛 9𝜍𝑔−𝑚 2 𝑑 𝑛2 10𝑄𝑔 𝑑 𝑛
𝐷𝑏 = + + ---- (1)
𝜌𝑙𝑔 𝜌 𝑙2 𝑔 2 𝑔

Where, 𝐷𝑏 is the diameter of bubble, 𝑑𝑛 is the diameter of the porous-plug, 𝑄𝑔 is the gas-flow rate,
𝜍𝑔−𝑚 is the interfacial tension between liquid steel and argon gas and 𝜌𝑙 density of liquid steel. The
critical diameter of bubble is calculated from dimensionless analysis and the number of fragmented
droplets 𝑁𝑑 produced by bubble bursting on the free surface deduced as proposed by Zhang et al [3] in
Eq. (2) and Eq. (3) respectively. The critical diameters of all bubbles in the present investigation are well
1.554 𝜍𝑙0.56
𝐷𝐵𝑐𝑟𝑡 = ---- (2)
𝑔𝜌 𝑙 𝜂 𝑙0.07
𝐷𝐵
𝐷𝐵𝑐𝑟𝑡
𝑁𝑑 = 7.9𝑒𝑥𝑝 − − 0.41 ---- (3)
0.338

above the diameters of generated bubbles for the operated range of argon gas flow rate which is in
accordance with the concept of bubble bursting phenomena on pure and sea water observed by Spiel et
al [4]. The energy transferred to the ligament by assuming the average force acting on the liquid ligament
as the crater fills in is given by 𝐸𝑙 = 𝜋𝜍𝑙 𝑅𝐵2 where 𝑅 is the radius of bubble. However, the surface
tension force acts along the unbroken length of the liquid ligament, the surface energy on the liquid jet is
given by 𝐸𝜍 = 𝜋𝐷𝑗 𝜍𝑉𝑗 𝑡𝑏 where 𝐷𝑗 and 𝑉𝑗 are the diameter and velocity of the droplet and 𝑡𝑏 is the time
of break of the droplet from liquid ligament. The frictional drag energy acting on the full length of the
a πV 2j C D ρ D 2d
liquid ligament is given by ED = where CD is the drag coefficient on the in-flight droplet. The
8
total gravitational potential energy of the ligament if the center of gravity is displaced by half of its
𝜋𝐷 2 𝑙𝜌 𝑙
length is given by 𝐸𝑃 = 𝑗8 . The total energy absorbed by the ligament during its breaking 𝐸𝑗 can be
equated to sum of surface tension energy𝐸𝜍 , frictional drag energy 𝐸𝐷 , and gravitational potential energy
𝐸𝑃 . During breaking of droplets from the ligament, the kinetic energy of the liquid steel droplet is given
by the difference between energy absorbed by the ligament 𝐸𝑙 and energy used for the breaking of the

APM 2019 conference, July 4-5, IISc Bangalore, India Page 3

ligament 𝐸𝑗 . The initial velocity of droplet at the point of breakup 𝑣𝑑,0 can be estimated from Eq. (4),
where, 𝐷𝑑 is the diameter of the ejected droplet at the point of breakup.
12𝑔 𝐸𝑙 −𝐸𝑗
𝑣𝑑,0 = ---- (4)
𝜋 𝜌 𝑙 𝐷𝑑3

