1982 Volume 68 Issue 10 Pages 1595-1603
Commercial scale experiments have been carried out to develop a new ladle refining process termed PM (Pulsating Mixing Process) invented on the basis of water model experiments and theoretical calculations. The results obtained for a 100 t PM facility are as follows:
(1) The rate of input of stirring energy is calculated to be 5 to 10W/t steel, equivalent to that obtained for an RH degasser.
(2) The rate of deoxidation and oxygen concentration after the treatment are shown for aluminum and aluminum-silicon killed steels to be close to those for RH treatment.
(3) Yield of additions, such as Al and C, for trimming during the treatment is found to be larger than 85%, approximately the same as that for RH treatment.
(4) The rate of the decrease in temperature of the melt throughout the treatment is on the average 1.7°C/min, about 30% smaller than that for RH treatment.
(5) As far as deoxidation and trimming of alloys are concerned, the PM process is much superior to conventional argon bubbling, and comparable with RH- or DH-degassing.