A Novel Approach for Numerical Modeling of the CAS-OB Process: Process Model for the Heat-Up Stage

The objective of this work was to develop a process model for the CAS-OB (Composition Adjustment by Sealed argon bubbling-Oxygen Blowing). The CAS-OB is designed to homogenize and control the steel composition and temperature before the casting. In the heating mode (OB) studied here, a refractory bell is lowered and submerged 30 cm below the liquid steel surface of the ladle and under this well-defined sealed volume, oxygen gas is injected to oxidize solid aluminum particles that are fed and molten at the surface. Under consideration were the melting of the solid aluminum particles, the oxidation of pure molten aluminum, and the oxidation of dissolved species, in this case Al, Mn, C and Si, and the solvent Fe. We also considered the formation and oxidation of steel droplets formed in the blowing when they pass through and react with the surface slag and also the reaction of pure aluminum on the top of the slag layer. Based on our simulations, only 30–40% of the chemical energy can be used to heat up the steel. A fraction of 0.8–0.85 of the O2 can be utilized in the process; these values correspond to those obtained in previous work. The main part of the heating energy comes from the oxidation of the fed Al. FeO is primarily an intermediate product of the reactions. The model was tested against industrial trials for steel temperature and compositions of slag and steel, and it succeeded in capturing correct trends and absolute accuracy within the analyzing accuracy.