DOI: 10.52150/2522-9117-2025-39-08
S. V. Grekov1,*, Researcher, ORCID 0000-0003-2849-0999
V. P. Piptyuk1, Ph. D. (Tech.), Senior Researcher, ORCID 0000-0002-2915-1756
P. H. Prokopenko1,Chief Metrologist
S. Ye. Samokhvalov1, D. Sc. (Tech.), Professor, ORCID 0000-0002-7362-213X
Ye. S. Kakushkin1, Leading Engineer
1 Iron and Steel Institute of Z. I. Nekrasov National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academican Starodubova Square, 1, Dnipro, 49107, Ukraine
* Corresponding author: gsv4321@i.ua
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF OUT-OF-FURNACE ALLOYING PROCESSES OF MELTED METAL USING COLD PHYSICAL MODELING. PART 1. MATERIAL SELECTION, PREPARATION, AND TESTING
Abstract. Among the factors influencing out-of-furnace metal melt treatment processes, important considerations include the mixing conditions of the liquid metal bath in a filled steel-pouring ladle by purging it with argon through bottom lances at varying intensities (from 50 to 1100 l/min, depending on production conditions), the grade and type of alloying material used to treat the melt, the temperature of the bath, and several other factors sensitive to the effect of additive material on its efficiency. Recent in-house research using FeMn78 ferromanganese lump metal using mathematical modeling demonstrated the influence of the alloying material quantity on the hydrodynamic and thermal state of the molten metal in 60- and 250-ton ladles during and for a short period after its introduction. It was found that changes in velocity and temperature parameters occur in the melt volumes adjacent to the additive, affecting the melting conditions and distribution of its products in the bath. Based on this, a hypothesis was made regarding the influence of quantitative factors on the efficiency of the alloying process. Given the current lack of reliable values for the velocity parameters of solid alloying additives during their introduction into a liquid metal bath in a ladle during argon purging, depending on gas flow rates and other conditions, and the impossibility of appropriately adapting the developed mathematical model describing the alloying process, it was decided to further study the bath hydrodynamics under relative conditions using cold physical modeling. This article is devoted to clarifying the preparatory period for the planned physical studies.
Keywords: alloying model materials, tracers, similarity criteria, testing.
For citation: Grekov, S. V., Piptyuk, V. P., Prokopenko, P. H., Samokhvalov, S. Ye., & Kakushkin, Ye. S. (2025). Experimental studies of out-of-furnace alloying processes of melted metal using cold physical modeling. Part 1. Material selection, preparation, and testing. Fundamental and applied problems of ferrous metallurgy, 39, 148-159. https://doi.org/10.52150/2522-9117-2025-39-08
References
1. Zhu, M. Y., Inomoto, T., Sawada, I., & Hsiao, T. C. (1995). Fluid Flow and Mixing Phenomena in the Ladle Stirred by Argon through Multi-Tuyere. ISIJ International, 35, 5, 472-479
2. Koch, K., Roth, C., & Peter, M. (1996). Cold Model Investigation of Fluid Flow and Mixing Characteristics by Bottom-blowing in Discontinuous Metallurgical Reactors. ISIJ International, 36, 550-553
3. Esaka, H., Itoga, Y, Shinozuka, K., & Tamura, M. (2006). In-situ Observation of Growth and Melting of a Solid Particle Using Transparent Organic Alloys. ISIJ International, 46, 6, 864-870
4. Gonzalez, O. J. P., Ramirez-Argaez, M. A., & Conejo, A. N. (2010) Mathematical Modeling of the Melting Rate of Metallic Particles in the Electric Arc Furnace. ISIJ International, 50, 1, 9-16
5. Rodriguez-Avila, J., Morales, R. D., Najera-Bastida, A. (2012) Numerical Study of Multiphase Flow Dynamics of Plunging Jets of Liquid Steel and Trajectories of Ferroalloys Additions in a Ladle during Tapping Operations. ISIJ International, 52, 5, 814—822
