Advances in Steelmaking and

Secondary Steelmaking

Smarajit Sarkar
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
NIT Rourkela
 The Lance
 In BOF steelmaking, oxygen of high purity (at least 99.9%

oxygen) is blown at supersonic speed onto the surface of the

bath using a vertical lance, inserted through the mouth of the

vessel. During the initial stages of development of the BOF

process, only single-hole lances were used, but with increasing

vessel size, multi-hole lances have come into vogue so that

large volumes of oxygen (typically 1000-1200 Nm 3/min. for 160-

180 t converters) can be blown within the restricted blowing time

of 15-20 minutes.
 The use of multi-hole lances reduces the chances of any
individual oxygen jet penetrating anywhere near the vessel
bottom, since with a larger number of holes, the total jet energy
gets dispersed along the diameter of the vessel rather than in
the vertical direction. This has also resulted in higher
productivity, since more liquid metal is exposed to oxygen.
Further, the larger the number of holes in the lance, the
faster will be the slag-metal reactions like
dephosphorisation. Such reactions can then take place at a
greater number of reaction sites.
Interaction of the Oxygen Jet with Surroundings and the bath

Next slide schematically shows the nature of jet-bath interaction.

The Mach Number can be as high as 2.5, when the Supersonic
Jet emerges from the nozzle. In the potential core (length three
to seven times nozzle diameter), the velocity is constant. Then
the jet starts entraining the surrounding fluid (in this case, the
gaseous converter atmosphere). This Jet Entrainment causes
lateral expansion of the jet and decreases the jet velocity to
make it finally subsonic. Beyond a distance about 25-30 nozzle
diameters, the supersonic jet becomes fully subsonic.
The jet ultimately impinges on the liquid metal
bath surface to form a cavity. The impingement
of the jet and the dissipation of the jet
momentum causes circulation of the liquid bath
in the upward direction at the vessel central
axis. The intensity of jet-bath interaction is
expressed in terms of the Jet Force Number
(JFN) defined as:
 Where L, the height of the lance tip above the bath surface,
is a key operating variable in the BOF process. With
changing JFN (say, by changing L), the following behaviour
of the liquid bath at the impact zone has been observed.
 At low JFN, dimpling with a slight surface depression
 At medium to high JFN, splashing with a shallow depression
 At high JFN, penetrating mode of cavity with reduction in
splashing.
 The L.D. process was developed using a lance with a cylindrical nozzle. The

physics of a jet issuing from such a nozzle was hardly understood at that time.

The drawbacks of using a cylindrical nozzle for steelmaking were, therefore,

unknown. The successful development and commercial adoption of the L.D.

process later on led to the study of physics of the supersonic jets and thereby

develop a proper lance design.

 It is now known that the supersonic jet issuing from the nozzle of a lance in a

L.D. process should penetrate the bath adequately and that the area of its

impact on the bath should be maximum. These conditions are essential

chiefly for efficient refining, i.e. for decarburisation as well as dephosphorisation.

.
 The static pressure in a jet from a cylindrical nozzle,
as it emerges into the ambient atmosphere, is more
than the atmospheric pressure. It, therefore,
interacts with the atmosphere generating shock
waves and the velocity of the jet decreases with
damped fluctuations. This affects the bath
penetration as well as area of impact adversely
 For a given size nozzle the length of the supersonic core depends on

the blowing pressure and the ratio of the densities of the jet-gas and the

ambient atmosphere. Although the density of the ambient atmosphere in

the L.D. process changes during the blow, an average value is assumed

to calculate the length of the supersonic core.

 During the blow the jet should be expanded to obtain maximum impact

area at the bath surface. At the same time, it should also penetrate the

bath surface to a maximum extent. The depth of penetration of a jet

in a metal bath varies inversely with the impact area at the bath

surface. The requirements, therefore, can only be met at the optimum.

  In the blowing position the lance height from the still bath level has to be

more than the length over which the supersonic core extends in the jet,

since the jet is not fully expanded until that point. In actual practice the

proper height would be around 40-50 times the diameter of the

nozzle.

 It may be mentioned here that decarburisation is faster for greater

values of JFN and dephosphorisation is faster for reverse conditions.

 The gas flow rate from a nozzle can be calculated by assuming a

frictionless and adiabatic flow through the nozzle. The jet behaviour does

not alter adversely even if the actual flow rate deviates by ± 20% from this

nominal value.
 Much of these drawbacks are eliminated if a convergent
divergent laval shaped nozzle is used. The static
pressure in a jet from a laval shaped nozzle disappears
within a short distance from the nozzle tip and hence it
does not interact much with the ambient atmosphere. The
velocity of the jet decreases more uniformly with much
less of damped fluctuations, if the inside and the outside
diameters of the nozzle are properly designed..
 The velocity at any point in the stream is more than
at the corresponding point of the stream from a
similar size cylindrical nozzle under similar
conditions of blowing. The resultant bath
penetration is more in the case of laval shaped
nozzle than that due to cylindrical nozzle. The laval
shaped nozzle is, therefore, universally adopted
 The advantages of multi hole lance
Increase in total throughput oxygen without any adverse effect, at
the same pressure
Improvement in jet spread on the metal bath.
These two lead to:
 less of slopping and spitting and thus less of mechanical losses, in turn better
yield
 improved mixing of slag and metal and thereby better mass transport and hence
better rate of refining
 less of danger of burning vessel bottom in spite of increased oxygen blowing rate
 better gas recovery and improved lining life
 better thermal balance and hence more of coolant scrap or ore is required
  improved slag basicity from around 3 to 3·5
 much improved turndown %P, from earlier 0·034 % to 0·017%
 high residual Mn in the bath so that less of Fe-Mn is subsequently required for
deoxidation.
Comparison of performance of single and multi-hole lance
OXYGEN BOTTOM MAXHUTTE PROCESS(OBM)
 The OBM vessel is essentially a Bessemer-like
converter fitted with a special bottom .
 The tuyeres are inserted from the bottom in such a way

that the oxygen would be surrounded by a protective

hydrocarbon gas like propane.
 On entry propane cracks down in an endothermic

reaction and takes up some of the heat-gene­rated by

the entry of oxygen.
 The relative feed rates of these two fluids are adjusted

to obtain optimum temperatures at the tuyere tip and

thereby ensure its reasonable life as well as speed of
refining.
 The deposition of carbon, which is a product of cracking,

also helps to protect the bottom from heat generated

due to the refining reactions at the tips of tuyeres.
 Inorder to promote turbulence in the bath and thereby
ensure good slag-metal contact, the tuyeres are
arranged only on half the converter bottom.
 Experience dictated that provision of a few bigger

tuyeres is better than large number of fine tuyeres.

Maintenance problems are minimised without loosing in
terms of metallurgical requirements of turbulence. By
this arrangement, it is ensured that the direction of metal
circulation is upwards in the tuyere half of the vessel,
and downwards in the other half.
 This arrangement is also helpful in minimising the

damage to tuyeres while charging scrap, since it can

now be charged on that part where there are no tuyeres.
Sequence of elimination of impurities
Bottom blowing Vs Top blowing
Oxidation of carbon : Bottom blowing increases sharply the
intensity of bath stirring and increases the area of gas-metal
boundaries (10-20 times the values typical of top blowing) .
 Since the hydrocarbons supplied into the bath together with
oxygen dissociate into H2, H2O and CO2 gas bubbles in the
bath have a lower partial pressure of carbon monoxide (Pco )
 All these factors facilitate substantially the formation and
evolution of carbon monoxide, which leads to a higher rate of
decarburization in bottom blowing
 Cont..
 The degree of oxidation of metal and slag

 Removal of phosphorous: Since the slag of

the bottom-blown converter process have a
low degree of oxidation almost during the
whole operation, the conditions existing
during these periods are unfavorable for
phosphorus removal
OXYGEN BOTTOM MAXHUTTE PROCESS(OBM)

 Almost 98% oxygen being reacted with metal in OBM and

hence that much scrap rate is lower in the OBM. If scrap is
cheaper the top blowing can offer some cost advantage in
this respect.
 The iron losses in top blown are nearly 5% more than
those in OBM. Very low carbon steers are achievable in
top blowing only at the expense of extra iron loss in slag.
But this is readily achievable in OBM.

 Cont..

 This also, leads to situation wherein higher carbon levels

can be obtained by 'catch carbon techniques' easily in LD
than in OBM, at low P contents.
 The stirring intensity, which is estimated to be nearly ten
times more in OBM than in LD gives better partition of
phosphorus and sulphur, higher manganese and lower
oxygen at turndown result­ing in better ferroalloy recovery.
 Cont..

