1977 Volume 63 Issue 13 Pages 2054-2063
Functions of various ladle technologies were studied, and some future prospects of the ladle technology in steelmaking process were proposed.
i) Ladle technologies proposed so far can be classified to five types.
ii) Eight functions are necessary for the ladle technology and evaluations of the eight functions of each technology were done.
iii) Many factors, for example, grade of steel, layout of the plant, and forecast of energy cost, must be investigated in order to introduce the most suitable process of the ladle technoloty into steelmaking process.
iv) The ladle technology has been developed from needs for improvements of steel quality and productivity. In future, however, developments of the ladle technology will be strongly influenced by needs for saving resources and energy, and for decreasing waste materials.
v) In future, with these developments of the ladle technology, innovations of refining process in steelmaking will be extensively performed.