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A busca de melhoria de produtos siderúrgicos leva uma atenção especial para a área de aciarias. A introdução da metalurgia da panela, e portanto no refino secundário, contribuiu fundamentalmente para o aumento da qualidade do aço produzido. Um dos efeitos foi o aumento do tempo de residência do aço na panela, o que obrigou a utilização de materiais refratários de melhor qualidade. O controle da temperatura do aço líquido ao longo do processo de produção é de fundamental importância para se atingir os requisitos de qualidade e produtividade exigidos atualmente. Com o desenvolvimento de tecnologias siderúrgicas e a busca pela eficiência energética, torna-se necessário o conhecimento e redução das perdas térmicas do aço durante todo o ciclo produtivo. Neste trabalho foram estudadas, em uma aciaria elétrica a arco, as correlações entre as perdas térmicas das panelas através do conhecimento dos tempos de espera e do tempo de transporte das panelas do forno elétrico a arco até o forno-panela, além de comparar a temperatura do revestimento refratário de panelas com e sem isolante refratário. Melhorias no ciclo de panelas foram propostas visando diminuir as perdas térmicas das panelas, otimizar o ciclo de panelas e, consequentemente, reduzir o consumo de energia elétrica do forno-panela, diminuindo os custos envolvidos durante o processo de fabricação do aço. Os resultados apresentaram significância estatística entre o consumo de energia elétrica do fornopanela e as perdas térmicas das panelas. Através dos resultados obtidos observou-se que a minimização do tempo de espera da panela antes de iniciar o vazamento e a diminuição do tempo de transporte da panela até o forno-panela são fundamentais para diminuir as perdas térmicas nas panelas. / The search for improved steel products takes special attention to the melthops. The introduction of ladle metallurgy, and therefore the secondary refining, contributed essentially to increase the quality of steel produced. One effect was to increase the residence time of the steel in the ladle, forcing the use of refractory materials of better quality. Temperature control of liquid steel during the process is of fundamental importance for achieving the requirements of quality and productivity currently required. With the development of technologies and the reach of energetic efficiency, it becomes necessary to reduce the thermal losses during the steel production cycle. In this study the correlations between the thermal losses in the ladles through the knowledge of waiting times and transport times of the ladles to the of the electric arc furnace to the ladle furnace were determined as well as a comparison between temperatures of ladle refractory lining with and without refractory insulation. Improvements in the ladle cycle were proposed to reduce the thermal losses in the ladles and to optimize the ladle cycle and, consequently, to reduce the electric energy in the ladle furnace, reducing the costs involved during the manufacturing process of steel. The results showed statistical significance between the energy consumption in the ladle furnace and heat losses in the ladles. The results obtained showed that minimizing the waiting time of the ladle before the tap and reducing transportation time of the ladle to the ladle furnace are essential to reduce the heat losses in the ladles.

A busca de melhoria de produtos siderúrgicos leva uma atenção especial para a área de aciarias. A introdução da metalurgia da panela, e portanto no refino secundário, contribuiu fundamentalmente para o aumento da qualidade do aço produzido. Um dos efeitos foi o aumento do tempo de residência do aço na panela, o que obrigou a utilização de materiais refratários de melhor qualidade. O controle da temperatura do aço líquido ao longo do processo de produção é de fundamental importância para se atingir os requisitos de qualidade e produtividade exigidos atualmente. Com o desenvolvimento de tecnologias siderúrgicas e a busca pela eficiência energética, torna-se necessário o conhecimento e redução das perdas térmicas do aço durante todo o ciclo produtivo. Neste trabalho foram estudadas, em uma aciaria elétrica a arco, as correlações entre as perdas térmicas das panelas através do conhecimento dos tempos de espera e do tempo de transporte das panelas do forno elétrico a arco até o forno-panela, além de comparar a temperatura do revestimento refratário de panelas com e sem isolante refratário. Melhorias no ciclo de panelas foram propostas visando diminuir as perdas térmicas das panelas, otimizar o ciclo de panelas e, consequentemente, reduzir o consumo de energia elétrica do forno-panela, diminuindo os custos envolvidos durante o processo de fabricação do aço. Os resultados apresentaram significância estatística entre o consumo de energia elétrica do fornopanela e as perdas térmicas das panelas. Através dos resultados obtidos observou-se que a minimização do tempo de espera da panela antes de iniciar o vazamento e a diminuição do tempo de transporte da panela até o forno-panela são fundamentais para diminuir as perdas térmicas nas panelas. / The search for improved steel products takes special attention to the melthops. The introduction of ladle metallurgy, and therefore the secondary refining, contributed essentially to increase the quality of steel produced. One effect was to increase the residence time of the steel in the ladle, forcing the use of refractory materials of better quality. Temperature control of liquid steel during the process is of fundamental importance for achieving the requirements of quality and productivity currently required. With the development of technologies and the reach of energetic efficiency, it becomes necessary to reduce the thermal losses during the steel production cycle. In this study the correlations between the thermal losses in the ladles through the knowledge of waiting times and transport times of the ladles to the of the electric arc furnace to the ladle furnace were determined as well as a comparison between temperatures of ladle refractory lining with and without refractory insulation. Improvements in the ladle cycle were proposed to reduce the thermal losses in the ladles and to optimize the ladle cycle and, consequently, to reduce the electric energy in the ladle furnace, reducing the costs involved during the manufacturing process of steel. The results showed statistical significance between the energy consumption in the ladle furnace and heat losses in the ladles. The results obtained showed that minimizing the waiting time of the ladle before the tap and reducing transportation time of the ladle to the ladle furnace are essential to reduce the heat losses in the ladles.

