The fluid flow in the mold during up-hill teeming is of great importance for the quality of the cast ingot and therefore the quality of the final steel products. At the early stage of the filling of an up-hill teeming mold, liquid steel enters, with high velocity, from the runner into the mold and the turbulence on the meniscus could lead to entrainment of mold flux. The entrained mold flux might subsequently end up as defects in the final product. It is therefore very important to get a mild and stable inlet flow in the entrance region of the mold. It has been acknowledged recently that swirling motion induced using a helix shaped swirl blade, in the submerged entry nozzle is remarkably effective to control the fluid flow pattern in both the slab and billet type continuous casting molds. This result in increased productivity and quality of the produced steel. Due to the result with continuous casting there is reason to investigate the swirling effect for up-hill teeming, a casting method with similar problem with turbulence. With this thesis we will study the effect of swirling flow generated through a swirl blade inserted into the entry nozzle, as a new method of reducing the deformation of the rising surface and the unevenness of the flow during filling of the up-hill teeming mold. The swirling blade has two features: (1) to generate a swirling flow in the entrance nozzle and (2) to suppress the uneven flow, generated/developed after flowing through the elbow. The effect of the use of a helix shaped swirl blade was studied using both numerical calculations and physical modelling. Water modelling was used to assert the effect of the swirling blade on rectifying of tangential and axial velocities in the filling tube for the up-hill teeming and also to verify the results from the numerical calculations. The effect of swirl in combination with diverged nozzle was also investigated in a similar way, i. e. with water model trials and numerical calculations. / QC 20101115

The bubble flow is used for different application in steel production and refining processes. It plays in indispensable role in the ladle refining process such as for homogenization and inclusion removal. Hence, it is important to understand the effect of the nozzle outlet geometry on the bubble formation. Three different nozzles with different outlet geometries were examined using a physical model. These geometries were: a) Circle, b) Square with round edges and c) Elliptical. All three nozzles had the same nozzle design and similar outlet cross-section areas. Therefore, the only tested parameter was the outlet geometry. The physical model is a water/air model, that consist of water tank ,the nozzles, gas gauge and a high speed camera. Each nozzle was tested under five different gas flow rates: starting from 10 L/min of air gas flow rate, until a 30 L/min of gas flow rate by incriminating with 5 L/min per experimental trial. Therefore, each nozzle was studied using a 5 experimental sets, so in total 15 experiments were made. For each set, 3000 photos were captured by the high speed camera. The photos were then analyzed using mainly the ImageJ software and the naked eye. After analyzing the photos for the experimental sets the following were found: a) The frequency of bubble formation was for the most part constant with an average of 11 bubbles per second. b) The elliptical nozzle produced for the most part the largest bubbles, while the circular produced the smallest ones. The square nozzle had similar bubble sizes comparable to the elliptical nozzle. c) The circular nozzle resulted in the bubbles with most stable surface, while the elliptical nozzle had the most unstable bubble boundary. The study had a drawback, which is the presence of a jetting flow which reduced the accuracy of the results. Thus, it is recommend that future work can solve this issue by finding at which gas flow rate pure bubbling flow stops for each nozzle geometry. / Bubbelinjektion används för olika tillämpningar inom stålproduktion och raffineringsprocesser. Det spelar en oumbärlig roll i raffineringsprocesser som homogenisering och borttagning av inneslutningar. Därför är det viktigt att förstå effekten av utloppsgeometrin hos munstycket på bubbelbildningen. Tre olika munstycken med olika utloppsgeometrier undersöktes med hjälp av en fysisk modell. Dessa geometrier är: a) Cirkel, b) Fyrkantig med rundade kanter och c) Elliptisk. Alla tre munstyckena har samma munstycksdesign och liknande utloppstvärsnittsarea. Därför är den enda parametern som testas utloppsgeometrin. Den fysiska modellen bestod av en vattentank, munstyckena där var och en undersöks separat, en gasmätare, en höghastighetskamera och modellen använde vatten/luft. Varje munstycke testades under fem olika gasflöden: startande från 10 L/min luftgasflöde, tills 30 L/min gasflöde stegvis 5 L/min per experimentuppsättning. Därför har varje munstycke 5 experimentuppsättningar, så totalt 15 experiment togs. För varje uppsättning togs 3000 bilder med höghastighetskameran. Bilderna analyserades sedan med främst ImageJ-programvara och blotta ögat. Efter att ha analyserat bilderna från experimenten så visade resultaten följande: a) Frekvensen av bubbelbildning var mestadels konstant med ett genomsnitt på 11 bubblor per sekund. b) Det elliptiska munstycket producerade mestadels de största bubblorna, medan det cirkulära producerade de minsta bubblorna. Det fyrkantiga munstycket resulterade i en liknande bubbelstorlek som det elliptiska munstycket. c) Det cirkulära munstycket resulterade i bubblorna med den mest stabila ytan, medan det elliptiska munstycket hade den mest instabila bubbelgränsen. Studien hade en nackdel, vilket är närvaron av ett jetflöde som minskade noggrannheten i resultatet. Det rekommenderas att framtida arbete kan lösa detta problem genom att hitta vid vilken gasflödeshastighet rent bubblande flöde stoppar för varje munstycke

