Exploration and Practice of Nitrogen Addition Process for LF Refining Ladle Bottom Blowing Nitrogen Steel Liquid

This article discusses and analyzes the law of nitrogen increase in liquid steel and the main factors affect-ing the nitrogen increasing of molten steel,through the way of adding nitrogen to molten steel by bottom blowing nitrogen gas in LF refining process.It is considered that the main factors affecting the nitrogen increasing instability of molten steel are the initial temperature of LF refining,nitrogen relative element,surface active elements[O]and[S]of steel liquid,and bottom blowing rate of ladle.The large-scale production practice shows that T[O]not more than 50×10-6 and[S]is not more than 0.020 in LF refining at the initial temperature of not less than 1570.The liquid steel nitrogen enrichment test is carried out by ladle bottom blowing nitrogen gas after 20 min of refining,the flow rate is set as(6.0~7.0)NL/min per ton,and it is turned to 2 NL/min at 6 min before the end of refining,the nitrogen increasing rate of liquid steel is basically stable at(5~6)×10-6 per minute.

Modeling of LF refining process:a review

With the increasing demand for energy conservation and emission reduction,more attentions have been paid to the intelligentization,greenization and low carbonization during the transformation and upgrading of steelmaking plants.Ladle furnace(LF)refining is one of the key procedures in steelmaking process and has been widely used in steelmaking plants for its high equipment matching degree,low equipment investment and outstanding refining performance.According to the main tasks of LF refining process,the modeling methods of temperature prediction model,slag-making model,alloying model,argon blowing model and model of inclusions behavior were systematically reviewed,and the advantages and disadvantages of each modeling method were summarized.In addition,the technical framework for the future has also been proposed based on existing works,including classification of raw materials,graphic representation of knowledge,introduction,upgradation and management of device/equipment,customization of steelmaking,modeling of refining process,synergy of models,intelligentization of decision-making,automation of control,and digitization of processes and operations,aiming to provide a reference for the modeling and intelligent development of LF refining process.

Inclusion Composition Control During LF Refining for SPCC Using FactSage Combined With Industrial Trials

Steel plate cold common （SPCC） is a Al-killed steel with Ca-treatment. The control of Al2O3 inclusion into low melting point liquid region is beneficial for inclusion removal, cast-ability promotion and defects reduction during rolling. Thus it is essential to understand steel-inclusion equilibrium since inclusion composition is determined by composition of liquid steel directly through steel-inclusion reaction. Thermodynamic calculation software FactSage is performed to understand how to control inclusion composition during ladle furnace （LF） refining, and industrial trials are carried out to verify calculated results. Firstly, target region for controlling CaO-Al2O3-MgO ternary inclusion is analyzed on the basis of the ternary phase diagram and the relationship between activities related to pure solid and activities related to pure liquid was fixed by thermodynamic analysis in order to obtain reliable activities for components of inclusions in the target region by FactSage. In addition, inclusions in steel samples are detected by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）. It is found that most of Al2O3 inclusions are modified into lower melting point region but a number of them are still located in high melting point region at the end of LF refining after Ca-treatment. Moreover, the composition of liquid steel equilibrating with liquid CaO-Al2O3-MgO inclusion is obtained by steel-inclusion equilibrium calculation when w[Al]s is approximating 0.03% as： a[O] is 1.0×10-6 to 4.0×10-6, w[Ca] is 20×10-6 to 50×10-6 and w[Mg] is 0.1×10-6 to 3.0×10-6. At last, stability diagrams of various calcium aluminates and CaS are established and they show that liquid calcium aluminate inclusions form when w[Ca] is more than 20×10-6, but CaS precipitation is difficult to prevent because sufficiently low w[S] （〈0.003%） is required.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Desulfurization and Its Connection With Deoxidation and Temperature for SPHC in JISC During LF Refining Process

