Dynamic mass variation and multiphase interaction among steel, slag, lining refractory and nonmetallic inclusions: Laboratory experiments and mathematical prediction

The mass transfer among the multiphase interactions among the steel, slag, lining refractory, and nonmetallic inclusions during the refining process of a bearing steel was studied using laboratory experiments and numerical kinetic prediction. Experiments on the system with and without the slag phase were carried out to evaluate the influence of the refractory and the slag on the mass transfer. A mathematical model coupled the ion and molecule coexistence theory, coupled-reaction model, and the surface renewal theory was established to predict the dynamic mass transfer and composition transformation of the steel, the slag, and nonmetallic inclusions in the steel. During the refining process, Al₂O₃ inclusions transformed into MgO inclusions owing to the mass transfer of Mg at the steel/refractory interface and (MgO) at the slag/refractory interface. Most of the aluminum involved in the transport entered the slag and a small part of the aluminum transferred to lining refractory, forming the Al₂O₃ or MgO·Al₂O₃. The slag had a significant acceleration effect on the mass transfer. The mass transfer rate (or the reaction rate) of the system with the slag was approximately 5 times larger than that of the system without the slag. In the first 20 min of the refining, rates of magnesium mass transfer at the steel/inclusion interface, steel/refractory interface, and steel/slag interface were x, 1.1x, and 2.2x, respectively. The composition transformation of inclusions and the mass transfer of magnesium and aluminum in the steel were predicted with an acceptable accuracy using the established kinetic model.