Modern Tools for Steelmaking Research and Optimization
(Room Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom)
16 May 22
8:00 AM
-
9:00 AM
Tracks:
J. Keith Brimacombe Memorial Lecture and AIME Keynote Lecture
Modern steelmaking is a highly competitive, data-rich industry, supported by deep fundamental data on process thermodynamics and kinetics. In my view, the role of steelmaking research is to support steelmaking process metallurgy, to identify gaps in our knowledge, and to fill those gaps. In this presentation, I shall highlight some such examples from my own research in steel refining. Kinetic modeling of steel-slag-refractory-inclusion reactions has been successful in predicting the changes in steel and inclusion compositions during ladle refining. In contrast with the kinetic models using a few mass transfer coefficients, detailed flow modeling is needed to understand the interaction between argon bubbles, steel and slag. These models remain incomplete, because of at best partial quantification of turbulent flow and the large range of length scales. As a final example, combining tools for data visualization and analysis with metallurgical fundamentals can provide clear answers on the quantitative effect of process variables. The common thread of these examples is that all combine metallurgical fundamentals with modern tools of calculation, microscopy, and data analysis, to quantify steelmaking.