This study was motivated by the excess oxygen that likely results from the current transition to hydrogen-based Swedish steel production. The potential usability of large amounts of oxygen in a process gas for iron ore pellet induration could improve the process efficiency in terms of fuel consumption and productivity. Iron ore pellets constitute the main raw material used in Scandinavian steel production. Knowledge of the effects of the process-gas oxygen level on induration is a prerequisite for establishing if, how, and to what extent oxygen enrichment can be exploited in an optimum manner to control temperature development and oxidation, while maintaining pellet quality. The objectives of this study are as follows: 1) to investigate the effects of the oxygen level in the inflow gas on pellet bed oxidation during induration, as well as the effects on the bed-scale temperature, oxidation degree, and cold compression strength (CCS) development; and 2) to identify the oxidation mechanisms corresponding to various oxygen levels and thermal histories. The current knowledge regarding the effects of high oxygen levels in the gas on oxidation is based on small-scale experiments; this study was conducted on a larger bed-scale and will thus contribute significantly to the knowledge pool of bed-scale effects resulting from different oxygen levels in the inflow process gas. An interrupted pot furnace experimental method was used, with the highest investigated oxygen level in the gas at 40% and an approximate bed-scale of 100 kg of pellets. The following conclusions were drawn from this study. First, efficient heating and a high degree of oxidation of an entire bed were rapidly achieved with the highest investigated oxygen level (40% O₂) compared to the results of the lower oxygen levels (6%, 13% and 30% O₂). The gas with 40% O₂ yielded improved pellet properties and a more uniform oxidation degree along the bed, compared to beds exposed to gas with lower O₂. Second, the temperature at the bottom of the bed increased more rapidly when exposed to a higher oxygen content in the gas compared to when only the gas temperature was increased. Third, the mechanical pellet properties (CCS and macrostructure) were improved in a bed exposed to gas with 40% O₂ compared to beds exposed to gas with lower oxygen levels. Finally, pellets from local conditions with comparable thermal histories oxidised according to similar mechanisms regardless of the oxygen level. Hence, it was demonstrated that the oxygen level influences the oxidation rate, whilst the temperature affects the oxidation mechanism. The overall trends in terms of the positive effect from the high oxygen content in the gas are promising, as they serve as a starting point for enabling faster production rates in the future. / <p>E632 and a digital meeting in Zoom or Teams. Maximum 8 people will be allowed in E632 due to the covid-19 pandemic situation.</p> / HYBRIT research program 1