Since the slag of the bottom-blown converter process have a low

degree of oxidation almost during the whole operation, the

conditions existing during these periods are unfavorable for

phosphorus removal. Only at the end of blowing, when the bath is

low in carbon, the oxidation degree of the slag increases sharply,

thus favouring dephosphorization. At that moment, phosphorus

passes intensively to slag. When using lumpy lime in the charge, it

is difficult to make medium or high carbon steels with a low

content of phosphorus. The metal must be blown to a low carbon

content, so as to form an oxidizing slag at the end of heat, and

then carburized in the ladle.

 Slopping
 Problems arise when the layer of foaming slag created on the
surface of the molten metal exceeds the height of the vessel and
overflows, causing metal loss, process disruption and
environmental pollution. This phenomenon is commonly referred to
as slopping.
Metallurgical features of Bath Agitated
Process:
 

Better mixing and homogeneity in the bath offer the following advantages:
Less slopping, since non-homogeneity causes formation of regions with high

supersaturation and consequent violent reactions and ejections.

Better mixing and mass transfer in the metal bath with closer approach to

equilibrium for [C]-[O]-CO reaction, and consequently, lower bath oxygen

content at the same carbon content


 Better slag-metal mixing and mass transfer and
consequently, closer approach to slag­- metal equilibrium,
leading to:
o lower FeO in slag and hence higher Fe yield
o transfer of more phosphorus from the metal to the slag (i.e.
better bath dephosphorisation)
o transfer of more Mn from the slag to the metal, and thus
better Mn recovery
o lower nitrogen and hydrogen contents of the bath.
 More reliable temperature measurement and sampling of
metal and slag, and thus better process control
 Faster dissolution of the scrap added into the metal bath
 Hybrid Blowing
A small amount of inert gas, about 3% of the volume of oxygen blown

from top, introduced from bottom, agitates the bath so effectively that

slopping is almost eliminated.

However for obtaining near equilibrium state of the system inside the

vessel a substantial amount of gas has to be introduced from the

bottom.
If 20-30% of the total oxygen, if blown from bottom, can cause

adequate stirring for the system to achieve near equilibrium conditions.

The increase beyond 30% therefore contributes negligible addition of

benefits.
 Cont..

• The more the oxygen fraction blown from bottom the

less is the post combustion of CO gas and
consequently less is the scrap consumption in the
charge under identical conditions of processing.
• Blowing of inert gas from bottom has a chilling effect on
bath and hence should be minimum. On the contrary
the more is the gas blown the more is the stirring effect
and resultant better metallurgical results. A optimum
choice therefore has to be made judiciously.
 Cont..

As compared to top blowing, the hybrid blowing

eliminates the temperature and concentration gradients
and effects improved blowing control, less slopping and
higher blowing rates. It also reduces over oxidation and
improves the yield. It leads the process to near
equilibrium with resultant effective dephosphorisation
and desulphurisation and ability to make very low carbon
steels.
 What is blown from the bottom, inert gas or oxygen?
 How much inert gas is blown from the bottom?

 At what stage of the blow the inert gas is blown,

although the blow, at the end of the blow, after the

blow ends and so on?
 What inert gas is blown, argon, nitrogen or their

combination?
 How the inert gas is blown, permeable plug, tuyere,

etc.?
 What oxidising media is blown from bottom, oxygen or

air?
 If oxygen is blown from bottom as well then how much

of the total oxygen is blown from bottom ?

The variety of hybrid processes along with
amount of basal gas injected
Metallurgical Superiority of Hybrid Blowing

 The processes have been developed to obtain the combined ad­vantages of both

LD and OBM to the extent possible. Therefore the metallurgical performance of

a hybrid process has to be evaluated in relation to these two extremes, namely

the LD and the OBM. The parameters on which this can be done are :
 Iron content of the slag as a function of carbon content of bath
 Oxidation levels in slag and metal
 Manganese content of the bath at the turndown
 Desulphurisation efficiency in terms of partition coefficient
 Dephosphorisation efficiency in terms of partition coefficient
 Hydrogen and nitrogen contents of the bath at turndown
 Yield of liquid steel
 Deoxidation of steel

The oxidizing conditions of a heat in a steelmaking plant, the

presence of oxidizing slag, and the interaction of the metal with the
surrounding atmosphere at tapping and teeming - all these factors
are responsible for the fact that the dissolved oxygen in steel has a
definite, often elevated, activity at the moment of steel tapping. The
procedure by which the activity of oxygen can be lowered to the
required limit is called deoxidation. Steel subjected to deoxidation is
termed 'deoxidized'. If deoxidized steel is 'quiet during solidification
in moulds, with almost no gases evolving from it, it is called 'killed
steel'.
 If the metal is tapped and teemed without being deoxidized, the reaction
[O] + [C] = COg will take place between the dissolved oxygen and
carbon as the metal is cooled slowly in the mould. Bubbles of carbon
monoxide evolve from the solidifying metal, agitate the metal in the
mould vigorously, and the metal surface is seen to 'boil'. Such steel is
called 'wild'; when solidified, it will be termed 'rimming steel' .
 In some cases, only partial deoxidation is carried out, i.e. oxygen is only
partially removed from the metal. The remaining dissolved oxygen
causes the metal to boil for a short time. This type of steel is termed
'semi-killed'.
 Thus, practically all steels are deoxidized to some or other extent so as
to lower the activity of dissolved oxygen to the specified limit.
 The activity of oxygen in the metal can be lowered by two methods: (I)
by lowering the oxygen concentration, or
(2) by combining oxygen into stable compounds.
 There are the following main practical methods for deoxidation of steel:
(a) precipitation deoxidation, or deoxidation in the bulk;
(b) diffusion deoxidation;
(c) treatment with synthetic slags; and
(d) vacuum treatment.
 Continuous casting
The advantages of continuous casting (over ingot
casting) are:
 It is directly possible to cast blooms, slabs and

billets, thus eliminating blooming, slabbing mills

completely, and billet mills to a large extent.
 Better quality of the cast product.
 Higher crude-to-finished steel yield (about 10 to

20% more than ingot casting).

 Higher extent of automation and process control.
 Continuous casting may be defined as teeming of liquid metal in a short mould

with a false bottom through which partially solidified ingot is continuously

withdrawn at the same rate at which metal is poured in the mould. The

equipment for continuous casting of steel consists of :

 The ladle to hold steel for teeming.

 The tundish to closely regulate the flow of steel in the mould.

 The mould to allow adequate solidification of the product.

 The withdrawal rolls to pullout the ingot continuously from the mould.

 The cooling sprays to solidify the ingot completely.

 The bending and/or cutting devices to obtain hand able lengths of the product.

 The auxiliary electrical and/or mechanical gears to help run the machine

smoothly.
Vertical type continuous casting machine
HEAT TRANSFER AND SOLIDIFICATION IN CONTINUOUS CASTING

 High rate of flow of cooling water on the mould surface continuously

removes heat, which is known as primary cooling. The metal is only
partially solidified at the mould exit; the remainder of the cooling and
solidification occurs below the mould by:
 Secondary cooling by water sprays
 Tertiary cooling by radiation below the secondary cooling zones.
 Next slide gives a schematic representation of the steps involved in
continuous casting. The length of the secondary cooling zone is
normally 8 to 10 times that of the primary cooling zone.
Simplified sketch of continuous casting
The major requirements of continuous casting

 Solidification must be completed before the withdrawal

rolls.
 
 The liquid core should be bowl-shaped as shown in the
Figure and not pointed at the bottom (as indicated by the
dotted lines), since the latter increases the tendency for
undesirable centerline (i.e. axial) macro-segregation and
porosity

 The solidified shell of metal should be strong enough at the

exit region of the mould so that it does not crack or
breakout under pressure of the liquid.
 
All the above requirements can be achieved only if the heat extraction

from the metal, both in the mould region and in the secondary cooling

zone, is carried out satisfactorily. The higher the casting speed, the

lesser is the time available for heat extraction in the mould. By

convention, casting speed (vc) is expressed as the rate of linear

movement of the ingot in meters per minute. Therefore, the longer the

length of the liquid core as well as the mushy zone, the lesser would

be the thickness of the shell when the ingot emerges from the mould.

Hence, there is a maximum permissible (i.e. limiting) casting

speed (vc,max)
 qav is not the same for all the strands in CC machines. qav exhibits an

overall range of 800 to 2000 kW/m 2 of ingot surface area.

 It is clear that vc,max can be increased by increasing qav for a certain

strand (i.e. for R = constant).

 At the same value of qav , P max increases proportionately with R (i.e.

strand size).

 For example, a sample calculation shows that v c.max for a slab caster of

size 2 m x 0.3 m, it is about 3.5 to 4 times lower than in the case of a

0.15 m x 0.15 m billet caster. On the other hand, Pmax is 3.5 to 4 times

higher for the slab casting case

 Sustained efforts are being made by steel plants to the increase casting

speed without sacrificing quality. Next slide shows the increase in casting

speeds of slab casters in recent years in the case of some steel

companies in Japan.