A busca de melhoria de produtos siderúrgicos leva uma atenção especial para a área de aciarias. A introdução da metalurgia da panela, e portanto no refino secundário, contribuiu fundamentalmente para o aumento da qualidade do aço produzido. Um dos efeitos foi o aumento do tempo de residência do aço na panela, o que obrigou a utilização de materiais refratários de melhor qualidade. O controle da temperatura do aço líquido ao longo do processo de produção é de fundamental importância para se atingir os requisitos de qualidade e produtividade exigidos atualmente. Com o desenvolvimento de tecnologias siderúrgicas e a busca pela eficiência energética, torna-se necessário o conhecimento e redução das perdas térmicas do aço durante todo o ciclo produtivo. Neste trabalho foram estudadas, em uma aciaria elétrica a arco, as correlações entre as perdas térmicas das panelas através do conhecimento dos tempos de espera e do tempo de transporte das panelas do forno elétrico a arco até o forno-panela, além de comparar a temperatura do revestimento refratário de panelas com e sem isolante refratário. Melhorias no ciclo de panelas foram propostas visando diminuir as perdas térmicas das panelas, otimizar o ciclo de panelas e, consequentemente, reduzir o consumo de energia elétrica do forno-panela, diminuindo os custos envolvidos durante o processo de fabricação do aço. Os resultados apresentaram significância estatística entre o consumo de energia elétrica do fornopanela e as perdas térmicas das panelas. Através dos resultados obtidos observou-se que a minimização do tempo de espera da panela antes de iniciar o vazamento e a diminuição do tempo de transporte da panela até o forno-panela são fundamentais para diminuir as perdas térmicas nas panelas. / The search for improved steel products takes special attention to the melthops. The introduction of ladle metallurgy, and therefore the secondary refining, contributed essentially to increase the quality of steel produced. One effect was to increase the residence time of the steel in the ladle, forcing the use of refractory materials of better quality. Temperature control of liquid steel during the process is of fundamental importance for achieving the requirements of quality and productivity currently required. With the development of technologies and the reach of energetic efficiency, it becomes necessary to reduce the thermal losses during the steel production cycle. In this study the correlations between the thermal losses in the ladles through the knowledge of waiting times and transport times of the ladles to the of the electric arc furnace to the ladle furnace were determined as well as a comparison between temperatures of ladle refractory lining with and without refractory insulation. Improvements in the ladle cycle were proposed to reduce the thermal losses in the ladles and to optimize the ladle cycle and, consequently, to reduce the electric energy in the ladle furnace, reducing the costs involved during the manufacturing process of steel. The results showed statistical significance between the energy consumption in the ladle furnace and heat losses in the ladles. The results obtained showed that minimizing the waiting time of the ladle before the tap and reducing transportation time of the ladle to the ladle furnace are essential to reduce the heat losses in the ladles.