The thermodynamic characteristics of desulfurization reaction (CaO)+[S]=(CaS)+[O] is analyzed based on the detailed composition of liquid steel and slag of Steel Plate Hot Commercial (SPHC) in Jiuquan Iron & Steel Corporation(JISC), where the activities of CaO, CaS and Al2O3 in molten slag are calculated by thermodynamic software FactSage for a more accurate result. The critical values of [O%]/[S%] for desulfurization at different temperature is are obtained, typically 0.09 at 1873K, which shows directly that it should deoxidize adequately for obtaining a favorable desulfurization condition. In addition, the thermodynamic analysis indicates that the actual dissolved O is much higher than that of equilibrium calculation which shows Al-O reaction in LF is far away from equilibrium, but it is perfect agreement with the computing results when taking the activity of Al2O3 as 1 that due to the inclusion component in LF is mainly Al2O3. Besides, with the temperature rise, the sulfur partition ratio increases softly meanwhile the reaction between Al and O is limited to a great degree resulting in the increase a dissolved oxygen in liquid steel that decreases the sulfur partition ratio seriously. As a result, the sulfur partition ratio appears to decrease with temperature increase in Al killed steel.

Characteristics of Deoxidation and Desulfurization during LF Refining Al-killed Steel by Highly Basic and Low Oxidizing Slag

Steel and slag samples were taken at the start and the end of LF refining for steel plate cold common （SPCC）, in the compact strip production （CSP） process, and at the same time, the temperature and oxygen activity a[o] were measured by using an oxygen sensor. Furthermore, inclusions in steel samples were monitored by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）. It was confirmed that a [o] in liq- uid steel was in equilibrium with inclusion rather than with top slag during LF refining. Desulfurization was related to deoxidation since a[o] at slag-steel interface was clarified to be very close to that in liquid steel under the specific con- dition in LF with intense stirring by argon blowing and refined by highly basic low oxidizing slag for Al-killed steel. Sulfur partition ratio （Ls） was very sensitive to a[o]. Since a[o] increased rapidly with temperature rise, it not only offset promotion to desulfurization reaction with temperature rise but decreased Ls. For Al-killed steel, the.modifica- tion of Al2O3 for lowering the activity of Al2O3 in inclusion was believed to be favorable for both deoxidation and desulfurization during LF refining.

Development of an improved CBR model for predicting steel temperature in ladle furnace refining

In the prediction of the end-point molten steel temperature of the ladle furnace, the influence of some factors is nonlinear. The prediction accuracy will be affected by directly inputting these nonlinear factors into the data-driven model. To solve this problem, an improved case-based reasoning model based on heat transfer calculation(CBR-HTC) was established through the nonlinear processing of these factors with software Ansys. The results showed that the CBR-HTC model improves the prediction accuracy of end-point molten steel temperature by5.33% and 7.00% compared with the original CBR model and 6.66% and 5.33% compared with the back propagation neural network(BPNN)model in the ranges of [-3, 3] and [-7, 7], respectively. It was found that the mean absolute error(MAE) and root-mean-square error(RMSE)values of the CBR-HTC model are also lower. It was verified that the prediction accuracy of the data-driven model can be improved by combining the mechanism model with the data-driven model.

Evolution of Nonmetallic Inclusion during Steelmaking Process of Cold Heading Steel SWRCH35K

In order to analyze the evolution of the inclusions in the cold heading steel SWRCH35K during the steelmaking process, a systematic sampling of the steelmaking processes in a steel plant was carried out. Both SEM-EDS and the image processing software Image-Pro-Plus6.0 were employed to analyze the chemical composition, morphology, quantity and size of non-metal inclusions in the steel samples. The results show that from BOF tapping to continuous casting tundish, the composition of inclusions in SWRCH35K steel changes from Al2O3 →MgO·Al2O3 →CaO-MgO-Al2O3-CaS, and the typical morphology of the inclusions in the steel gradually changes from irregular blocks and clusters to spherical. The number of inclusions in the BOF argon blowing station is the largest, 213#/mm2, while the number of inclusions at the end of LF refining is the least, about 12#/mm2, and there are basically no inclusions above 5 μm. In addition, LF calcium treatment will adversely affect the size and quantity control of inclusions in steel. In order to effectively reduce the large-size calcium-containing spherical oxide inclusions in cold heading steel, it is necessary to find a technical method that can replace LF calcium treatment to solve the problem of molten steel continuous casting.

