Alain Jardy

Toward a Full Simulation of the Basic Oxygen Furnace: Deformation of the Bath Free Surface and Coupled Transfer Processes Associated with the Post-Combustion in the Gas Region

The present article treats different phenomena taking place in a steelmaking converter through the development of two separate models. The first model describes the cavity produced at the free surface of the metal bath by the high-speed impinging oxygen jet. The model is based on a zonal approach, where gas compressibility effects are taken into account only in the high velocity jet region, while elsewhere the gas is treated as incompressible. The volume of fluid (VOF) method is employed to follow the deformation of the bath free surface. Calculations are presented for two- and three-phase systems and compared against experimental data obtained in a cold model experiment presented in the literature. The influence on the size and shape of the cavity of various parameters and models (including the jet inlet boundary conditions, the VOF advection scheme, and the turbulence model) is studied. Next, the model is used to simulate the interaction of a supersonic oxygen jet with the surface of a liquid steel bath in a pilot-scale converter. The second model concentrates on fluid flow, heat transfer, and the post-combustion reaction in the gas phase above the metal bath. The model uses the simple chemical reaction scheme approach to describe the transport of the chemical species and takes into account the consumption of oxygen by the bath and thermal radiative transfer. The model predictions are in reasonable agreement with measurements collected in a laboratory experiment and in a pilot-scale furnace.

Coupling of CFD and PBE Calculations to Simulate the Behavior of an Inclusion Population in a Gas-Stirring Ladle

Gas-stirring ladle treatment of liquid metal has been pointed out for a long time as the processing stage is mainly responsible for the inclusion population of specialty steels. A steel ladle is a complex three-phase reactor, where strongly dispersed inclusions are transported by the turbulent liquid metal/bubbles flow. We have coupled a population balance model with CFD in order to simulate the mechanisms of transport, aggregation, flotation, and surface entrapment of inclusions. The simulation results, when applied to an industrial gas-stirring ladle operation, show the efficiency of this modeling approach and allow us to compare the respective roles of these mechanisms on the inclusion removal rate. The comparison with literature reporting data emphasizes the good prediction of deoxidating rate of the ladle. On parallel, a simplified zero-dimensional model has been set-up incorporating the same kinetics law for the aggregation rate and all the removal mechanisms. A particular attention has been paid on the averaging method of the hydrodynamics parameters introduced in the flotation and kinetics kernels.

Influence of the Mold Current on the Electroslag Remelting Process

The electroslag remelting process is widely used to produce high value-added alloys. The use of numerical simulation has proven to be a valuable way to improve its understanding. In collaboration with Aubert & Duval, the Institute Jean Lamour has developed a numerical transient model of the process. The consumable electrode is remelted within a mold assumed to be electrically insulated by the solidified slag skin. However, this assumption has been challenged by some recent studies: the solidified slag skin may actually allow a part of the melting current to reach the mold. In this paper, the evolution of our model, in order to take into account this possibility, is presented and discussed. Numerical results are compared with experimental data, while several sensitivity studies show the influence of some slag properties and operating parameters on the quality of the ingot. Even, a weakly conductive solidified slag skin at the inner surface of the mold may be responsible for a non-negligible amount of current circulating between the slag and crucible, which in turn modifies the fluid flow and heat transfer in the slag and ingot liquid pool. The fraction of current concerned depends mainly on the electrical conductivities of both the liquid and solidified slag.

TEM Characterization of a Titanium Nitride (TiN) Inclusion in a Fe-Ni-Co Maraging Steel

A TEM observation of a TiN inclusion associated to a spinel (MgAl2O4) and calcium sulfide germs is reported. It shows an orientation relationship between these three phases, indicating an epitaxial growth of the TiN over the spinel and CaS. This observation strengthens the hypothesis of a heterogeneous nucleation of TiN particles during the solidification of a maraging steel.

Impact of the Solidified Slag Skin on the Current Distribution During Electroslag Remelting

The ESR process is commonly used to produce defect-free ingots of high added value alloys such as special steels or Ni-based superalloys. Numerous simulation tools have been developed for the last 30 years to get better insight into the process and help its optimization. Most assume that no electrical current is able to cross the solidified slag skin and flow in the water-cooled mold. However, it has recently been claimed that the slag skin does not ensure perfect insulation, which is prone to modify the current distribution, hence some of the results previously assessed. This paper presents the assumptions made to simulate that phenomenon and some results in terms of current flow into the mold, depending on the thickness and electrical conductivity of the solidified slag skin. Results show that both parameters can have a great influence on the current distribution, hence the slag behaviour and final ingot quality.