In present thesis, the fundamental studies on the reaction between MgO based refractories and slag were undertaken for the development of a carbon-free bonding MgO lining material. Alumina was selected as a potential binder material. Due to MgO-Al2O3 chemical reaction, the developed refractory was bonded by MgO·Al2O3 spinel phase. To begin with, an investigation of the dissolution process of dense MgO and MgO·Al2O3 spinel in liquid slag was carried out. To obtain reliable information for dissolution study, a new experimental method was therefore developed. In this method, a cylinder was rotating centrally in a special designed container with a quatrefoil profile. This method also showed a good reliability in revealing the dissolution mechanism by quenching the whole reaction system. The experimental results showed that the dissolution process of MgO and spinel was controlled by both mass transfer and chemical reaction. It was found that the rapid dissolution of spinel was mainly because of its larger driving force. To improve the resistance against slag penetration, two aspects were studied to develop carbon-free MgO refractory. First, colloidal alumina was used and the effect of its addition into MgO matrix was investigated. The use of colloidal alumina was to form bonding products in the grain boundary of MgO. The results showed that the alumina addition greatly improved the resistance of MgO based refractory against slag penetration in comparison with the decarburized MgO-carbon refractory. It was found that the improvement of resistance was mainly related to the spinel-slag reaction products of CaO·Al2O3 and CaO·MgO·Al2O3 solid phases at the grain boundaries. Second, the effect of particle size distribution on the penetration resistance of MgO was investigated. The most profound improvement against the slag penetration was obtained by using a proper particle size distribution. The results highlighted the importance of considering the refractory structure. Experiments were undertaken to investigate the dissolution mechanism of different types of MgO based refractories in liquid slag. It was observed that the dissolution of spinel bonded MgO refractory was much slower than the decarburized MgO-carbon refractory. The primary dissolution in spinel bonded MgO refractory occurred at the slag-penetrated layer, and the removal of this layer by peeling off enhanced the dissolution rate rapidly. / <p>QC 20170918</p> / European RFCS LEANSTORY project

Abstract About 4 Mt of ladle slag is generated in steelmaking processes in Europe per year, a large proportion of which (80%) is placed in landfills or stored. This pattern is expected to continue without further research for their valorisation due to increasing demand for quality steel products worldwide. Ladle slag (LS) produced in Finland possesses large amounts of calcium and aluminium and mineralogical phases which can exhibit cementitious capabilities and can be utilized in applications where expensive commercial cements are currently being used. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the properties of ladle slag in different activation pathways, including alkali activation and use as a hydraulic binder with gypsum. The results showed that ladle slag can be used alone as a precursor in alkali activation or as the sole binder or a co-binder with gypsum in hydraulic binding. Depending on the activation pathway, compressive strength between 35–92 MPa can be achieved after 28 days. The reaction properties of alkali activated ladle slag are characterized, and it is confirmed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) that the reaction product after alkali activation is mainly an x-ray amorphous (calcium aluminate silicate hydrate-like) phase. Characterization techniques (SEM, XRD, TGA and NMR) used to analyze the LS paste binder with just water showed the hydration products of ladle slag to be dicalcium aluminate octahydrate (C₂AH₈), tricalcium aluminate hexahydrate (C₃AH₆), gibbsite (AH₃) and stratlingite (C₂ASH₈) was also identified after a prolonged period of hydration. Furthermore, it was found that to minimize the conversion, the ideal water-to-binder ratio is 0.35. The conversion mechanism is reduced at this ratio and the strength is slightly affected. Another pathway that can be used to annul the conversion of calcium aluminate hydrates formed in LS paste is through the addition of gypsum to the LS paste system to produce an ettringite-rich binder (C₆A\(\bar{S}\)₃H₃₂). When ettringite is formed in place of calcium aluminate hydrates the strength increases, frost resistance is improved, and drying shrinkage is enhanced. Lastly, a potential application of ladle slag as a refractory material was also investigated. / Tiivistelmä Euroopassa syntyy vuosittain noin 4 Mt terästeollisuden sivutuotetta, JV-kuonaa, josta 80 % läjitetään tai kaatopaikoitetaan. Maailmanlaajuisesti syntyvän kuonan määrä tulee todennäköisesti kasvamaan laadukkaiden terästuotteiden ennustetun kysynnän kanssa. Tämän vuoksi kuonalle tulisi löytää hyötökäyttökohde, jota vältyttäisiin läjitykseltä. JV-kuona sisältääkin suuria määriä kalsiumia ja alumiinia sekä mineralogisia faaseja, joilla on sementtimäisiä