Wetting and Marangoni Effect in Iron and Steelmaking Processes

Abstract

This article reviews the phenomena by which wetting and the Marangoni effect participate or may participate in iron and steelmaking processes. The concept of wetting conventionally defined for the system of gas-liquid-solid was applied to the systems of liquid 1-liquid 2-solid, liquid-solid 1-solid 2 and gas-liquid 1-liquid 2. In these systems, local corrosions of refractories at the interfaces of gas-slag and metal-slag, slag foaming, bubble dispersion into metal phase, and interaction of inclusions with solidification fronts were described in relation to the wetting and the Marangoni effect. Rates of reactions of gas-metal, and metal-slag were briefly introduced as examples of possible participation of the Marangoni effect.