Kinetic study on compositional variations of inclusions, steel and slag during refining process

A steel-slag-inclusion-alloy-refractory-air multiphase model, which combined the kinetic analysis and the consideration of fluid flow in argon-stirred ladle, was established to investigate the compositional changes during refining process. The steel-slag reaction, the steel and inclusion reaction, the refractory-steel reaction, the refractory dissolution into the slag, the reoxidation of the molten steel, the removal of inclusions by floating, and the alloy dissolution were all considered in the current model. The stirring energy, the average speed of the molten steel in the plume, the horizontal speed of the molten steel in the open eye, the speed of the molten steel near the side wall, the speed of the molten steel at the bottom of the ladle and the volume fraction of the plume were obtained by mathematical simulation. The mass transfer coefficient of the molten steel is obtained by mathematical simulation. Meanwhile, it is assumed that the mass transfer coefficient of inclusions is influenced by the temperature. The calculation results are in accordance with the experimental ones. The influence of different slag compositions, different gas flow rates, and different inclusion diameters on system compositions were also investigated using the current model. It is indicated that the content of T.O. in the molten steel was influenced by the gas flow rate and the removal rate of inclusions goes up with the increasing inclusion diameter.