Preparation of Nanoporous Thermal Insulating Materials and Their Application as Ladle Linings

The nanoporous thermal insulating material was prepared by using fumed silica,SiC powder and glass fiber as starting materials,the appropriate thickness of the nanoporous thermal insulating material lined in ladle was discussed by the simulation method,and the effect of its application as ladle lining was investigated.The results show that the thermal conductivity of the nanoporous thermal insulating material prepared in composition of fumed silica： SiC powder： glass fiber =75： 20：5 （in mass） is 0.023 W · m^-1 · K^-1 at 1 000 ℃,the appropriate thickness of the nanoporous thermal insulating material lined in ladle is ≤ 5 mm and the average temperature of the ladle outside surface when lined with the nanoporous thermal insulating material is 95 ℃ lower than that with the ordinary thermal insulating material.

Spinel Castables for Steel Ladle Lining:In-Situ Versus Preformed

The paper discusses the difference in the formulation concepts of alumina - spinel （spinel containing ） and alumina - magnesia （ spin, el forming） castables and the influence on their physical properties. The individual property profile is discussed with respect to the requirements of refactory lining materials for the different zones of a steel ladle.

Effects of Operation Conditions on Service Life of Ladle Lining

Effects of operation conditions such as ladle temperature, remining time of molten steel, slag basicity, slag oxidation, slag viscosity , vacuum treatment, ultra-high temperature, gas blowing and stirring, intermittent operation, and different refining equipment on service life of ladle lining refractories were researched. The following conclusions are drawn ： （1） molten steel temperature rising, remaiaing time prolonging, slag oxidation ability enhancing, slag viscosity and basicity decreasing can aecelerate the corrosion of ladle lining ; （2） ultra-high temperature and vacuum treatment of ladle not only acceler- ate the fusion corrasion of ladle lining, but also make the carbon containing refractories react forming gases leading to more corrosion, so carbon containing refractories are not stdtable.for the smelting conditions of long term vacuum treatment and ultra-high temperature, especially carbon containing refractories added with conventional additives such as A1 and Si powders ; （ 3 ） argon blowing does not accelerate the corrosion of ladle lining obvioasly, but oxygen blowing does; （4） the corrosion degree of refractories varies with the refining equipment, and the service life of ladle lining decreases according to a certain proportion with the refining ratio increasing.

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.

Multifunctional Refractory-lined Vessel: Ladle Aggregate

A ladle primarily is a container used to transport molten steel from the steelmaking unit to the casting facility.The essential requirements are heat resistant,insulative and strong enough to hold molten steel up to 300 t,with a structure of multilayered refractory lining in a steel shell vessel.When a ladle is assembled with three-phase graphite electrodes,a ladle furnace forms,starting steel refining process with/without the vacuum tank degasser and RH circulating degasser,in order to meet the growing demand on high purity and higher quality steel.The working lining is under aggressive conditions that comprise the chemical reaction with molten steel,the severe corrosion of liquid slag,the disaggregation through oxidation,and the strong stress due to the impacting of the melts and gases and the effects of thermomechanical behaviors.Magnesiacarbon brick is one of the major materials,being indispensable for the slagline of a ladle furnace.Alumina-magnesiacarbon brick has played an important role to substantially increase the service life in the metal zone,from the early lining materials of high alumina and doloma bricks.The permanent lining must assume sufficient responsibility to allow finishing the process of the engaged charge in case of a failure in the working lining.The insulation layer must be as thin as possible in order to maximize the ladle’s capacity,and reduce the shell temperature for saving energy.In this issue,several integrant refractories are reviewed or investigated in order to compile a lining overview,and to contribute a prolonged service life under aggressive working conditions of the ladle furnace.

Analysis of Corrosion Mechanisms of Low-cement or No-cement Al_(2)O_(3)-MgO Gunning Mix with Special Calcined Alumina in Rotary Slag Test

Al_(2)O_(3)-MgO and Al_(2)O_(3)-spinel low cement castables(LCC-AM and LCC-AS)have been extensively used in steel ladles as working linings.Nevertheless,the use of alumina-magnesia gunning mixes has been mainly kept for maintaining these castable linings,because of high rebound loss,poor green strength,high porosity and short life-span.Thanks to a high BET alumina(MC-G),it is now possible to develop a series of high-performance no-cement or low-cement Al_(2)O_(3)-MgO gunning mixes(NCG-AM or LCG-AM).The paper focuses on the BOF slag resistance of NCG-AM,LCG-AM,LCC-AM and LCC-AS.The corrosion mechanisms of rotary slag samples were studied by scanning electron microscopy(SEM/EDS).The results reveal different microstructures around MgO particles,depending on the four used compositions.Continuous and thicker spinel phases were formed in NCG-AM,which was proved to have the best corrosion resistance after the dynamic slag test.MC-G can provide a high diffusion flux of Al^(3+)in terms of kinetics and hence inhibits Kirkendall porosity around MgO particles.In addition,a continuous spinel phase acts like a pinning nail to reinforce the matrix and thus decreases erosion by slag.In contrast to NCG-AM,the porous spinel phase was found around unreacted MgO particles and some particles were carried away near the interface of LCC-AM and slag.The NCG-AM containing MC-G had been tested in two steel plants,and it extended the service life of the ladles up to 50%.In addition,this study suggests the potential application of NCG-AM as steel ladle linings.