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 dy-namic 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/re-fractory interface. Most of the aluminum involved in the transport entered the slag and a small part of the aluminum transferred to lining re-fractory, forming the Al2O3 or MgO·Al2O3. The slag had a significant acceleration effect on the mass transfer. The mass transfer rate (or the re-action 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 re-fining, 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.