2.3. The mechanism of AC electrical plasma arc heating during steel refining in LMF:

In the present investigation, the arc is modeled by Bowman method [5] as emanating from a relatively
small attachment area on the graphite electrode in positive polarity mode and extends down to the
surface of molten bath. The shape of the conductivity volume of the arc as a function of cathode
attachment spot is given by Eq. (5).Where, 𝑟𝑎 is the arc radius which is a function of distance 𝑧 measured
𝑟𝑎 𝑧
= 3.2 − 2.2𝑒𝑥𝑝 − ---- (5)
𝑟𝑘 5𝑟 𝑘
from the tip of the electrode, 𝑟𝑘 is the cathode spot attachment and is determined by instantaneous arc
current 𝐼. The electromagnetic thrust force is given by Eq. (6). Where, 𝜇0 = 4𝜋 × 10−7 H/m is the
permeability of free space, 𝑅𝑎 and 𝑟 is the anode-spot radius and radius of arc between the cathode and
𝜇 𝐼2 𝑟2
𝑓𝑡 = 4𝜋02 𝑅 2 1 − 𝑅 2 ---- (6)
𝑎 𝑎
anode respectively. The arc current passes through the metal bath and creates a magnetic field and the
electromagnetic thrust force 𝐹 of the arc column acts along the shortest path towards the lining. Typical
inclination of the arc blowing is 𝜃 = 45° 𝑡𝑜 60° to the electrode axis as shown in Fig. 2. The axial
action on the liquid metal anode is promoted by the pressure of the electron flux as Eq. (7). Where, 𝑛
𝑚 𝑣 𝐼
𝑓𝑒 = 𝑛𝑚𝑒 𝑣𝑒2 = 𝜋 𝑅𝑒 2𝑒𝑒 ---- (7)
𝑎
is the number of electrons in the plasma arc, 𝑚𝑒 is the mass of an electron, 𝑣𝑒 is the velocity of electrons
and 𝑅𝑎 is the arc radius on the surface of liquid metal bath. The depth of cavity 𝑕𝑐 or depression
configuration is determined by the balance between the total thrust force, the pressure of electrons and
the surface tension force as Eq. (8). Where 𝜃 the angle of inclination of the arc-jet which is assumed as
53° in the present study, ρl and 𝜍𝑙 are the density and surface tension of metal/slag phase and 𝑔 is the
10 −7 𝐼 2 𝑟2 𝑚 𝑣 𝐼 2𝜍 𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
1− 2 + 𝑒 2𝑒 −
𝜋 𝑅2 𝑎 𝑅𝑎 𝜋 𝑅𝑎 𝑒 𝑅𝑎
𝑕𝑐 = ---- (8)
𝜌𝑙𝑔

acceleration due to gravity. The slag and metal droplets generation rate 𝑅𝑑 is estimated similar to
Subagyo [6] as Eq. (9). Where, 𝑁𝑠 is the splashing number and 𝑄𝑎 is the volumetric plasma-arc flow rate
𝑅𝑑 𝛽 𝑁𝑠 3.2
= ---- (9)
𝑄𝑎 2.6×10 +2×10 −4
6 𝑁𝑠 12 0.2
and 𝛽 is the fitting parameter for arc-melt interaction and found as 0.25 in the present investigation. The
arc length 𝐿𝑎 can be estimated form the arc voltage 𝑉𝑎 as Eq. (10). Where, 𝜌𝑎 is the arc resistivity, 𝜌𝐼,𝑘

𝑉𝑎 = 2𝜌𝑎
𝐿𝑎 𝜌 𝐼,𝑘
𝜋
∫ 𝑑𝑧

𝑟 𝑘 3.2−2.2𝑒𝑥𝑝 −
𝑧
2 ---- (10)
5𝑟 𝑘
is the cathode spot current density, The total mass of droplets can thus estimated by multiplying arcing
time with droplet generation rate. From physical evidence it is fond that the droplet diameters of liquid
steel are 2, 3, 4, and 5X10-3 m with median size of 3.5 X10-3 m while the droplet diameter of liquid slag
are 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, and 1.5 X10-2 m with median size of 1.05 X10-2 m respectively by considering the ratio
of Weber number for liquid steel and liquid slag for the same amount of arc thrust force. The initial
APM 2019 conference, July 4-5, IISc Bangalore, India Page 4
velocity of in-flight metal or slag droplet is assumed as the velocity of detachment either from breaking
of ligament or from the shear stress at the cavity due to electric arc impingement. The in-flight travel
distance and temperature of droplets can be estimated by considering the drag effect and convective-
radiative heat transfer in order to estimate the parameters of melt sticking conditions on the internal
hood of the LMF.

3. Results and Discussions:

3.1. Optimization of slag composition:

Utilizing the graphical representation of viscosity-conductivity curves of slag and then applying the
analytical relationship among viscosity, conductivity and slag composition as described in Eq. (11),
result in the point of intersection of these two parameters projected to the composition axis which may
be regarded as the desirable optimized composition of the constituent of slag.

