The role of process control on the steel cleanliness

Abstract

The possibilities of obtaining a good process control in order to reach a good cleanliness of the steel were studied based on plant trials. Steel and slag samples were taken from two steel grades with a slightly different composition, but with similar processing conditions. Thereafter, the chemical compositions of the steel and slag samples were determined. The results show that the sum of the FeO and MnO was found to be a clear indicator for when reoxidation had taken place. No conclusive indicator was found to predict the extent of slag carry-over from the electric arc furnace. However, most of the variation in deoxidation seem to originate from the accuracy of the slag raking. Steel grades with low amounts of deoxidisers such as C and Si naturally were found to result in higher oxygen contents at the start of deoxidation. Furthermore, calculations of oxygen activities in the steel melt were made and the results were compared to measurements with varying results. Overall, the results indicate that calculation of oxygen activities with multivalence slag species such as Fe and Cr requires additional measurements to obtain accurate results.