 It will be seen that after 1990, there has not been any substantial

increase. This is because at very high casting speeds, problems are

encountered in terms of product quality. Hence, it is not possible to

increase Vc arbitrarily.

 In recent years, the principal emphasis has been on increasing the heat

flux in the mould region to increase productivity.

Increase in casting speed in recent years in the main slab casters in Japan.
METALLURGICAL COMPARISON OF CONTINUOUS
CASTING WITH INGOT CASTING

 The surface area-to-volume ratio per unit length of

continuously cast ingot is larger than that for ingot
casting. As a consequence, the linear rate of
solidification (dx/dt) is an order of magnitude
higher than that in ingot casting.
 
 The dendrite arm spacing in continuously cast
products is smaller compared with that in ingot
casting.
 Cont…

 Macro-segregation is less, and is restricted to the

centreline zone only.
  Endogenous inclusions are smaller in size, since they
get less time to grow. For the same reason, the blow
holes are, on an average, smaller in size.
 Inclusions get less time to float-up. Therefore, any non-
metallic particle coming into the melt at the later stages
tends to remain entrapped in the cast product.
   In addition to more rapid freezing, continuous casting differs from ingot
casting in several ways. These are noted below.

Mathematically speaking, continuously cast ingot is infinitely long.

Hence, the heat flow is essentially in the transverse direction, and
there is no end-effect as is the case in ingot casting (e.g. bottom cone
of negative segregation, pipe at the top, etc.).
The depth of the liquid metal pool is several metres long. Hence, the

ferrostatic pressure of the liquid is high during the latter stages of

solidification, resulting in significant difficulties of blow-hole formation.

 

 
Since the ingot is withdrawn continuously from the mould, the frozen layer of

steel is subjected to stresses. This is aggravated by the stresses arising out of

thermal expansion/ contraction and phase transformations.

Such stresses are the highest at the surface. Moreover, when the ingot comes

out of the mould, the thickness of the frozen steel shell is not very appreciable.

Furthermore, it is at around 1100-1200°C, and is therefore, weak. All these

factors tend to cause cracks at the surface of the ingot leading to rejections.
Use of a tundish between the ladle and the mould results in extra temperature

loss. Therefore, better refractory lining in the ladles, tundish, etc. are required

in order to minimise corrosion and erosion by molten metal.

 Segregation
 Segregation means departure from the average composition. If the concentration is

greater than the average it is called positive and if it is less than the average, it is

called negative segregation.

 It is often estimated as percentage departure from the average composition.

Segregation is the result of differential solidification, a characteristic of all liquid

solutions.

 Steel is a liquid solution of S, Si, C, P, Mn, etc. in iron and hence is prone to

segregation during solidification. The initial chill layer of the ingot has practically the

same composition as that of the steel poured in the mould, i.e. there is no segregation

in the chill layer because of very rapid rate of solidification. The progressive

solidification thereafter results in solidifications of purer phase (rich in iron) while the

remaining liquid gets richer in impurity contents.

A killed ingot cast in wide-end-up mould shows two types of seg­

regation as shown in slide. The impurity segregation at the top follows

the shape of the pipe and is known as V segregation. Side by side

inversed V or A-shaped segregation is also observed at the top.

 It may be due to the sinking of purer crystals down and rising up of the

impure liquid in the upper part. The impurities get entrapped in impure

part at the end of solidification. This is the positive segregation.

 The negative segregation is confined to the lower central portion of the

ingot. In the actual ingot these zones are not as sharp as are shown in

slide; these are quite diffused.

Killed steel ingot showing segregation
 When an ingot of wide freezing range is poured against a chill
mould, a solute-rich region (instead of the usual pure, solute-poor
region) may be obtained in the vicinity of the chill. This
phenomenon is called inverse segregation. The shrinkage during
solidification causes the solute-rich liquid to flow through the inter-
dendritic channels in a direction opposite to the interface motion.
 Segregation increases with increasing time of solidification
required for an ingot, so that large ingots tend to segregate more
than small ingots.
Microsegregation and Macrosegregation

 During solidification of an alloy, the solute atom partitions itself in different

proportions in the liquid and solid. Under nonequilibrium conditions of

cooling, coring manifests itself and the solute gets segregated in the

volume of the liquid that solidifies last. During dendritic growth, the liquid to

solidify last is in the spaces between the dendritic arms. This segregation

of the solute in the solid that forms last is known as microsegregation.

 The chill zone which solidifies first is usually purer. The central part of the

ingot has a concentration of solutes higher than the average.

Macrosegregation is caused by the physical movement of the liquid and

the solid in the semi-solidified '"mushy" region.

 Homogenization is the process of heating the casting for a

prolonged time at a high temperature. This allows diffusion to

occur in the solid state and tends to wipe out or reduce micro-

segregation.

 The distance over which diffusion is to occur and the time of

annealing during homogenization are determined by the dendritic

arm spacing. Interstitial elements such as carbon in steel become

fully homogeneous, whereas substitutional elements, which diffuse

much more slowly, may be only partly homogenized.

 Homogenization does not remove macrosegregation, where the

diffusion distances are much larger.

 Porosity and inclusions

 AS the fraction of the solid in the "mushy" region increases, the liquid is not

able to flow freely and compensate for shrinkage. This results in

microporosity. The strains generated by shrinkage can fracture the weak

solid. This phenomenon is known as hot tearing.

 When a deoxidizer is added to a melt, the deoxidatIon product is often a

solid. When aluminium or silicon is used to deoxidize molten steel, Al2O3 or

SiO2 particles form in the melt. These are called pri­mary inclusions, as

they form before solidification starts. Secondary inclusions form during or

after solidification, e.g., MnS in steels.

 Secondary inclusions are usually present in interdendritic
regions. Primary inclusions are present within the dendrites, but
sometimes found in interdendritic regions, if they have been
pushed by the thickening dendrites.
A troublesome class of impurities in cast metals are the
dissolved gases. The decrease in solubility of oxygen in steel
results in the reaction between oxygen and carbon in the steel
to produce bubbles of CO. These are examples of gas porosity.
 The following are some of the characteristics of different steel ingots.

 The upper part containing the exposed pipe in killed steels has to be rejected

and this decreases the yield to about 80%. The yield from a rimmed ingot is

higher.

 Only a killed steel can be continuously cast. In contrast to ingot steel, the yield

in continuous casting is more than 90 %. A rimmed steel cannot be

continuously cast, as the rimming action can puncture holes through the thin

solidified layer of the cast slab and the liquid steel may pour out uncontrollably.

 The turbulence during gas evolution in a rimmed ingot physically transports the

metal to different parts, causing macro-segregation to a greater extent.

 Secondary Steelmaking

Smarajit Sarkar
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
NIT Rourkela
Secondary steelmaking
Primary steelmaking is aimed at fast melting
and rapid refining. It is capable of refining at a
macro level to arrive at broad steel
specifications, but is not designed to meet the
stringent demands on steel quality, and
consistency of composition and temperature
that is required for very sophisticated grades of
steel. In order to achieve such requirements,
liquid steel from primary steelmaking units has
to be further refined in the ladle after tapping.
This is known as Secondary Steelmaking.
Secondary steelmaking is resorted to achieve
one or more of the following requirements :

 improvement in quality
 improvement in production rate
 decrease in energy consumption
 use of relatively cheaper grade or

alternative raw materials

 use of alternate sources of energy
 higher recovery of alloying elements.
 Quality of Steel

 Lower impurity contents .

 Better cleanliness. (i.e. lower inclusion

contents)
 Stringent quality control. (i.e. less variation

from heat-to-heat)
 Microalloying to impart superior properties.
 Better surface quality and homogeneity in

the cast product.