0.33 0.89 0.33 0.89

EC (10E2) EC (10E2)
k (Sm-1)
Electrical conductivity of

Electrical conductivity of
0.79 k (Sm-1)
Viscosity
Viscosity of slag (pa.s) Viscosity 0.79

Viscosity of slag (pa.s)

0.28 0.28
Pa.s Pa.s
slag, EC (Sm-1)

0.69

slag, EC (Sm-1)
z(10E-1) z(10E-1) 0.69
0.23 0.59 0.23 0.59
a b
0.18 0.49 0.18 0.49

0.39 0.39
0.13 0.13
0.29 0.29

0.08 0.19 0.08 0.19

37 42 47 52 12 14 16 18 20
wt. %CaO in slag HCSK wt. %Al2O3 in slag HCSK
0.38 0.89
EC (10E2)
Electrical conductivity of

0.33 k (Sm-1)
Viscosity
0.79
Viscosity of slag (pa.s)
Pa.s 0.69
slag (EC) (Sm-1)

0.28 z(10E-1)
0.59
0.23
c 0.49
0.18
0.39
0.13 0.29
0.08 0.19
15 17 19 21 23
wt. %SiO2 in slag HCSK
Fig. 3 Viscosity-electrical conductivity relationship of slag as a function of (a) wt.%CaO (b) wt.%Al2O3 (c) wt.%SiO2

Table 3 Comparison of Slag composition and its physico-chemical properties before and after its optimization
Prior to optimization, slag composition and its Optimized slag composition and its properties
properties
Steel T(K) %CaO %SiO2 %Al2O3 η EC 𝑁𝐵𝑂 %CaO %SiO2 %Al2O3 η EC NBO/
grade /𝑇 T
HCSK 1803 42-44 26-28 9-11 0.65- 17- 2.0- 45 9 16 0.55 22 2.2
0.71 19 2.1
LCAK 1853 50-52 14-16 17-19 0.30- 30- 2.3- 54 11 21 0.32 34 2.6
0.31 32 2.4
Where T (K), η, EC and NBO/T denotes operating temperature in Kelvin, viscosity in pa.s, electrical conductivity in S.m-1
and degree of polymerization respectively.

𝐶𝐴 𝐶𝐵 𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐴 𝐶𝐵 𝐶𝐶
𝑍 = erf erf erf + erf erf erf ---- (11)
2 𝑘 2 𝑘 2 𝑘 2 𝜂 2 𝜂 2 𝜂

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Where, 𝑍 is the optimization function , k is the conductivity, η is the viscosity and CA, CB and CC are
concentrations of slag constituents that affect the electrical conductivity and viscosity significantly. The
LMF liquid steel refining slag is of CaO-SiO2-Al2O3 type. Therefore, each of these constituents is
considered. Fig. 3 (a), (b) and (c) shows the plots of 𝑍 function with a definite inflection point at the
optimum composition for CaO, Al2O3 and SiO2 respectively. It can be observed from Table 3 that, prior
to optimization, the viscosity of slag is 0.65 to 0.71 Pa.s, which is significantly higher than that of 0.55
Pa.s after optimization of HCSK steel grades. However, for LCAK steel grades it shows little difference
in viscosity for before and after optimization. The viscosity of slag decreases with increasing amount of
CaO while increases with increasing amount of SiO2 and Al2O3. The electrical conductivity of slag
shows an opposite trend of viscosity for HCSK steel. The optimized value of viscosity and conductivity
at the intersection point are 0.55 pa.s and 22 S.m-1 respectively. In industrial practice, optimized slag
composition is achieved by the addition of 1200-1500 Kg synthetic slag (40 wt. % CaO-40 wt. %Al2O3)
per heat for HCSK grades, thereby increasing CaO and Al2O3 in the final slag with substantial decrease
in the amount of SiO2 which is one of the prerequisite for maintaining fluid slag in HCSK steel. In the
optimized slag compositions of HCSK and LCAK steel grades, the measure of depolymerization NBO/T
are 2.2 and 2.6 respectively which are higher than the slag compositions before optimization. It indicates
that, the optimized slags are well depolymerized. Fig. 4 (a) and (b) summarizes that, by rising the argon

3.2. Bubble bursting phenomena:

8.0 70 4.0
a b Frequency of bubbles (s-1)
Diameter of bubble, droplet at

frequency of bubles (kg, s-1)

60 Total mass of droplets (kg)

Total mass of droplets and
bubble bursting (db, Dd)

3.5
Number of droplets (-)

6.5

Number of droples (-)

Bubble diameterX10-2 (m) Number of droplet
(X10-2m, X10-3m)

