A Fundamental Investigation of Decarburization Reactions in the Argon-Oxygen Decarburization Converter Using Coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics Databases

Metallurgical converters such as the argon-oxygen decarburization (AOD) converter generally utilize gas blowing for the mixing and refinement of liquid steel. Due to the harsh environment of the complex and opaque system, it is common practice to study the stirring of the process through physical and numerical models. Effective mixing in the bath has an important role in refinement such as decarburization and has been vividly studied before. However, high-temperature chemical reactions that also play a major role are sparsely investigated. With the help of modeling, a computational fluid dynamics model coupled with chemical reactions is developed, allowing the study of both dynamic fluid transport and chemical reactions. Herein, the chemical reactions for a single gas bubble in the AOD are investigated. The study shows that a 60 mm oxygen gas bubble rapidly reacts with the melt and is saturated with carbon in 0.2-0.25 s at low-pressure levels. The saturation time is affected by the pressure and the composition of the injected gas bubble. The impact of ferrostatic pressure on the reactions is more significant at larger depth differences.

Automated summary

Metallurgical converters like the AOD converter are used for mixing and refining liquid steel. Stirring is commonly studied through physical and numerical models due to the harsh and opaque environment. Effective stirring is important for processes like decarburization, but the role of high-temperature chemical reactions is not well-explored. This study investigates the chemical reactions of a single gas bubble in the AOD using a computational fluid dynamics model coupled with chemical reactions.