Solidification of a Vacuum Arc-Remelted Zirconium Ingot

As the quality of vacuum arc-remelted (VAR) zirconium ingots is directly linked to their chemical homogeneity and their metallurgical structure after solidification, it is important to predictively relate these factors to the operating conditions. Therefore, a detailed modeling study of the solidification process during VAR has been undertaken. To this purpose, the numerical macromodel SOLAR has been used. Assuming axisymmetrical geometry, this model is based on the solution of the coupled transient heat, momentum, and solute transport equations, under turbulent flow conditions during the remelting, hot-topping, and cooling of a cylindrical ingot. The actual operating parameters are defined as inputs for the model. Each of them, mainly the melting current sequence, melting rate sequence, and stirring parameters (current and period), is allowed to vary with time. Solidification mechanisms recently implemented in the model include a full coupling between energy and solute transport in the mushy zone. This modeling can be applied to actual multicomponent alloys. In this article, the macrosegregation induced by solidification in a zirconium alloy ingot is investigated. In order to validate the model results, a full-scale homogeneous Zy4 electrode has been remelted, and the resulted ingot has been analyzed. The model results show a general good agreement with the chemistry analyses, as soon as thermosolutal convection is accounted for to simulate accurately the interdendritic fluid flow in the central part of the ingot.

Modeling the Titanium Nitride (TiN) Germination and Growth during the Solidification of a Maraging Steel

A maraging steel containing nitrogen and titanium is considered. As solidification proceeds, the segregation accounts for an increase of Ti and N mass fraction in the liquid phase. This eventually leads to the formation of TiN if the supersaturation is high enough. A model has been developed to calculate the creation and evolution of the TiN distributions in both phases. Microsegregation is modeled using the lever rule, while the kinetics of precipitation is mainly driven by the supersaturation of the liquid bath. The model enables one to investigate the competition between segregation and precipitation regarding the solute concentrations and the shape of the particle size distributions in the liquid and solid phases. A parametric study on the solidification time reveals the existence of a maximal inclusion size. It also confirms the influence of the initial composition on the final size of TiN particles.

On the Modeling of Thermal Radiation at the Top Surface of a Vacuum Arc Remelting Ingot

Two models have been implemented for calculating the thermal radiation emitted at the ingot top in the VAR process, namely, a crude model that considers only radiative heat transfer between the free surface and electrode tip and a more detailed model that describes all radiative exchanges between the ingot, electrode, and crucible wall using a radiosity method. From the results of the second model, it is found that the radiative heat flux at the ingot top may depend heavily on the arc gap length and the electrode radius, but remains almost unaffected by variations of the electrode height. Both radiation models have been integrated into a CFD numerical code that simulates the growth and solidification of a VAR ingot. The simulation of a Ti-6-4 alloy melt shows that use of the detailed radiation model leads to some significant modification of the simulation results compared with the simple model. This is especially true during the hot-topping phase, where the top radiation plays an increasingly important role compared with the arc energy input. Thus, while the crude model has the advantage of its simplicity, use of the detailed model should be preferred.

Toward Better Control of Inclusion Cleanliness in a Gas Stirred Ladle Using Multiscale Numerical Modeling

The industrial objective of lowering the mass of mechanical structures requires continuous improvement in controlling the mechanical properties of metallic materials. Steel cleanliness and especially control of inclusion size distribution have, therefore, become major challenges. Inclusions have a detrimental effect on fatigue that strongly depends both on inclusion content and on the size of the largest inclusions. Ladle treatment of liquid steel has long been recognized as the processing stage responsible for the inclusion of cleanliness. A multiscale modeling has been proposed to investigate the inclusion behavior. The evolution of the inclusion size distribution is simulated at the process scale due to coupling a computational fluid dynamics calculation with a population balance method integrating all mechanisms, i.e., flotation, aggregation, settling, and capture at the top layer. Particular attention has been paid to the aggregation mechanism and the simulations at an inclusion scale with fully resolved inclusions that represent hydrodynamic conditions of the ladle, which have been specifically developed. Simulations of an industrial-type ladle highlight that inclusion cleanliness is mainly ruled by aggregation. Quantitative knowledge of aggregation kinetics has been extracted and captured from mesoscale simulations. Aggregation efficiency has been observed to drop drastically when increasing the particle size ratio.

Kinetics of Evaporation of Alloying Elements under Vacuum: Application to Ti alloys in Electron Beam Melting

Abstract Vacuum metallurgical processes such as the electron beam melting are highly conducive to volatilization. In titanium processing, it concerns the alloying elements which show a high vapor pressure with respect to titanium matrix, such as Al. Two different experimental approaches using a laboratory electron beam furnace have been developed for the estimation of volatilization rate and activity coefficient of Al in Ti64. The first innovative method is based on the deposition rate of Al on Si wafers located at different angles θ above the liquid bath. We found that a deposition according to a cos2(π/2−θ) law describes well the experimental distribution of the weight of the deposition layer. The second approach relies on the depletion of aluminum in the liquid pool at two separate times of the volatilization process. Both approaches provide values of the Al activity coefficient at T=1, 860 °C in a fairly narrow range [0.044–0.0495], in good agreement with the range reported in the literature. Furthermore numerical simulation of the Al behavior in the liquid pool reveals (in the specific case of electron beam button melting) a weak transport resistance in the surface boundary layer.