Aluminium has great properties that are utilised the world over, but the production of primary aluminium is very energy intensive. In order to reduce the energy-cost, the aluminium can be recycled by re-melting aluminium scrap. This results in a circularity of the aluminium, as it is produced from ore to a metal and then the metal scrap can be re-melted again for other use.  The study also focuses on secondary production in Sweden. Through interviewing diverse actors in Sweden and analysing literature, an understanding of how the circulatory systems work was developed and the problems that can occur within it.  The major problems found is that through re-melting, the previous alloying elements can become impurities in the new scrap-based material. These impurities can change the properties in the aluminium. Separating these impurities from the aluminium is not an easy process, but a growing research question. Easiest is to minimise these contaminations, companies do this by sourcing where scrap is coming from and its compositional information, so to better organize or use the scrap for a similar purpose aluminium alloy.  This study looked at how the circulation of aluminium scrap works and how used scrap is once again returned to new reusable aluminium. With an understanding of how the processes it is easier to locate problems to improve the processes. / Aluminium har mycket goda mekaniska egenskaper som används i hela världen, men att producera primär aluminium är extremt energikrävande. För att minska energikostnaden kan man återvinna aluminiumet, det görs genom att återanvända gammalt aluminiumskrot. När man gör detta så leder det till ett cirkulärt kretslopp, där det börjar från malm som produceras till metall, när metallen blir till skrot så kan det återanvändas för att producera nytt aluminium.  Genom att intervjua folk inom branschen och att analysera litteratur inom ämnet, så skapades en förståelse hur det cirkulär kretsloppet fungerar och problem som kan uppstå inom systemet.  Det största problemet som hittades var att genom att återvinna aluminium skrot, så kan det tidigare legeringselement bli föroreningar i den nya skrot baserade materialet. Dessa föroreningarna kan ändra egenskaperna hos aluminiumet. För att får bort dessa föroreningar kan vara en svår process eller fortfarande utvecklande processen. Det är mycket lättare att försöka undvika dessa föroreningarnas från börja. Företagen gör detta genom att veta var skrotet kommer ifrån och skrotets legeringsämnen innan de återanvänder det. Då kan de organisera skrotet bättre och använda det till liknande skrot material i framtiden.  Denna studien fokuserar på hur skrotbaserat aluminium fungerar i ett kretslopp och hur gammalt skrot kan återanvändas till ny användbar aluminium. Med en förståelse på hur processen fungerar, så är det mycket lättare att hitta problem som kan leda till möjligheter att förbättra processen.

In new low-lead and lead-free brass alloys, it is not understood how the corrosion properties,such as dezincification, are related to material composition as well as annealing temperatureand duration. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by mapping sixteen annealingconditions and three different brass alloy compositions to their respective microstructure anddezincification performance. It was found that high dezincification depth was a result ofannealing temperatures at 300°C – 400°C, which promoted precipitation of intermetallicAlAs-particles along grain boundaries, twins and lead particles as well as precipitation of β-phase along grain boundaries. Their presence was correlated to high micro additions ofaluminium or iron in the material composition. An additional compositional factorcontributing to precipitation of high amount of β-phase was low copper/zinc-ratio.

Tensile strength modelling is usually done to predict the mechanical properties of lamellargraphite iron considering microstructural features. This work attempts to create a simplifiedmodel incorporating cooling rate and solidification time without considering themicrostructural features. This model will save time and cost in industry with the presence of acommercially available software such as Magmasoft which simulates solidification time andcooling rate. A plate model was designed for this purpose as the test geometry to createvariation in solidification time and cooling rate. By altering fraction solid, thermalconductivity, specific heat capacity in Magmasoft, a good fit was created between simulatedcooling curve and experimental cooling curves. The experimental UTS data of samples fromthree moulds were investigated and a regression model was created using statistics toolMinitab. The effect of solidification time and alloying on the graphite length Lmax was studiedfor twelve samples from each mould. Quantification of the effect of cooling rate and alloyingon the pearlitic properties of grey iron like matrix microhardness, pearlite inter-lamellarspacing was also investigated in this work.The developed model has sixty three percent correlation and explains UTS well in terms ofsolidification time and cooling rate. Microhardness measurements show that there is an almostlinear relationship between the cooling rate and microhardness of the matrix structure.Microhardness data also provides an overview of the pearlite fineness/interlamellar spacing.Analysis of the outliers showed that the presence of free ferrite on a fully pearlitic structurereduces the UTS significantly. Comparison of the regression model obtained from this workwith previous work showed that, there is a reduction in the predicted strength with this model.The effort to identify the reason for this reduction was not successful and needs furtherinvestigation. Pearlite inter-lamellar spacing measurement was not accurate. The relationshipbetween pearlite interlamellar spacing and matrix microhardness needs to be investigated inthe future using a better technique for pearlite spacing measurement. This will be useful tounderstand the effect of cooling rate on pearlite spacing and consequently on the UTS of greycast iron. / Draghållfasthetsmodellering görs vanligtvis för att förutsäga de mekaniska egenskaperna av lamellärt grafitjärn. Detta arbete har försökt att skapa en förenklad modell som innehåller kylhastighet och stelningstid utan att överväga mikrostrukturella egenskaper. Modellen kommer att spara tid och kostnad i industrin tillsammans med kommersiellt tillgänglig mjukvara som Magmasoft som simulerar stelningstiden och kylningshastighet. En plattformig modell utformades för detta ändamål som testgeometrin för att skapa variation i stelningstid och kylningshastighet. Genom att ändra fraktion fast fas, termisk konduktivitet och specifik värmekapacitet i Magmasoft skapades en bra anpassning mellan simulerade och experimentella kylkurvor. Experimentella draghållfasthetsdata (UTS) för prover från tre gjutningar undersöktes och en regressionsmodell skapades med hjälp av statistikverktyg Minitab. Effekten av stelningstid och legeringshalt på grafitlängden Lmax studerades för tolv prover från varje form. Effekten av kylhastighet och legering på de perlitiska egenskaperna hos grått järn som matrismikrohårdhet och perlitlamellavstånd undersöktes också i detta arbete.  Den utvecklade modellen har sextiotre procent korrelation och förklarar UTS väl med avseende på stelningstid och kylningshastighet. Mikrohårdhetsmätningar visar att det finns ett nästan linjärt förhållande mellan kylhastigheten och mikrohårdheten hos matrisstrukturen. Mikrohårdhetsdata ger också en översikt över perlitens finhet/interlamellära avstånd. Analys av outliers visade att närvaron av fri ferrit på en fullständigt perlitisk struktur minskar UTS betydligt. Jämförelse av regressionsmodellen erhållen från detta arbete med tidigare arbete visade det att det finns en minskning av den förutsagda styrkan med denna modell. Ansträngningen att identifiera orsaken till denna minskning var inte framgångsrik och behöver ytterligare undersökas. Perlit mellan lamellär avståndsmätning var inte korrekt. Förhållandet mellan perlitens interlamellära avstånd och matrismikrohet måste undersökas i framtiden med hjälp av en bättre teknik för perlit-avståndsmätning. Detta kommer att vara användbart att förstå effekten av kylhastighet på perlitavståndet och följaktligen på UTS av grå gjutjärn

