Cellular Automata Modeling of Decarburization of Metal Droplets in Basic Oxygen Steelmaking

Abstract

In steelmaking, a supersonic jet is blown over the bath to refine the hot metal to produce steel. The refining process primarily consists of removal of impurities from the hot metal to a permissible level. The impact of oxygen jet on the surface of the hot metal bath results in ejection of droplets, which mix with slag and form emulsion. The formed emulsion plays an important role in refining reactions kinetics and understanding of this process is required todevelopimproved process control model for the steel industry. In this paper, cellular automata technique has been explored to simulate decarburization in emulsion caused by interfacial reactions between the metal droplets and slag. In the course of the work, a framework has also been developed to quantify the contribution of carbon monoxide, generated by decarburization, in bloating of metal droplets and formation of halo around the droplets. The model has incorporated diffusion and decarburization reaction based on probabilities to study the evolution of the system. Simulations with varying parameters have been performed and decarburization trends obtained are comparable with the experimentally determined data reported in literatures.