KINETIC MODELLING OF HIGH MANGANESE STEEL IN LMF PROCESS

Abstract

Presence of inclusions in high manganese steel are a major concern in the steel making industry, since these particles affect the processing and properties of the steel. During the refining of high manganese steel in the ladle furnace, the types of inclusions present and their growth in the liquid steel, or during solidification of the steel, caused by the addition of manganese and other alloying elements are to be examined. This research developed a kinetic model for the presence and growth of inclusions in the liquid high manganese steel for the ladle metallurgy process. The diffusion of dissolved elements, and the seed of inclusions for the growth and consumption of inclusions, were both addressed in the model. The present model for inclusions was coupled to the updated kinetic model for slag-steel reactions in the ladle furnace for high manganese steel. The coupled model allows for verifying the process analysis plant data for the highest manganese concentration presently available in the steel industry. Finally, an analysis of the coupled kinetic model was performed to compare the effect of the different processing conditions, and the presence and growth of inclusions in the high manganese steel from the ladle metallurgy process.