The report reviews macro segregations in continuous cast steels and possible correlations to impact toughness. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate centreline segregates and V-segregates to see which of them that affect impact toughness the most. Apart from a literature study, Charpy-V data was collected with permission from SSAB for two steel types, grade A and grade B, each with respective dominant segregation type. The collected data was yielded in three individual Charpy-V tests at different spots on the metal sheet, derived within a close area. The average value of these tests were used in statistical analysis to observe the spread of values in different heats of the two steels. Additionally, the specimens were etched and captured in cross-section. Results indicated that for the data of grade A, where centreline segregates were dominant, the spread of values was higher than for the data of grade B. The conclusion is that centreline segregations are worse in relation to impact toughness, since higher deviations translates to less predictable properties from a customers perspective. / Denna rapport granskar makrosegringar i stränggjutet stål och eventuella kopplingar till slagseghet. Centrumsegringar och V-segringar undersöks för att undersöka vilken segringstyp som har störst effekt på slagseghet, vilket är syftet med denna avhandling. Förutom en litteraturstudie, hämtades Charpy-V data med SSAB’s medgivande från två olika stålsorter, kvalitet A och kvalitet B, med respektive dominant segringstyp. Datan som inhämtades erhölls från tre stycken Charpy-V tester för varje plåt, från ett närliggande område. Medelvärdet för dessa datapunkter användes i statistisk analysför att obeservera spridningen av datapunkter i olika charger av de två stålen. Dessutom, erhölls segringsbilder för respektive slab från SSAB. Resultaten visade att datapunkterna för kvalitet A, som hade centrumsegring som domiant segringstyp, var mer spridd än datan för kvalitet B. Således, är slutsatsen att centrumsegring är värre i relation till slagseghet eftersom en högre avvikelse leder till mindre förutsägbara egenskaper från en kunds perspektiv.

