Prevision of inclusional content in structural steel

The chemical composition of non-metallic inclusions, their volume fraction and the final size distribution are crucial issues for steelmakers. This survey aims at elaborating a kinetic model, integrated with thermodynamics, designed to forecast the inclusion concentration and their dimensional distribution at the end of ladle furnace (LF) treatments. The computational model is based on collision frequency function and introduces several assumptions concerning collision growth mechanism and inclusion removal by effect of inert gas stirring. Dimensional distribution and volume fraction provided by the model are compared to the experimental characterization results for steel samples from different heats. Moreover, the implemented model allows an estimation of the influence associated to the main process parameters, such as temperature, argon flow rate and treatment time.