Refractory Materials in Steelmaking: Mechanisms of Lining Wear (ELDMEK)

Purpose and goal

The project´s overall objective is to investigate the mechanisms behind the lining wear that occurs in AOD converters during the process, as well as to build knowledge for a future full-scale project where measures against lining wear are tested on an industrial scale. More specifically, this means answering which (or which) of these mechanisms is dominant for the wear that occurs in the die zone of an AOD converter: • Temperature • Vigorous stirring / thin boundary layers • Composition

Expected effects and result

Both of the participating steel mills today use "as good lining as possible" because they have such a product mix that it is not possible to optimize the lining for specific steel grades. Depending on which mechanism is dominant, it would be possible to develop the processes so that liner wear is reduced, even for the steel grades that are particularly aggressive. This increases the flexibility of the process and the competitiveness of the Swedish and Nordic steel mills.

Planned approach and implementation

The design and implementation of the project has two parts. Partly a series of measurements in operation at the participating steel mills, where steel and slag samples are taken. These samples, as well as lining bricks from the AOD converter, are then used in a series of experiments at KTH where lining wear is investigated at different temperatures, in contact with different melts. Thermodynamic and fluid mechanic simulations explore wear mechanisms related to reactions and mechanical wear.