Lamellar cast iron is a very important technical alloy and the most used material in the casting production, and especially in the automotive industry which is the major consumer. Beside the many great properties, it is inclined to form casting defects of which some can be prevented, and some may be repaired subsequently. Shrinkage porosity is a randomly returning problem, which is difficult to understand and to avoid. This defect is a volumetric deficiency which appear as cavities inside the casting in connection to the casting surface. Another frequent defect is the metal expansion penetration. This defect is a material surplus squeezed to the casting surface containing sand inclusion from the mold material. Shrinkage porosity is usually mentioned together with metal expansion penetration as the formation mechanism of both defects have common roots. It is also generally agreed, that these type of defects are related to the volumetric changes occurring during solidification. Additionally, the formation of these defects are in connection with the coherency of the primary austenite dendrites. The purpose of this work was to develop knowledge on factors affecting a volume-change related casting defect formation in order to minimize the presence of these defects in engine component production. This was done by extending the existing solidification investigation methods with novel solutions. Introduction of expansion force measurement in the determination of dendrite coherency combined with multi axial volume change measurement refine the interpretation of the solidification. Comparison of registered axial and radial linear deformation in cylindrical samples indicated an anisotropic volume change. Different methods for dendrite coherency determination have been compared. It was shown that the coherency develops over an interval. Dependent on the added inoculant the coherency is reached at different levels of fractions of a solidified primary phase. It is also shown, that inoculation has an effect on the nucleation and growth of the primary phase. Quantitative image analysis has been performed on the primary phase in special designed samples designed to provoke shrinkage porosity and metal expansion penetration. It was found, that the inter-dendritic space varies within a casting. This was explained by the coarsening of the primary dendrites which originates from differences in the local time of solidification. / <p>QC 20131210</p>

The purpose of this thesis was to analyze and understand the functions of the current temperature model used at the steel mill in at SSAB in Oxelösund. Furthermore, to try to optimize the model by creating a better description of the ladles thermal status. A copy of the current model was made using Matlab and its performance was compared to actual temperature measurements. Along with this, additional process data was used to find a correlation between these data and temperature alterations in the liquid steel. These correlations were then used to create a new description of the ladles thermal status in a modified temperature model. The results show that the thermal status of the ladle has a big influence on the steel temperature throughout the steel making process. Also, the thermal status is greatly affected by the how the ladles are handled when being empty. The results also show that a model using a unique thermal status calculated for each heat, based on correlations derived from stored process data, provides a better result than the current model which is based on pre-determined heat loss curves. / Syftet med det här projektet var att kartlägga och förstå funktionerna i den befintliga temperaturmodellen som används i stålverket i Oxelösund samt att försöka optimera modellen genom att på ett bättre sätt beskriva skänkens värmestatus. En kopia av den nuvarade modellen gjordes med hjälp av Matlab och jämfördes med verkliga temperaturmätningar. Sedan användes ytterliggare processdata för att hitta samband mellan dessa och temperaturförändringar i stålet. Dessa samband änvändes sedan för att skapa en ny beskrivning av skänkens värmestatus i en modiferad temperaturmodell. Projektets resultat visar på att skänkens värmestatus har en väldigt stor påverkan på temperatur-förändringar i stålet och att det som påverkar värmestatusen mest är hur skänken hanteras när den är tom. Resultaten visar också att en modell med en unik värmestatus för varje skänk uträknad med samband härledda från processparameterar ger ett bättre resultat än   resultaten   från   dagens   modell   där   förbestämda   värmeförlustkurvor  bestämmer skänkens värmestatus.

The present dissertation describes part of the efforts directed towards the development of computational tools to support process modeling. This work is also a further development of the Thermoslag software developed in the Division of Materials Process Science, KTH. The essential parts of the thesis are a) development of a semi-empirical model for the estimation of the molar volumes/densities of multicomponent slags with a view to incorporate the same in the model for viscosities and b) further development of the viscosity model for application towards fluorid- containing slags, as for example, mould flux slags. The model for the estimation of molar volume is based on a correlation between the relative integral molar volume of a slag system and the relative integral molar enthalpies of mixing of the same system. The integral molar enthalpies of the relevant systems could be evaluated from the Gibbs energy data available in the Thermoslag software. The binary parameters were evaluated from experimental measurements of the molar volumes. Satisfactory correlations were obtained in the case of the binary silicate and aluminate systems. The model was extended to ternary and multi component systems by computing the molar volumes using the binary parameters. The model predictions showed agreements with the molar volume data available in literature. The model was used to estimate the molar volumes of industrial slags as well as to trace the trends in molar volume due to compositional variations. The advantage of the present approach is that it would enable prediction of molar volumes of slags that are compatible with the thermodynamic data available. With a view to extend the existing model for viscosities to F--containing slags, the viscosities of mould flux slags for continues casting in steel production have been investigated in the present work. The measurements were carried out utilizing the rotating cylinder method. Seven mould fluxes used in the Swedish steel industry and the impact of Al2O3 pick up by mould flux slags on viscosities were included in the study. The results showed that even relatively small additions of Al2O3 are related with a significant increase in viscosity / QC 20101123