 Clean Steel

 The term clean steel should mean a steel

free of inclusions. However, no steel can
be free from all inclusions.
 Macro-inclusions are the primary harmful

ones. Hence, a clean steel means a

cleaner steel, i.e., one containing a much
lower level of harmful macro-inclusions.)
Inclusions
 In practice, it is customary to divide inclusions
by size into macro inclusions and micro
inclusions. Macro inclusions ought to be
eliminated because of their harmful effects.
However, the presence of micro inclusions can
be tolerated, since they do not necessarily
have a harmful effect on the properties of steel
and can even be beneficial. They can, for
example, restrict grain growth, increase yield
strength and hardness, and act as nuclei for
the precipitation of carbides, nitrides, etc.
Macro and Micro Inclusions
 The critical inclusion size is not fixed but
depends on many factors, including service
requirements.
 Broadly speaking, it is in the range of 5 to 500

µm (5 X 10-3 to 0.5 mm). It decreases with an

increase in yield stress. In high-strength steels,
its size will be very small.
 Scientists advocated the use of fracture

mechanics concepts for theoretical estimation of

the critical size for a specific situation.
Sources of Inclusions
 Precipitation due to reaction from molten steel or during
freezing because of reaction between dissolved oxygen
and the deoxidisers, with consequent formation of oxides
(also reaction with dissolved sulphur as well). These are
known as endogenous inclusions.
 Mechanical and chemical erosion of the refractory lining
 Entrapment of slag particles in steel
 Oxygen pick up from the atmosphere, especially during
teeming, and consequent oxide formation.
 Inclusions originating from contact with external sources
as listed in items 2 to 4 above, are called exogenous
inclusions.
 Removal of Inclusions

With a lower wettability (higher value of σMe – inc ),

an inclusion can be retained in contact with the
metal by lower forces, and therefore, can break
off more easily and float up in the metal. On the
contrary, inclusion which are wetted readily by the
metal, cannot break off from it as easily.
Cleanliness control during deoxidation
Carryover slag from the furnace into the ladle should be
minimised, since it contains high percentage of FeO +
MnO and makes efficient deoxidation fairly difficult.

Deoxidation products should be chemically stable.

Otherwise, they would tend to decompose and transfer
oxygen back into liquid steel. Si0 2 and Al203 are
preferred to MnO. Moreover the products should
preferably be liquid for faster growth by agglomeration
and hence faster removal by floatation. Complex
deoxidation gives this advantage.
 
 Cont…
 Stirring of the melt in the ladle by argon flowing through
bottom tuyeres is a must for mixing and homogenisation,
faster growth, and floatation of the deoxidation products.
However, very high gas flow rates are not desirable from the
cleanliness point of view, since it has the following adverse
effects:
o Too vigorous stirring of the metal can cause disintegration of
earlier formed inclusion conglomerates.
o Re-entrainment of slag particles into molten steel.
o Increased erosion of refractories and consequent generation
of exogenous inclusions.
o More ejection of metal droplets into the atmosphere with
consequent oxide formation.
 
The speed of floating of large inclusion can be found
by Stoke’s formula
 Process Varieties

The varieties of secondary steelmaking

processes that have proved to be of commercial
value can broadly be categorised as under:
 Stirring treatments
 Synthetic slag refining with stirring
 Vacuum treatments
 Decarburisation techniques
 Injection metallurgy
 Plunging techniques
 Post-solidification treatments.
Various secondary process and their
capabilities
 VOD
(vacuum oxygen decarburization)

Submitted by
ABHISEK PANDA
108MM003
What is VOD???

 A modification of the tank degassers is the vacuum oxygen

decarburizer (VOD), which has an oxygen lance in the centre
of the tank lid to enhance carbon removal under vacuum.
The VOD is often used to lower the carbon content of high-
alloy steels without also overoxidizing such oxidizable
alloying elements as chromium.
 This process is charecterized by:slag-free tapping at the
melting furnace, application of ladles with sufficient
freeboard, inert gas stirring through the ladle’s bottom by
means of porous plugs, oxygen lance with high efficiency
and minimised splashing.
 Here the vital player is the vacuum treatment which reduces
carbon without reducing the alloying elements to a greater
extent.
Why vacuum treatment needed???
 Vacuum treatment of molten steel descreases the
partial pressure of CO, bubbles of CO are formed
in liquid state,float up and then they are
removed.At this pressure oxidation of chromium
is not feasible.hence low carbon high alloy status
is maintained.
 It also helps in removing hydrogen dissolved in
liquid steel.gaseous nitrogen and nitrogen
inclusions are also removed.
 Movement of molten steel caused by CO bubble
also helps in refining steel from non-metallic
inclusions.
 Steels refined in vacuum are characterized by
homogenous structure,low-content of non-
metallic inclusion and low gas porosity.
VOD design
VOD design contd.

 The VOD system essentially consists of a

vacuum tank,a ladle furnace with or without
argon stirring,a lid with oxygen lancing
facility.
 The ladle has a free board of about a metre to
contain violent agitation of the bath during
lancing.the charge is molten metal from arc
furnace.the percentage of carbon in molten
metal in VOD process is about 0.7%-0.8%.
 Argon stirring is required to faster the
kinetics.
VOD design contd.

 At the end of refining,the vacuum is broken and

the bath is deoxidized with Al and Fe-Si.
 Desulphurization can be carried out by putting
synthetic slag .
 Argon purging would also result in sulphur
removal around 80%.
 Since many of the stainless steels are required to
be vacuum treated to decrease the gas content,the
vacuum system could easily be modified to
incorporate oxygen lancing facility and there by
VOD can be brought about for producing low
carbon steels,without much xtra investment.
Final Composition

 THE total VOD cycle lasts for 2 -2.5 hours.

 Final sulphur content-0.01%
 Final carbon content-0.02%
 Final chromium content-15-18%(recovery

~97%)
 The final composition shows that for

producing low carbon high alloy steel,it’s a

very good method.
Benefits of VOD

 Deep carbon removal

 Low loses of chromium in treatment of

stainless steel
 Sulphur removal
 Precise alloying
 Temperature and chemical uniformity.
 Non-metallic inclusions removal
Application of VOD

 Stainless steel production

 Homogenization of ladle content
 Manufacturing large steel ingots
 Manufacturing rails,bail-bearings,other high

quality steels
 Here the initial carbon percentage in molten

metal before treated in VOD is 0.7%-

0.8%.that is a limitation ,where as in other
ladle degassing routes,it could be allowed up
to 2%.
 Recent improvement on
VOD
To improve the operation and control of the
vacuum oxygen decarburization process,the
treatment of stainless steel will be optimized in
terms of major metallurgical operations and
resource consumption.
New VOD operation practices like injection of
scale FeO and EAF slag;and the control of vacuum
pressure will be investigated with respect to their
influence on temperature and
decarburization.further an increase of energy
efficiency of EAF-VOD mode is required
REFERENCE
 Steel Making by A. Ghosh, A. Chaterjee
 An introduction to Modern Steel Making by

R.H.Ttupkarey, V.R. Tupkarey

Composition Adjustment by Sealed argon bubbling
 Ladle Furnace
 It is a simple ladle like furnace provided with bottom plug for argon
purging and lid with electrodes to become an arc furnace for heating
the bath.
 Another lid may be provided to connect it to vacuum line, if required.
 Chutes are provided for additions and an opening even for injection.
 In short it is capable of carrying out stirring, vacuum treatment,
synthetic slag refining, plunging, injection etc. all in one unit
without restraint of temperature loss, since it is capable of being
heated independently.
 Cont..

Every ladle furnace need not be equipped with

all these arrangements. As per the requirements
of refining the ladle furnace may be provided
with the necessary facilities. For example if gas
content is no consideration, vacuum attachment
may be eliminated. The principal component of
the facilities are shown in next slide
schematically.
Principle component of a ladle furnace facility
 ASEA-SKF Furnace
 The ASEA-SKF furnace is a special variety of LF furnace only.
  The SKF furnace is essentially a teeming ladle for which additional
fittings are provided.
 The metal in the ladle is stirred by an electromagnetic stirrer provided
from outside.
 The ladle shell is made of austenitic stainless steel for this reason.
 Two ladle covers are employed. One of these fits tightly on to the ladle
forming a vacuum seal, and is connected to a steam ejector unit for
evacuation of the ladle chamber.
 For vacuum decarburisation oxygen lance is introduced through a
vacuum sealed port located in the cover.
 When the decarburisation and vacuum degassing is over
the first cover is replaced by the second cover which contains
three electrodes. Final alloying and temperature adjustments
are then made.
 Steel can also be desulphurised by preparing a reducing
basic slag under the electrode cover.
  The process is schematically shown in next slide. The nearly
re­fined steel in only one of the primary steelmaking processes
can be treated in this furnace by carrying out the following
operations :
 Tapping primary furnace into the SKF ladle directly .
  Controlled stirring during the entire secondary processing
 Vacuum treatment including minor decarburisation
 Extensive decarburisation for stainless steelmaking.
Deoxidation.
 Desulphurisation and deslagging. Alloying to desired extent.
 Temperature adjustment.
 Teeming from the same SKF ladle.
The scheme of operation of SKF Furnace
Post-Solidification Treatments
 Quality improvement of steel can also be brought about after steel
is refined and cast into ingots from the primary refining furnace, by
remelting and casting once again. Typical examples of this type is
zone refining which is adopted to produce purer metals.
 The other two techniques that have been developed are meant for
the production of, not pure metals, but alloy steels of better
cleanliness and low sulphur contents. The vacuum arc remelting,
VAR(750kWh/ton) for short and the electro slag refining, ESR
(900-1300kWh/ton) for short, are commercially used for further
refining of steels after these are cast into ingots.
VAR and ESR Processes

 In both of these processes the steel ingot produced

by the primary refining forms the electrode to be
drip-melted into a water cooled copper mould.
 In VAR melting is carried out under vacuum and in

ESR it is in open atmosphere.