50
Droplet diameterX10-3(m)
5.0 Number of droplet
40 3.0

3.5 30 2.5
20
2.0 2.0
10

0.5 0 1.5
5 15 25 35 45 55 5 15 25 35 45 55
Argon gas flow rateX(1/3600) (Qg) (Nm3/s) Argon gas flow rateX(1/3600) (Qg) (Nm3/s)
30 2.75
Total mass of droplets and arc

2.50
Drop distance at 75 degree

25
2.25
length (kg, X10-2m)

Arc lengthX10-2(m)
20 c Total mass of droplets (kg) 2.00
ejection (m)

Droplet distance at 75 degree (m) 1.75

15 1.50
1.25
10
1.00
0.75
5
0.50
0 0.25
5 15 25 35 45 55
Argon gas flow rateX(1/3600) (Qg) (Nm3/s)
Fig. 4 Effect of Argon gas flow rate on (a) bubble, droplet diameter and no. of droplet generation (b) Frequency of
bubble generation and total mass of droplets formed (c) drop distance at 75 degree ejection with arc length.

gas flow-rate from 2.23 to 13.89X10-3 Nm3/s, the diameter of generated argon gas bubble in the liquid
steel also increases from 5.56 to 7.58 X10-3 m which results in increase of ejected droplets size from 2.65
to 3.8 X10-3m due to bursting of bubble. The number of droplets formed decreases with increasing gas

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flow rate which is in accordance with Spiel et al [4] but the frequency of bubbles and total mass of
droplets increases markedly from 0.1to 19 kg illustrating harmful effect of higher argon gas stirring flow
rate during the steel refining. Fig. 4 (c) suggests that, the distance travelled by the ejected droplets from
bursting of bubble at 60-75° are less compared to the distance between plume-eye and the internal hood
which are 1.45 and 2.95 m respectively. Thus, most of the liquid steel droplets ejected owing to bursting
of bubbles return back to metal bath via slag layer during the refining period thereby increases the iron
concentration and electrical conductivity of slag increases abruptly due to high electrical conductivity of
liquid Fe (650 kS.m-1). This unusual generation of iron concentration in the slag disturbs the electric
field intensity of plasma arc which can be minimize by decreasing the arc length thereby decreasing the
arc current by providing higher tap selection.

3.3. Arcing Phenomena:

As illustrated in Fig (5), the increasing the arc current from 21 to 28 KA, the corresponding arc voltage
and arc-length also increases from 212 to 260 V and 0.206 to 0.276 m respectively for both metal and
slag phase. Operating at lower tap numbers of 2 and 3 increases the arc length and current thereby
increases the power of arcing and this can be used for heating liquid steel. However, high arc length with
low voltage (tap 4 to 6) may be used initially to liquefy the slag for low liquidus crusty slag of HCSK
steel grades. It is also observed that, by increasing the arc current from 21 to 28 KA, the thrust force on
slag and liquid steel surface increases from 32 to 55N. Fig (6) summarizes that on increasing the arc
current there will be relatively more depth of cavity formed on the slag bath surface with mean depth of
0.33m compared to 0.135m on metal bath. It attributed to low density and surface tension of slag as
compared to metal phase. If the slag is less conductive as that of HCSK grades of steel, the drop in
voltage is significant. However, practically up to 4000 kg of top slag present in the 150 ton ladle does
not creates any issue during arcing unless it has low electrical conductivity. Furthermore, if there exists
any crusty slag during the initial period of refining without effective argon gas stirring, must be liquefied
using a higher arc length and low voltage forming a shallow cavity on slag surface thereby minimizing
the hood scaffold. For the same thrust force, the mass generation of metal droplets increases
significantly from means weight of 193.22 kg as compared to 3.5 kg that of slag droplets due to lower
contact time between slag and arc which is approximately 20% of total refining time. Fig (7) shows the
deposit thickness of metal and slag droplets due to arc impingement during refining for low carbon (L)
and high carbon (H) steel grade heats. It is also observed that, the mean contribution of metal in scaffold
deposit thickness on internal hood of the LMF is 4.23 X10-3 m is significantly higher compared to
7.4X10-5m that of slag for same arcing time with 4.0X10-3 m diameter and 45° ejection angle of both slag
60 300 40 600
Thrust force and arc length

metal and slag (kg, X10-2m)

55
total mass of metal droplets

Arc lengthX10-2(m) 35
droplets, cavity depth of

50 Thrust force(N) 280 500

Total mass of slag

30
Arc voltage (V)

45 Arc Voltage (V) Cavity depth for metal bathX10-2 (m)

(N, X10-2m)

400
40 260 25 Cavity depth for slag bathX10-2(m)
Mass of slag droplets (kg)
(kg)

35 20 300
Mass of metal droplets (kg)
30 240
15
25 200
20 220 10
100
15 5
10 200
0 0
20 22 24 26 28 30
30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Arc current (kA) Arc thrust force (N)
Fig. 5 Effect of arc current on thrust force and arc Fig. 6 Effect of thrust force on cavity depth for steel and
voltage. slag and mass of slag droplet ejected.

