Abstract
ESR experiment was made by a test furnace (600kVA) in order to investigate the hydrogen pick-up and oxidation of Al, Si, and Mn during ESR tereatment.
From the studies on the behaviour of hydrogen during ESR treatment, it has been found that the partial pressure of water vapor in the atmosphere, gas/slag interface area, slag composition, electrode hydrogen content, remelting rate, and slag quantity are the factors that control the hydrogen content in ESR ingot.
Based on these test results, and on the assumption that the transfer rate of (OH-) through the gas/slag interface controls the hydrogen pick-up velocity, a mathematical model was made for the behaviour of hydrogen during ESR treatment. The physical and chemical constants used in this model were discussed.
From the experiments on oxidation of metal, it was found that SiO2 content in slag played a very important role for the oxidation of metal and that Si, Al and Mn contents in metal were in an apparent equilibrium with slag compositions. By using these test results, a mathematical model for the oxidation of metal during ESR treatment was made and discussed.