 In VAR arc is struck between the electrode and the

mould and it generates the heat required for melting

the electrode.
 In ESR a slag layer is used to act as a resistor

between the electrode and the mould and which is

responsible for melting the electrode. The slag
also acts as a refining agent.
In both of these processes the electrode melts
progressively and is resolidified on the mould,
nearly unidirectionally.
 Because of the high temperature, small pool of

molten metal and almost unidirectional solidification,

both of these processes can produce sound ingots
of high density. The composition of the product is
nearly the same as that of the original material but
with improved cleanliness, decreased
segregation and with practically no cavities. The
ingot size ranges from about 200 to 1500mm on
industrial level
 The product of both of these processes is exceptionally
suited for the production of forgings of high alloy
steels. But because of high cost of such a process,
applications are limited to specialty products like turbo
rotor shafts and so on.
 In VAR the hydrogen and oxygen contents are very low

but in ESR they are like ordinary steels. In ESR the

choice of the slag composition is fairly critical since it
has to act as a resistor as well as a refin­ing agent.
These are essentially oxy-fluoride type reducing slag
like CaO-CaF2·

  
 The ESR however has some advantages over VAR
and these are given below:
 Multiple electrode can be melted into a single

electrode.
 Spacing between the mould wall and the electrode is

not critical.
 Surface quality is superior requiring little or no

conditioning.
 Steel can be desulphurised to as low as 0·002%

sulphur.
 Round, square, hollow and rectangular shapes of

ingots can be produced.

 Ingots of much larger weight can be produced.
Vacuum Arc Remelting Process
Electro Slag Remelting Process
Vacuum Degassing Processes

 Ladle degassing processes (VD, VOD, VAD)

 Stream degassing processes
 Circulation degassing processes (DH and RH).
 
Sketch of a RH degasser
 RH DEGASSER

 Molten steel is contained in the ladle. The two legs of the vacuum
chamber (known as Snorkels) are immersed into the melt. Argon is
injected into the up leg.
 Rising and expanding argon bubbles provide pumping action and lift the
liquid into the vacuum chamber, where it disintegrates into fine droplets,
gets degassed and comes down through the down leg snorkel, causing
melt circulation.
 The entire vacuum chamber is refractory lined. There is provision for
argon injection from the bottom, heating, alloy additions, sampling and
sighting as well as video display of the interior of the vacuum chamber.
  
RH-OB Process
Why RH-OB Process?
To meet increasing demand for cold-rolled steel sheets with improved
mechanical properties, and to cope with the change from batch-type to
continuous annealing, the production of ULC steel (C < 20 ppm) is
increasing.
 A major problem in the conventional RH process is that the time
required to achieve such low carbon is so long that carbon content at
BOF tapping should be lowered. However, this is accompanied by
excessive oxidation of molten steel and loss of iron oxide in the slag.
 It adversely affects surface the quality of sheet as well.
Hence,
 decarburization in RH degasser is to be speeded up. This is
achieved by some oxygen blowing (OB) during degassing.

The RH-OB process, which uses an oxygen blowing facility during

degassing, was originally developed for decarburization of
stainless steel by Nippon Steel Corp., Japan, in 1972.

Subsequently,
 it was employed for the manufacture of ULC steels.

The
 present thrust is to decrease carbon content from something
like 300 ppm to 10 or 20 ppm within 10 min.
Cont…


  
 SS Making
Ferrochrome, which contains about 55 to 70% chromium is the
principal source of Chromium. This ferroalloy can be classified into
various grades, based primarily on their carbon :ontent, such as:
 Low carbon ferrochrome (about 0.1 % C).
 Intermediate carbon ferrochrome (about 2% C).
 High carbon ferrochrome (around 7% C).

 Amongst these grades, the high carbon variety has the drawback
that though it is the least expensive, it raises the carbon content of
the melt. This is undesirable, since all SS grades demand carbon
contents less than 0.03%.
 Chromium forms stable oxides. Hence, the removal of carbon from

the bath by oxidation to CO is associated with the problem of

simultaneous oxidation of chromium in molten steel.
 The higher the temperature, the greater is the tendency for preferential

oxidation of carbon rather than chromium. From this point of view, higher bath

temperatures are desirable; however, too high a temperature in the bath gives rise to

other process problems.

 The dilution of oxygen with argon lowers the partial pressure of CO, which

helps in preferential removal of CO without oxidising bath chromium. Attempts

were made to use this in the EAF, but the efforts did not succeed. Hence, as is the

case with the production of plain carbon steels, the EAF is now basically a melting

unit for stainless steel production as well. Decarburisation is carried out partially in

the EAF, and the rest of the carbon is removed in a separate refining vessel. In this

context, the development of the AOD process was a major breakthrough in stainless

steelmaking.
 AOD is the acronym for Argon-Oxygen
Decarburisation. The process was patented by the
Industrial Gases Division of the Union Carbide
Corporation In an AOD converter, argon is used to
dilute the other gaseous species (02, CO, etc.).
Hence, in some literature, it is designated as Dilution
Refining Process. After AOD, some other dilution
refining processes have been developed. Lowering
of the partial pressures, such as the partial pressure
of carbon monoxide, is achieved either by argon or
by employing vacuum
 The combination of EAF and AOD is sufficient for producing ordinary grades

of stainless steels and this combination is referred to as a Duplex Process.

Subsequent minor refining, temperature and composition adjustments, if

required, can be undertaken in a ladle furnace. Triplex refining, where electric

arc furnace melting and converter refining are followed by refining in a vacuum

system, is often desirable when the final product requires very low carbon and

nitrogen levels.

 About 65-70% of the world's total production of stainless steel is in the

austenitic variety, made by the duplex EAF-AOD route. If the use of AOD

converters even in the triplex route is included, the share of AOD in world

production would become as high as 75-80%.

 
AOD PROCESS
 AOD PROCESS

 Conventional AOD, no top blowing is involved. Only a

mixture of argon and oxygen is blown through the
immersed side tuyeres. However, the present AOD
converters are mostly fitted with concurrent facilities for
top blowing of either only oxygen, or oxygen plus inert
gas mixtures using a supersonic lance as in BOF
steelmaking.
 Cont..

 Initially, when the carbon content of the melt is high, blowing

through the top lance is predominant though the gas mixture
introduced through the side tuyeres also contains a high
percentage of oxygen.
 However, as decarburisation proceeds, oxygen blowing from
the top is reduced in stages and argon blowing increased.
As stated earlier, some stainless steel grades contain
nitrogen as a part of the specifications, in which case,
nitrogen is employed in place of argon in the final stages.
  
 Use of a supersonic top lance as in the case of BOFs

allows post-combustion of the evolved CO gas with

consequent minimisation of toxic carbon monoxide in the

exit gas as well as utilisation of the fuel value of CO to

raise the bath temperature.

 Towards the end of the blow, when the carbon content is

very low and is close to the final specification, only argon is

blown to effect mixing and promote slag-metal reaction.

 At this stage, ferrosilicon and other additions are made.
Silicon reduces chromium oxide from the slag.
 If extra-low sulphur is required, the first slag is removed and
a fresh reducing slag is made along with argon stirring.
 The purpose of the other additions is to perform both alloying
as well as cooling of the bath, since the bath temperature
goes beyond 1700°C following the oxidation reactions.
Thermodynamics of reactions in the AOD Process

 Simplified by Hiltey and Kaveney

Influence of pressure and temperature on the retention
of Cr by oxygen saturated steel melts at 0.05%C
 ARGON OXYGEN
DECARBURIZATION (AOD)
 Over 75% of the world’s stainless steel is made using the
Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) process
 Invented by Praxair.  It provides an economical way to produce

stainless steels with minimal losses of precious elements.

 AOD is widely used for the production of stainless steels and

specialty alloys such as silicon steels, tool steels, nickel-base

alloys and cobalt-base alloys.
  After initial melting the metal is then transferred to an AOD

vessel where it will be subjected to three steps of refining

 Decarburization
 Reduction
 Desulphurization
Schematic diagram of AOD
How It works
 AOD is part of a duplex process in which scrap or
virgin raw materials are first melted in an electric arc
furnace (EAF) or induction furnace.

 Molten steel containing most of the chromium and

nickel needed to meet the final composition of SS is
tapped from electric arc furnace into a transfer ladle

 AOD vessel is rotated into a horizontal position

during charging of liquid steel so that the side
mounted tuyuers are above the bath level.