ominaisuuksia. Näin kuonaa voitaisiin käyttää sovelluksissa, joissa tällä hetkellä käytetään kalliita kaupallisia sementtejä. Tämän väitöskirjan tarkoituksena oli tutkia JV-kuonan ominaisuuksia sementtimäisenä sideaineena alkali-aktivoinnissa sekä hydraulisena sideaineena yksinään että kipsin kanssa sekoitettuna. Väitöskirjan tulokset osoittivat, että JV-kuonaa voidaan käyttää prekursorina alkali-aktivoinnissa tai hydraulisena sideaineena pelkästään veden kanssa tai yhdessä kipsin ja veden kanssa. Saavutetut puristuslujuuset vaihtelivat 35 ja 92 MPa:n välillä, jotka vastaavat normaalin ja erityislujan betonin lujuuksia. JV-kuonan reaktiotuotteet alkali-aktivonnin jälkeen analysoitiin XRD- ja FTIR-analyyseillä. Tuloksista nähtiin, että alkali-aktivoinnin jälkeen reaktiotuote on sementin kaltainen kalsium-aluminatti-silikaati-hydraati (C-A-S-H) -tyyppinen faasi. XRD-, SEM-, TGA- ja NMR-analyysit osoittivat JV-kuonan hydrataatiotuotteiden olevan erilaisia kalsium-aluminaattihydraatteja (C₂AH₈, C₃AH₆, AH₃ ja C₂ASH₈). Tämän vuoksi työssä tutkittiin eri vesi–kuona-suhteita, ja havaittiin, että kun käytetään alhaista kuona-vesi –suhdetta (0,35), reaktiotuoteiden muutos vähenee ja lujuus paranee. Toinen tapa, jolla voidaan estää reaktiotuotteiden muuttuminen, on kipsin lisäys: lisäämällä kipsiä tuotetaan runsaasti ettringiittiä (C₆A\(\bar{S}\)₃H₃₂). Kun ettringiittiä muodostuu kalsium-aluminaattihydraattien sijaan, lujuus kasvaa, pakkaskestävyys paranee ja kuivumiskutistuma paranee. Väitöskirjan viimeisessä osiossa tutkittiin JV-kuonan mahdollista käyttöä tulenkestävänä materiaalina ja huomattiin, että sen tulenkestävyysominaisuudet vaihtelevat käytetyn aktivointityypin mukaan.

Sveriges och världens industrier står inför stora omställningar gällande energianvändning och klimatavtryck. Johnson Metall AB jobbar ständigt med miljöarbete och har identifierat gasolanvändningen i produktionen som ett ställe där stora miljövinster går att göra. Examensarbetet avgränsas till att enbart titta på alternativa förvärmningstekniker till skänkar.Syftet med rapporten är att undersöka 3-5 alternativa förvärmningstekniker till den gasoluppvärmning som används i dagsläget. Det är viktigt att en alternativ lösning gör så att nuvarande produktkvalitet bibehålls samtidigt som en alternativ lösning bidrar till ett lägre klimatavtryck, det är även viktigt att priset på produkterna inte går upp allt för mycket.För att genomföra examensarbetet har metoderna litteratursökning, Double Diamond, nulägesanalys, komparation och kriterieviktsmetoden använts. För att skapa en bild över uppvärmningsförloppet görs en testmätning som jämförs med teoretiska samband.Utbudet av klimatavtrycksminskande teknik är relativt stor och fortsätter att växa, däremot råder det brist på incitament att byta teknik. Det krävs stora investeringar i ny teknik som är relativt obeprövad. Bränslen som skulle kunna nyttjas blir indirekt reserverade för andra teknikslag till följd av konkurrensen på bränslemarknaden. I dagens läge ligger risktagandet i övergången till ny klimatneutral teknik hos industrin.Det alternativ som har störst potential är en elektrisk lösning. Förändringar i anläggningen kommer inte innebära någon större inverkan i produktionen. Konsekvenserna av att byta förvärmningsteknik är att produkterna förmodligen kommer öka i pris, men att produkten också får ett lägre klimatavtryck. / Due to the consequences of global warming the industries of the world are facing new challenges. Johnson Metall AB is continuously working with ways to reduce their environmental footprint. Johnson Metall AB has identified use of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) as a source where great environmental gains can be made. The thesis limits itself to only look at LPG use in ladle preheating.The purpose of the thesis is to investigate 3-5 alternative ladle preheating technologies instead of the current LPG preheating of ladles. It is important that an alternative solution keeps the current quality of the products and contributes to lower emissions, it is also important that the price of the products doesn’t increase too much. In order to investigate available options the following methods have been used: literature study, double diamond, current situation analysis, comparison method, and the criterion weight method. In order to create a picture of the heating of ladles, an evaluation measure is performed and compared with theoretical concepts. Climate friendly alternatives are present on the market and are continuously improving, however the incentives to invest in new technologies are few. From the industries perspective the available options are expensive and relatively untested. Fuels that are viable options are taken from consideration due to hard competition with other markets. Moving to alternative fuels is a risky business with few guarantees for the foundry industries. The alternative with the biggest potential is an electric solution. Changes in the facility will not result in any major interference in production. The consequences of changing ladle preheating technology will probably be an increase in the price of the products, however the product will be more environmentally friendly.