APM 2019 conference, July 4-5, IISc Bangalore, India Page 7

 35 400
14 1200
Heat transfer of metal droplets

Heat transfer per unit area

Deposit thickness of metal and

Deposite thickness of metal (Dd=4X10- 30 350

Cooling water flow (m3)

12 3m, θ=45 deg) 1000 without castable coating (kW/m2)
300

Total arcing time (s)

Deposite thickness of slag X 100 25 Heat transfer of metal droplets with
10 (Dd=4X10-3m, θ=45 deg) castable coating (kW/m2) 250
slagX10-3 (m)

800

(kW/m2)
2 per. Mov. Avg. (Total arcing time (s)) 20 Cooling water flow (m3)
8 200
600 15
6 150
400 10
4 100
5 50
2 200
0 0
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
L L L L L L L L L L L LHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Growing thickness of hood depositX10 -3 (m)
Fig. 7 Effect of deposit thickness of slag and metal Fig. 8 Effect of heat transfer on deposit metal droplets with
for LCAK(L) and HCSK(H) steel grades and without castable coating and cooling water flow.

and metal in-flight droplets. However, LMF steel refining slag is of CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 type which is
having good wetting and spreading property, acts as a binder for slag and steel droplets for further
deposition. From Fig.8 it can be inferred that, the amount of heat transfer per unit area of steel droplets
in case of a clean hood is 3.91 kW/m2 which is marginally higher compared to 3.08 kW/m2 compared to
1.5 X10-4 m as that of Al2O3 castable coated hood at the start of a campaign. The average quantity of
water required to cool the hood channels estimated as 61.71m3 which is approximately same for both.

4. Conclusions

(1) In the present investigation, Physico-chemical properties of slag are optimized for viscosity value
of 0.32 and 0.55 Pa.s, and electrical-conductivity value of 34 and 22 Sm-1 for both LCAK and HCSK
steel grades respectively by the application of error function.
(2) It is estimated that, Increasing the bottom argon gas flow-rate from 2.23 to 13.89X10-3 Nm3/s, the
diameter of generated argon gas bubble increases from 5.66 to 7.65 X10-2m which results in increase of
ejected droplets size from 2.65 to 3.8mm due to bubble bursting. The number of droplets formed
decreases with increasing argon gas flow rate but the frequency of bubbles and total mass of droplets
increases from 23 to 61 s-1 and 0.95 to 20kg respectively. It is found that the in-flight distance travelled
by the ejected droplets from bubble bursting is less than the distance between plume eye and the internal
hood resulting increase in iron concentration and electrical conductivity of slag.
(3) It is also revealed that, the thrust force during arcing depends on arc current which decides the
cavity depth. Therefore, higher tap (low thrust force) selection is ideal for initial slag melting while low
tap selection can be used for heating. For same thrust force, mass of ejected metal droplets are higher
compared to slag droplets. Furthermore, the contribution of metal in scaffold deposit thickness is
significantly higher than that of slag during refining of both HCSK and LCAK steel grades. Heat
transfer of steel droplets per unit area with and without Al2O3 castable coating shows marginal
difference.

References
[1] K.C. Mills, L.Yuan, R.T. Jones, SAIMM 111 (2011), pp. 650-656.
[2] K. Mori and M. Sano, Trans JIM 17 (1976), p. 344.
[3] J. Zhang, J.J.J. Chen and N. Zhou, Chem. Eng. Sci. 68 (2012), pp. 151-156.
[4] D.E Spiel, J. Geophys. Res. 99 (1994), pp. 10289–10297.
[5] B. Bowman et al., 52nd Electric Furnace Conference (1994), Nashville, USA.
[6] Subagyo, Brooks G A, Coley K S, and Irons G A, ISIJ Int. 43 (2003), pp. 983-989.

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