 The molten metal is then decarburized and refined in

a special AOD vessel to less than 0.05% carbon.
 The key feature in the AOD vessel is that oxygen for
decarburization is mixed with argon or nitrogen inert
gases and injected through submerged tuyeres. 

 In conventional AOD no top blowing is involved.

Only a mixture of argon and oxygen is blown
through the immersed side tuyeres.

 Present AOD convertors are mostly fitted with

concurrent facilities for top blowing of either only
oxygen or oxygen + inert gas mixture using a
supersonic lance as in BOF steel making

 This argon dilution minimizes unwanted oxidation of

precious elements contained in special steels, such
as chromium.
 TRANSFE
ELECTRIC ARC R LADLE
FURNACE O2
N2
AOD
ARGON BOTTOM
ARGON OXYGEN
DECARBURIZATION POURING
LADLE

INGOT PROCESS

CUT OFF

PACKAGE CONTINUOUS CASTING

MACHINE
Decarburization
 Prior to the decarburization step, one more step should be
taken into consideration: de-siliconization, which is very
important factor for refractory lining and further processing.

 The decarburization step is controlled by ratios of oxygen to

argon or nitrogen to remove the carbon from the metal bath.
The ratios can be done in any number of phases to facilitate the
reaction. The gases are usually blown through a top lance
(oxygen only) and tuyeres in the sides/bottom (oxygen with an
inert gas shroud). The stages of blowing remove carbon by the
combination of oxygen and carbon forming CO gas.

 To drive the reaction to the forming of CO the partial pressure

of CO is lowered using argon or nitrogen. Since the AOD vessel
isn't externally heated, the blowing stages are also used for
temperature control. The burning of oxygen increases the bath
temperature.
Reduction
 After a desired carbon and temp level have been reached
the process moves to reduction

 Reduction recovers the oxidized elements such as Cr

from the slag

 To achieve this, alloy additions are made with elements

that have a higher affinity for oxygen than Cr, using
either Si alloy or Al

 The reduction mix also includes CaO and fluorspar CaF2.

 The addition of lime and fluorspar help with driving the

reduction of Cr2O3 and managing the slag, keeping the
slag fluid and volume small
Desulphurization
 Desulphurization is achieved by having a high lime
concentration in the slag and a low oxygen activity in the
bath
 S
(bath) + CaO (slag)→ CaS (slag) +O(bath)
 So, additions of lime are added to dilute sulfur in the metal
bath. Also, Al or Si may be added to remove oxygen.
 Other trimming alloy additions might be added at the end

of the step.
 After sulfur levels have been achieved the slag is removed

from the AOD vessel and the metal bath is ready for
tapping. The tapped bath is then either sent to a stir
station for further chemistry trimming or to a caster for
casting.
References

 http://www.praxair.com/praxair.nsf/0/4874
0DF62F17EB22852569DE007457CC/$
file/P-10018.pdf
 http://
www.keytometals.com/page.aspx?ID=CheckA
rticle&site=kts&NM=220
 IRON MAKING AND STEEL MAKING By:Ahindra
Ghosh and Amit Chatterjee
Inert Gas Purging
COREX smelting reduction process
 This process produces molten iron in a two-step reduction melting
operation. One reactor is melter-gasifier and the other is pre-
reducer. In the pre-reducer, iron oxide is reduced in counter-flow
principle. The hot sponge is discharged by screw conveyors into the
melting reactor.
 Coal is introduced in the melting-gassifying zone along with
oxygen gas at the rate of 500-600 Nm3/thm. The flow velocity is
chosen such that temperature in the range of 1500-1800°C is main­
tained. The reducing gas containing nearly 85% CO is hot dedusted
and cooled to 800-900°C before leading it into the pre-reducer
Finex process
 FINEX PROCESS
 In the FINEX Process fine ore is preheated and reduced to DRI in a
train of four or three stage fluidized bed reactors.
 The fine DRI is compacted and then charged in the form of Hot
Compacted Iron (HCI) into the melter gasifier. So, before charging
to the melter- gasifier unit of the FINEX unit, this material is
compacted in a hot briquetting press to give hot compacted iron
(HCI)
 since the melter- gasifier can not use fine material (to ensure
permeability in the bed).
 Non-coking coal is briquetted and is fed to the melter gasifier where
it is gasified with oxygen
As a standard guide the temperature rise
attainable by oxidation of 0·01 % of each of the
element dissolved in liquid iron at 1400°C by
oxygen at 25°C is calculated assuming that no
heat is lost to the surroundings and such data are
shown below .
 Ahindra Ghosh and Amit Chatterjee: Ironmaking and Steelmaking Theory and Practice, Prentice-
Hall of India Private Limited, 2008
 Anil K. Biswas: Principles of Blast Furnace Ironmaking, SBA Publication,1999
 R.H.Tupkary and V.R.Tupkary: An Introduction to Modern Iron Making, Khanna Publishers.
 R.H.Tupkary and V.R.Tupkary: An Introduction to Modern Steel Making, Khanna Publishers.
 David H. Wakelin (ed.): The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel (Ironmaking Volume), The
AISE Steel Foundation, 2004.
 Richard J.Fruehan (ed.): The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel (Steeelmaking Volume), The
AISE Steel Foundation, 2004.
 A.Ghosh, Secondary Steel Making – Principle & Applications, CRC Press – 2001.
  R.G.Ward: Physical Chemistry of iron & steel making, ELBS and Edward Arnold, 1962.
  F.P.Edneral: Electrometallurgy of Steel and Ferro-Alloys, Vol.1 Mir Publishers,1979
  B. Ozturk and R. J. Fruehan,: "Kinetics of the Reaction of SiO(g) with Carbon Saturated Iron":
Metall. Trans. B, Vol. 16B, 1985, p. 121.
 B. Ozturk and R. J. Fruehan: "The Reaction of SiO(g) with Liquid Slags,” Metall. Trans.B,
Volume 17B, 1986, p. 397.
 B. Ozturk and R. J. Fruehan:”.Transfer of Silicon in Blast Furnace": , Proceedings of the fifth
International Iron and Steel Congress, Washington D.C., 1986, p. 959.
 P. F. Nogueira and R. J. Fruehan:” Blast Furnace Softening and Melting Phenomena - Melting
Onset in Acid and Basic Pellets", , ISS-AIME lronmaking Conference, 2002, pp. 585.
 Paulo Nogueira, Richard Fruehan: "Blast Furnace Burden Softening and Melting
Phenomena-Part I Pellet Bulk Interaction Observation", , Metallurgical and Materials
Transactions B, Volume 35B, 2004, pp. 829.
 P.F. Nogueira, Richard J. Fruehan: 'Fundamental Studies on Blast Furnace Burden
Softening and Melting", Proceedings of 2nd International Meeting on lronmaking,
September 2004, Vitoria, Brazil.
 Paulo F. Nogueira, Richard J. Fruehan, "Blast Furnace Softening and Melting
Phenomena - Part III: Melt Onset and Initial Microstructal Transformation in Pellets",
submitted to Materials and Metallurgical Transactions B.
 Paulo F. Nogueira, Richard J. Fruehan :Blast Furnace Burden Softening and Melting
Phenomena-Part II Evolution of the Structure of the Pellets", Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions, Volume 36B, 2005, pp. 583­
  MA Jitang: “Injecuion of flux into Blast Furnace via Tuyeres for optimizing slag
formation” ISIJ International, Volume 39, No7 1999,pp697
  Y.S.Lee, J.R.Kim, S.H.Yi and D.J.Min: “Viscous behavior of CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO-
FeO Slag”, Proceedings of VIIInternational Conferenceon -Molten slags,fluxes and
salts, The South African Institute of Minig and Metallurgy, 2004,pp225
  
 Electric Steelmaking

Smarajit Sarkar
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
NIT Rourkela
 The furnace proper looks more like a saucepan covered from top with an

inverted saucer as shown in next slide. The electrodes are inserted through

the cover from top. Arc furnaces are of two different designs:

 The roof along with the electrodes swing clearly off the body to facilitate

charging from top.

 The roof is lifted a little and the furnace body moves to one side clearly off

the roof to facilitate charging.

For smaller furnaces both of these alternatives are equally well suited but

for bigger sizes the body becomes too heavy to move and hence the swing-

aside roof design is favoured. It is quite popular even with small furnaces.
Cross section of an electric arc furnace
Vertical section of an electric arc furnace shop
 The furnace unit consists of following parts:
 Furnace body i.e. the shell, the hearth, the walls,
the spout, the doors, etc.
 Gears for furnace body movements.
 Roof and roof-lift arrangements.
 Electrodes, their holders and supports.
 Electrical equipments i.e. the transformer, the
cables, the electrode control mechanism, etc.
 Process Types Known by Their Slags
 Acid Process: If the raw materials are very low in P and S acid lined furnace

can be used for refining, using an acid slag as in an acid open hearth practices.