Effects of ferrosilicon alloy,Si content of steel,and slag basicity on compositions of inclusions during ladle furnace refining of Al-killed steel

To obtain solid Al2O3 or MgO·Al2O3 inclusions in ladle furnace(LF)refining process and achieve ultra-low total oxygen content in steel through subsequent Ruhrstahl Heraeus degassing,the effects of ferrosilicon alloy,Si content of steel,and slag basicity on the compositions of inclusions during LF refining were investigated in Al-killed steel.Al2O3 inclusions could be transformed into CaO-Al2O3-MgO-CaS inclusions after adding ferrosilicon alloy in the LF refining process as this alloy contains some CaSi alloy impurities.The addition of all ferrosilicon alloys required for the steel in the tapping process could eliminate the influence of Ca in ferrosilicon alloy on the compositions of inclusions.Si in liquid steel had a significant influence on the compositions of inclusions during LF refining when CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-MgO slag with high basicity of 7.0 was used.This was because[Ca]produced by the reaction of CaO and[Al]could be consumed more readily by SiO2 in Si-free steel than in Si-containing steel,which was confirmed by the difference of total calcium content between Si-free and Si-containing steels.As a result,Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were retained in Si-free steel,whereas calcium aluminate inclusions were found in Si-containing steel.For CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-MgO slag with low basicity of 2.8,Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were obtained after LF refining in Si-containing steel when all ferrosilicon alloys required for the steel were added in the tapping process.This was because the reaction of CaO and[Al]was weak,and residual[Ca]in the steel could be rapidly consumed by SiO2 in low-basicity slag owing to the low activity of CaO and high activity of SiO2,leading to a low total calcium content of 0.0003%in Si-containing steel.

Influence of refining process and utilization of different slags on inclusions, titanium yield and total oxygen content of Ti-stabilized 321 stainless steel

Ti-stabilized 321 stainless steel was prepared using an electric arc furnace, argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) furnace, ladle furnace (LF), and continuous casting processes. In addition, the effect of refining process and utilization of different slags on the evolution of inclusions, titanium yield, and oxygen content was systematically investigated by experimental and thermodynamic analysis. The results reveal that the total oxygen content (TO) and inclusion density decreased during the refining process. The spherical CaO–SiO2–Al2O3–MgO inclusions existed in the 321 stainless steel after the AOD process. Moreover, prior to the Ti addition, the spherical CaO–Al2O3–MgO–SiO2 inclusions were observed during LF refining pro-cess. However, Ti addition resulted in multilayer CaO–Al2O3–MgO–TiOx inclusions. Two different samples were prepared by conventional CaO–Al2O3-based slag (Heat-1) and -TiO2-rich CaO–Al2O3-based slag (Heat-2). The statistical analysis revealed that the density of inclusions and the -TiOx content in CaO–Al2O3–MgO–TiOx inclusions found in Heat-2 sample are much lower than those in the Heat-1 sample. Furthermore, the TO content and Ti yield during the LF refining process were controlled by using -TiO2-rich calcium aluminate synthetic slag. These results were consistent with the ion–molecule coexist-ence theory and FactSage?7.2 software calculations. When -TiO2-rich CaO–Al2O3-based slag was used, the -TiO2 activity of the slag increased, and the equilibrium oxygen content significantly decreased from the AOD to LF processes. Therefore, the higher -TiO2 activity of slag and lower equilibrium oxygen content suppressed the undesirable reactions between Ti and O.