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.

Inclusions in molten steel have received worldwide concern due to their serious influence on both the steel product quality and the steel production process. These inclusions may come from the deoxidation process, reoxidation by air and/or slag due to an entrainment during steel transfer, and so on. They can break up a casting process by clogging a nozzle. A good knowledge on both steel flow and inclusion behavior is really important to understand nozzle clogging, as well as to take some possible measures to alleviate clogging. In this thesis, steel flow and inclusion behavior during a teeming process were investigated by mathematical simulations with verification by pilot-plant experiments. Firstly, steel flow phenomena during a ladle teeming process were studied. Different turbulence models, including the low Reynolds number k-ɛ model and the realizable k-ɛ model both with an enhanced wall treatment (EWT) and a standard wall function (SWF), were used to simulate this process. All of these turbulence model predictions generally agreed well with the experimental results. The velocity distributions in the nozzle were also predicted by these turbulence models. A large difference of the boundary-layer velocity predicted with these two near wall treatment methods was found. At the late stage of the teeming process, the drain sink flow phenomena were studied. The combination of an inclined ladle bottom and a gradually expanding nozzle was found to be an effective way to alleviate a drain sink flow during teeming. Then, inclusion behavior during a teeming stage was studied. A Lagranian method was used to track the inclusions in steel flow and compare the behaviors of different-size inclusions. In addition, a statistical analysis was conducted by the use of a stochastic turbulence model to investigate the behaviors of different-size inclusions in different nozzle regions. Inclusions with a diameter smaller than 20μm were found to have a similar trajectory and velocity distribution in the nozzle. However, inertia force and buoyancy force were found to play an important role for the behavior of large-size inclusions or clusters. The statistical analysis results indicate that the regions close to the connection between different angled nozzle parts seem to be very sensitive for an inclusion deposition. / <p>QC 20130305</p>

This thesis work aimed to provide a better knowledge of inclusion behavior at the steel-slag interface. All results are based on mathematical modeling of liquid and solid inclusion separation to the slag. The model descriptions of the inclusion transfer are based on the equation of motion at the system. It is assumed that the inclusion transfer is governed by four forces acting on the inclusion as it has reached the steel-slag interface. These are the buoyancy force, the added mass force, the drag force and the rebound force. The models assume two cases of inclusion separation depending on the inclusion Reynolds number. In the case where Reynolds number is larger or equal to unity, Re≥1, a steel film is formed between the inclusion and the slag. This steel film must first be drained before the inclusion can separate to the slag. If Reynolds number, Re&lt;1, then no steel film is formed and the inclusion will be in direct contact with the slag. The mathematical models also propose three types of inclusion behavior as the inclusion crosses the steel-slag interface. The inclusion can either, pass and separate to the slag, oscillate at the interface with the possibility of reentering the steel bath with the steel flow or it can remain at the interface not completely separated to the slag. A parameter study for 20 μm inclusions showed that the most important parameters controlling the inclusion behavior at the steel-slag interface are the slag viscosity and the interfacial tensions between the phases. For 100μm inclusions also the inclusion density affects the inclusion behavior. The models were applied to ladle and tundish conditions. Since the slags in the chosen industrial conditions have not been studied experimentally before, estimations of the important physical property parameters were made. Future measurements will therefore be needed in order to make predictions of inclusion transfer behavior at the steel-slag interface which are more relevant for the industry. The main conclusion is that useful plots can be made in order to illustrate the tendency for the inclusion transfer and how to manipulate the physical property parameters in order to increase the inclusion separation in ladles and tundishes. / QC 20101221