It is generally restricted to foundries.

 Basic Process: It is capable of refining any type of charge by maintaining basic

slag in a basic lined furnace. Unlike any other steelmaking process electric

furnace has practically no oxidising atmosphere of its own. Oxidising as well as

reducing conditions for refining can be maintained by making slags of suitable

compositions. Oxidising refining is carried out under a slag containing good

amount of iron oxide. Reducing conditions can be maintained by having the slag

highly basic but practically free of iron oxide. The following describes the ways in

which these slags are used for refining in an arc furnace:

 Oxidising single slag practice. It is used for making carbon or low
alloy steels of a quality attainable in an open hearth process. The
charge is melted and refined under a basic oxidising slag as in an
open hearth. The alloy additions may be made in the furnace or in
the ladle.
 Oxidising double slag practice. It is a modification over the single
slag practice. The early slag is removed and a similar new slag is
made again to obtain effective desulsphurisation and
dephosphorisation during refining.
 Reducing single slag practice. It is used for high alloy steelmaking to effect
maximum recovery of alloying elements from the scrap. Hardly any refining
take place. Carbon and phosphorus contents in the scrap must be well below
the specification levels since these will not be removed during refining.
Sulphur however could be readily removed in this practice since the conditions
are reducing.
 Oxidising slag converted to reducing. It is meant to remove carbon but
recover most of the alloying contents like Cr, Mn, etc. in the scrap during high
alloy steelmaking. Phosphorus content of the charge needs to be below the
specification level, since it will otherwise revert back to the metal during the
reducing period.
 Double slag practice. It means refining under oxidising as well as reducing

slags made separately. The first slag is oxidising and it eliminates all

impurities like P, Si, C, Mn, etc. This slag is removed and a reducing slag is

made by fresh additions of lime, coke and spar to desulphurise the metal

and to carry out alloying very effectively. The practice is a must if effective

desulphurisation and the large alloying additions are to be made. It is costly

but the yield of the alloying additions is very high and the quality of the

product is much better. Amongst the above practices the (i), (ii) and (v) types

of practices are more widely adopted in practice. The (iii) and (iv) types of

practices are used in induction furnace processes.

 Slag compositions used in two slag EAF steelmaking
In this practice, the original oxidising slag can be modified by the addition of reducing
agents; however, it gives rise to danger of reversion of phosphorus from the slag back
into the metal. To preclude this possibility, generally the oxidising slag is completely
removed and fresh reducing slag is made by charging lime, fluorspar and silica. The
reducing agent may be graphite or coke breeze. This type of slag is commonly referred
to as carbide slag, since the carbon added reacts with CaO to form some amount of
CaC2• Carbide slag do not allow very low carbon contents to be attained in the bath; in
such cases, ferrosilicon is used as the reducing agent instead of carbon. The typical
compositions of slag are shown in the Table.
 Since EAF steelmaking is primarily scrap/DRI based and both these materials have relatively

low levels of residual impurities, the extent of refining is much less than in BOH

steelmaking.

 As a process, EAF is much more versatile than BOH and can make a wide range of steel

grades.

 Sorting out of scrap and choosing the proper scrap grade are important for EAF

steelmaking, since the extent of refining has to be managed accordingly. For this purpose,

scrap may be classified into the following categories:

 scrap containing elements that cannot be removed by oxidation during refining, such as Cu, Ni,

Sn, Mo, W, etc.

 scrap containing partially oxidisable elements, such as P, Mn , Cr, etc.

 scrap containing completely oxidisable elements, such as AI, Si, Ti, V, Zr, etc.

 scrap containing volatile elements, such as Zn, Cd, Pb, etc.

 Scrap of type (b) and (c) can be tackled easily during refining. Type (d)

scrap would require some special attention. However, type (a) scrap

gives rise to problems like undesirable residuals in the final steel. This is

where DRI scores over scrap--it is totally. free from all the above

undesirable elements.

 In BOH steelmaking, refining begins with the bath containing about I %

excess carbon (often referred to as the opening carbon) in order that

evolution of CO following the oxidation of carbon provides the

necessary agitation for homogenisation of the bath as well as for

enhancing the reaction rates.

 In EAF steelmaking also, the initial bath carbon is maintained at about 0.3%

above the final carbon specification during oxidising refining. However, stirring is

absent during refining under a reducing slag, and some other stirring technique

(use of mechanical stirrers called rabbles) is required. Recent developments in

EAF steelmaking have taken place primarily in the context of large­scale

production of plain carbon and low alloy steels. Of course, some of these

developments have also been implemented in smaller scale of operation as well

as for the production of high alloy steels, such as stainless steels.

 Besides a distinct trend towards increase in furnace size, the important

developments may be summarised as follows:.

Ultra high power supply (UHP)
DC arc furnace
Oxygen lancing (in some cases along with carbon/coke breeze)
Use of water-cooled elements in the furnace shell, water-cooled electrodes, etc.
Foamy slag practice
Bath stirring by argon
Auxiliary secondary steelmaking facility .~
Use of sponge iron (DRI/HBI) to substitute scrap
Hot metal or cold pig iron as scrap substitute
Pre-heating of scrap and DRI
Eccentric bottom tapping
Emission and noise control
Process automation and control.
Transformers supplying power to electric arc furnaces have
been classified as given below.
(i) Regular power, i.e. for old furnaces
100-400 kV A per tonne steel
(ii) High power
400- 700 kV A per tonne steel
(iii) Ultra high power (UHP)
above 700 kV A per tonne steel
 Use of UHP enables faster melting of the solid charge, thereby decreasing the

tap-to-tap time with consequent increase in the production of steel.

 An EAF of 100 tonne capacity will require a transformer capacity of above 70

MVA for UHP operations. It has been possible to achieve such figures owing to

major advances in electrical engineering in the last few decades.

 Another important development is the use of DC (direct current) in the furnaces.

This requires conversion of three-phase AC into single-phase AC supply after the

step-down transformer conversion of AC into DC.

A DC arc has one electrode and the circuit is completed through the conducting

electrodes embedded in the furnace bottom. It offers certain distinct advantages

over three-phase AC arc, such as smoother arc operation, less noise, etc.
 Oxygen lancing through a top lance gives certain advantages that
include: oxidation of carbon and some iron from the bath releasing
chemical energy with consequent saving of electrical energy;
faster removal of carbon and other impurities following faster slag
formation and the generation of a foamy slag.
 In large EAFs the top lance is supersonic, as in BOFs. For greater
saving of electrical energy, coke or carbon breeze is also injected
along with oxygen in some plants. Coherent jet lance design
makes these injections more efficient and has been adopted in
some EAF shops.
 We have already introduced the concept of foams and emulsions in the

context of BOF steelmaking. These are applicable to the foaming of slags in

EAFs as well.

 To summarise, a slag foam is transient and is basically sustained by

vigorous evolution of CO following the reaction of bath carbon with oxygen.

 A foamy slag is actually an emulsion of metal droplets and gas bubbles in

slag.

 Higher slag viscosity and the presence of undissolved solid particles assist

foaming, which speeds-up slag-metal reactions, such as dephosphorisation.

 All modem EAF shops, therefore, adopt foamy slag practice.

 
 The subject of mixing and homogenisation of the bath in BOFs has
been elaborately discussed.
 To help bath mixing, concurrent top and bottom blowing has been
adopted by all modem BOF shops.
 In large EAFs also the problem of mixing exists, to some extent. Oxygen
lancing and flow of current through the metal bath in DC arc furnaces
induce some amount of bath motion, which is sometimes insufficient.
 Better mixing in the bath is desirable for all the advantages described
earlier. Therefore, many modem EAFs are equipped with bottom
tuyeres for injection of argon, etc.
 However, excess hot metal usage can prolong the refining time and give rise to uncontrolled

foaming. Therefore, it is recommended that hot metal charge is restricted to a maximum

of 40-45% of the total charge and the best method of usage is to charge it continuously

through a side launder.

  DRI/HBI has very low impurity content (i.e. P, Si, S, and, of course, the tramp elements) and

hence does not require any additional refining time. However, it is a porous material that

tends to get severely oxidised in contact with moist air at high temperature. Up to about 30%

DR! (of the total charge) can be charged along with scrap in buckets, if bucket charging is

practiced. First a layer of scrap, then DR! and then another layer of scrap are used in each

bucket. If continuous charging facilities for charging DRI throughout the heat in small

amounts are available, the proportion can be increased to 50-60% and sometimes, even

more. In all cases, HBI is preferred since it is dense and does not get oxidised very

readily.
 As mentioned earlier, some alloying elements are more difficult to oxidise

than Fe, such as Cu, Ni, Sn, Mo, W, etc. Hence, they cannot be satisfactorily

removed during steelmaking and are also known as tramp elements. One

way of getting around this problem is not to use scrap containing these

tramp elements, but this is not always economically viable. Substitution of

scrap, partly or fully, by alternative iron sources (AIS) is a solution, since

these inputs do not contain tramp elements.