6. Mazumdar, D., Dhandapani, P., Sarvanakumar, R. (2017). Modeling and Optimisation of Gas Stirred Ladle Systems. ISIJ International, 57, 2, 286–295
7. Liu, X., Li, B., Zhang, L. & Yang, Y. (2018). Gas–stirring mixing in steelmaking ladles: A review. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions, 49, 2, 477–495
8. Duan, C., Zhang, M., Wang, H., & Wang, X. (2019). Effect of superheat and particle size on dissolution and mixing of alloy additions in ladles. Steel Research International, 90, 10
9. Wang, Z., Jiang, M., & Zang, J. (2023). Numerical simulation of dissolution kinetics of alloy lumps in steel ladles. Metals, 13, 4
10. Zang, Y., & Wang, X. (2023). Effect of ladle geometry and plug configuration on mixing time: A CFD study.Processes, 11, 8
11. Sahai, Y., & Guthrie, R. I. L. (2010). Mixing in steelmaking ladles with slag cover. ISIJ International, 50, 6, 813–822
12. Smith, J., Brown, A., & Lee, D. (2023). CFD and plant validation of copper alloy dissolution in ladle refining. In AISTech Conference Proceedings 1123–1135
13. Kumar, P., Singh, R., & Patel, S. (2022). Wire feeding of Ca for inclusion modification: Simulation and experiments. Journal of Metallurgical Engineering, 11, 2, 145–158
14. Herrera-Ortega, M., Ramos-Banderas, J. A., Hernández-Bocanegra, C. A., & Montes-Rodríguez J.J. (2021). Effect of the Location of Tracer Addition in a Ladle on the Mixing Time through Physical and Numerical Modeling. ISIJ International, 61, 8, 2185–2192
15. Alam, Z., & Mazumdar, B. (2022). Fluid Flow and Mixing Phenomena in Mechanically Agitated and Gas Stirred Ladle Systems and Their Comparisons. ISIJ International, 62, 1, 112-123
16. Villarreal-Medina, R., Trápaga-Martínez, G., Jardón-Pérez, L. E., Amaro-Villeda, A.M., & Ramírez-Argáez, M.A. (2024). Effect of the Injection Position on Mixing Time in a Centric Gasstirred Ladle Water Model Assisted by a Systematic CFD Study. ISIJ International, 64, 14, 2079-2083
17. Samokhvalov, S. E., Piptiuk, V. P., & Grekov, S. V. (2023). The influence of the amount of additive on the hydrodynamics of a metal bath in a ladle. Fundamental and applied problems of ferrous metallurgy, 37
18. Piptyuk, V. P., Samokhvalov, S. E., Logozinsky, I. N. & Grekov, S. V. (2025). The dependence of the state of the metal bath on the amount of ferromanganese used in LF. Metal and Casting of Ukraine. 33, 1, 19-25
19. Samokhvalov, S. E., Piptiuk, V. P., & Grekov, S. V. (2025). The influence of the amount of additive on the thermal state of the metal bath in the ladle. Modern problems of metallurgy, Scientific news, 28, 201- 212
20. Samokhvalov, S. E., Piptiuk, V. P., & Grekov, S. V. (2025). Mathematical modeling of heat and mass transfer processes in a ladle when introducing additives with a density different from that of liquid steel. Collection of abstracts of the All-Ukrainian scientific and methodological conference “Problems of mathematical modeling” (May 27 – 28, 2025, Kamianske), DSTU, 126
21. Piptyuk, V. P., Prokopenko, P. G., Grekov, S. V., Kostyuk, Yu. B., et al. (2014). Preparation of equipment for physical modeling of melt processing processes in a steel ladle. Fundamental and applied problems of ferrous metallurgy, 28, 161-170.
22. Web-site: https://bmcmetals.lv/ru/standarty/tablitsa-plotnosti-matyerialov-i-koeffitsiyentov.html
23. News about the scientific research work “Developments of scientific phenomena about the processes of ladle processing of steel with the regulation of batchwise input of additives and features of mixing and thermal mill during degassing of metal. St. reg. number 0118U000081 (2020)
Received 01.08.2025
Accepted 21.10.2025
Published online 01.12.2025