Besides DRI, the other alternative iron sources are:

 Hot briquetted iron (HBI), which is a dense, compacted form of DRI

 Solid pig iron

 Hot metal (i.e. molten pig iron).

 Use of AIS is gaining popularity in EAF steelmaking. DRI/HBI is now the principal feed

stock next to scrap. In 2005, the worldwide DRI/HBI production was just over 56 million

tonnes, which was slightly more than 15% of the scrap consumption.

 Solid pig iron and hot metal are also important AIS, constituting about 5-8% of the total

feed. In the case of EAF shops located inside an integrated steel plant, blast furnace hot

metal is available. Otherwise, hot metal can be produced either in a mini blast furnace

or in a smelting reduction unit. Both these have been used in EAF steelmaking,

 since hot metal charging is advantageous from a thermal point of view being already

molten and the oxidation of its impurities provides chemical energy; 1 kg hot metal

charge per tonne of steel saves electricity by about 0.5 kWh/t

 promotes foaming by the evolution of CO and gives all the advantages of a foamy slag.
 With the use of DRI/HBI, melting and refining can proceed simultaneously. In some

EAF shop even up to 100% DRI is used by adopting what is known as the hot heel

practice. Here, molten steel from a previous heat is not tapped out completely and is

allowed to remain in the EAF to provide a liquid metal bath for DR! charging right

from the beginning of the next heat.

The quality of DRI is judged by its following characteristics:

 Gangue content

 Percentage metallisation

 Carbon content

 Levels of other impurities

 The gangue in DRI consists principally of silica and alumina associated with
the iron oxide feedstock. For optimum usage in steelmaking, the gangue
content should be as low as possible; otherwise, large slag volumes and hence
more lime addition are required. This has an adverse effect on the consumption
of energy.
 The percentage metallisation (i.e. the percentage of metallic iron in the DRI as
a percentage of total iron; the remaining iron is present as wustite) should also
be high to keep the energy consumption low.
 Typically, steelmakers prefer metallisations between 92% and 96% (too high
metallisation lowers the turbulence that is induced in the bath when FeO in DRI
reacts with the bath carbon).
During the production of DRI (particularly gas-based DRI) carbon in the form of iron

carbide gets absorbed in the final product.

 The carbon percentage in DRI depends on the process of sponge iron making-in

coal-based processes it is about 0.10-0.15%, while in gaseous reduction processes

it can be varied anywhere from 1.5 to 4% depending on the customer demand.

Carbon in DRI lowers its melting point and when it reacts readily with any unreduced

iron oxide, CO is evolved, which contributes towards the formation of a foamy slag.
This is required for efficient steelmaking and hence, steel makers prefer higher

carbon containing DRI, say above1 %.

In case this amount of carbon is not available in DRI, additional carbon input by

injection of coke breeze along with oxygen becomes necessary. The addition of hot

metal can also provide a source of carbon

 Charge pre-heating

 If the solid charge can be pre-heated, it can obviously reduce electricity

consumption. The economics would depend on the cost of pre-heating.

 Under normal circumstances, scrap is charged into the furnace in cold condition and

during the progress of the EAF heat, vigorous evolution of CO and some amount of

hydrogen takes place.

 This gas can be an additional heat source by post-combustion of CO and H2, either

in the furnace atmosphere or above the furnace in a separate pre-heating chamber.

 The oxygen required can be supplied by injecting pure oxygen at the appropriate

location. Several systems of pre-heating within the furnace chamber or in a separate

vessel have been used in EAF steelmaking.

 Separate pre-heating of DRI/HBI is difficult since it would oxidise.
 At the same time, since it is at high temperature when it comes out of the
reduction reactor, it is a matter of retaining this temperature during the
transport of DRI/HBI to the electric furnace. Several systems have been
reported in literature. One of the latest that has been developed by Midrex
Corporation, USA consists of directly conveying hot DRI through an insulated
pipeline directly into the EAF shop and then charging it with the aid of gravity.
Essar Steel, India, has developed refractory lined containers for transport.
 Using such techniques, it is possible to charge hot DRI at a temperature
of 600-700°C, resulting in 10-15% power saving. As a result, use of pre-
heated DRI/HBI has become a standard practice in many EAF plants.
Performance Assessment of EAF Steelmaking
 Induction furnaces

 In these furnaces, electromagnetic induction is used to

heat the metal.
 An alternating current supplied to a primary coil (inductor)
sets up a variable magnetic field around that coil. The
variable magnetic flux in turn induces an electromotive
force in the secondary circuit (metallic charge), so that
the metal is melted by the alternating currents formed in
it.
 Principles of Induction Melting

There are two basic laws of electricity which form the foundation

of induction melting theory.

The first is that a current flowing through a conductor will

produce a magnetic field around that conductor. If this wire is

wound into a cylindrical coil, the magnetic field of each turn is

added producing an intensified magnetic field. The field is

related to the amount and direction of the current. The field is

maximum when the current is maximum and will reverse

direction if the current reverses direction.

 The second fundamental is related to Faraday's Law, which says that

when a flux which links a coil is changing, there is an electro-motive

force (emf) induced in the coil. If these flux linkages change in a closed

electric circuit, the emf produced causes a current to flow. A solid

metallic block will produce currents swirling around in eddys in a plane

perpen­dicular to the flux. These eddy currents produce the I2R losses

which generate the heat required. Proper selection of coil frequency and

power density allows for the practical application of induction heating

and melting .

  The material to be heated or melted by induction must be conductive,

but does not have to be magnetic.

 Induction Melting
 The two basic designs of induction furnaces, the core­type or channel furnace and the coreless.
 Both types have advantages which make one or the other suitable to a particular operation.
 The channel furnace is the most efficient type of induction furnace. The core-type construction

provides maximum power transfer into the metal. This design has a distinct advantage of

providing a large capacity of molten metal with low holding power level. It is an excellent

furnace for small foundries with special requirements for large cast­ings, especially if off-shift

melting is practiced. It is widely used for duplexing operations and installations where pro­

duction requirements demand a safe cushion of readily available molten metal. Because of the

requirement to keep the channel molten, core-type furnaces are energized 24 hours a day.

This limits its use to single alloys or similar base-alloy applications. Power supplies are of line

frequencies of 60 or 50 Hz.
 The coreless induction furnace is used when a quick melt of one alloy is desirable, or it is

necessary to vary alloys frequently. The coreless furnace may be completely emptied and

restarted easily, which makes it perfect for one-shift operation

  
 Coreless induction furnaces possess certain advantages over
other types of arc furnace:
 since there are no electrodes, it is possible to melt steels very

low in carbon;
 the absence of arcs ensures that the metal made is very low in

gases;
 alloying additions are oxidized only insignificantly and the

furnace productivity is high;

 the temperature of the process can be controlled quite accura­

tely.
The drawbacks of induction furnaces for melting steel are as fol­
lows:
 low temperature of the slag, which is heated from the metal; and
 low durability of the basic lining.
They can be either open-top or vacuumized.
According to the frequency of the current supplied
they may be classed into types as follows:
high-frequency furnaces operating with valve
generators (200­1000 kHz);
medium-frequency furnaces (500-10,000 Hz)
supplied from rotary or thyristor converters; and
low-frequellcy furnaces (50 Hz) which are fed
directly from the mains.
Electrodynamic phenomena in coreless
induction furnaces
 There are two concentric conductors in a coreless induction furnace, the

inductor being the external conductor and the molten metal, the internal one.

 Since currents flow in opposite directions through them, they repel each other.

The inductor, which is a rigid conductor, remains fixed, while the molten metal

is compressed from the walls towards the axis of the crucible.

 Upon passage from the annular gap between the inductor and metal, the

magnetic flux extends horizontally over the metal surface. The horizontal

component of magnetic field strength produces electrodynamic forces acting

perpendicular to the metal surface, i.e. down­wards at the open surface and

upwards at the crucible bottom, the forces being at their maximum at the wall

of the crucible. The·

 The total action of these forces causes the metal to circulate
and to form a convex meniscus at its surface.
A positive effect of this phenomenon is that the metal is
stirred, which equalizes its temperature and composition and
speeds up melting, but the convex portion of the metal is thus
exposed, since the slag flows towards the walls. It is possible
to cover the meniscus by increasing the bulk of slag, but this
may have an adverse effect on the lining.
Electrodynamic circulation of metal in the crucible of an induction
furnace
Thank You