Investigation of Viscosity's Effects on Continuous Casting of Steel Mold Powders Containing B2O3, Li2O, TiO2, Fe2O3, ZnO and Na2O

Abstract

Mold powders are mainly formed of such oxides as SiO2, CaO, Al2O3, Na2O along with F and C. One of the main constitutional composes of mold powders is F, which is utilized in chemical composition of mold powders due to its features of controlling viscosity and producing desired lubrication between solidified steel shell and mold. However, the emission of F through such compositions as HF (g) causes health and environmental problems. The purpose of this research is to decrease, and subsequently substitute, F in chemical composition of a lubricating high speed powder, which is used in continuous casting of steel industry. A combination of Fe2O3 and TiO2 compositions to substitute F in chemical composition of a fluorine-free mold powder was used to meet the purposed of this research. In addition, nine powder samples (A-I) with laboratory scale were prepared. In order to evaluate the samples’ viscosity behavior, groove viscometer test and image analysis software was used and to evaluate the crystalline behavior of samples C and G, XRD and SEM analyses were conducted. The results of these analyses demonstrated that the fluorine-free sample, due to its viscosity resemblance in comparison with molten reference powder and through creation of such crystalline phases as Perovskite (CaTiO3) and Fayalite (Fe2SiO4), will result in viscosity control of the mold powder and therefore optimizing continuous casting conditions. Finally, it is possible to derive that this sample may be an appropriate substitution for the reference powder being utilized in steel continuous casting industry.

Share and Cite:

A. Arefpour, A. Monshi, T. Khayamian and A. Saidi, "Investigation of Viscosity's Effects on Continuous Casting of Steel Mold Powders Containing B2O3, Li2O, TiO2, Fe2O3, ZnO and Na2O," Engineering, Vol. 4 No. 8, 2012, pp. 435-444. doi: 10.4236/eng.2012.48057.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] E. T. Turkdogan, “Fundamentals of Steelmaking,” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996, pp. 138-179.
[2] M. Mueller, W. Willenborg, K. Hilpert and L. Singheiser, “Structural Dependence of Alkali Oxide Activity in Coal Ash Slags,” VII International Conference on Molten Slags, Fluxes and Salts, Cape Town, 25-25 January 2004.
[3] M. Nakamoto, J. Lee and T. Tanaka, “A Model for Estimation of Molten Silicate Slag,” ISIJ International, 2005, Vol. 45, No. 5, 2005, pp. 651-656. doi:10.2355/isijinternational.45.651
[4] S. Sridhar, “Estimation Models for Molten Slag and Alloy Viscosities,” JOM Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, Vol. 54, No. 11, 2005, pp. 46-48.
[5] R. F. Brooks, A. T. Dinsdale and P. N. Quested, “The Measurement of Viscosity of Alloys—A Review of Methods, Data and Models,” Measurement Science and Technology, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2005, pp. 354-362. doi:10.1088/0957-0233/16/2/005
[6] Q. Shu and J. Zhang, “Viscosity Estimatin for Slags Containing Clacium Fluoride,” Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2005, p. 221.
[7] P. V. Riboud and M. Larrecq, “Fundamental Study of the Behavior of Casting Powders, ISIJ International, Vol. 36, 1996, pp. 522-525.
[8] C. Orrling, A. W. Cramb, A. Tilliander and Y. Kashiwaya, “Observations of the Melting and Solidification Behavior of Mold Slags,” Iron and Steelmaker, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2000, pp. 53-63.
[9] S. Feldbauer, I. Jimbo, A. Sharan, K. Shimizu, W. king, J. Stepanek, J. Harman and A. W. Cramb, “Physical Properties of Mold Slags That Are Relevant to Clean Steel Manufacture,” Proceedings of 78th Steelmaking Conference, Nashville, 2-5 April 1995, pp. 655-667.
[10] K. C. Mills, S. Sridhar, A. S. Normanton and S. T. Mallaband, “Mould Flux Behavior in Continuous Casting,” The Brimacombe Memorial Symposium, Vancouver, 1-4 October 2000, pp. 781-794.
[11] P. V. Riboud, Y. Roux, L. D. Lucas and H. Gaye, “Improvement of Continuous Casting Powders,” Fachber Huttenprax Metallweiterverarb, Vol. 19, No. 10, 1981, pp. 859-869.
[12] G. Urbain, F. Cambier, M. Deletter and M. R. Anseau, “Viscosity of Silicate Melts,” Transactions and Journal of British Ceramics Society, Vol. 80, No. 4, 1981, pp. 139-141.
[13] E. T. Turkdogan, “Physicochemical Properties of Molten Slags and Glasses,” Metals Society, London, 1983, p. 11.
[14] S. Seetgraman, D. Sichen and F. Z. Ji, “Estimation of Viscosities of Ternary Silicate Melts Using the Excess Gibbs Energy of Mixing,” Metallurgical and Materials Transaction B, Vol. 31, No. 1, 2000, pp. 105-109. doi:10.1007/s11663-000-0135-7
[15] L. Zhang and S. Jahanshahi, “Review and Modeling of Viscosity of Silicate Melts: Part I. Viscosity of Binary and Ternary Silicates Containing CaO, MgO and MnO,” Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, Vol. 29, No. 1, 1998, pp. 177-186.
[16] G. Wen, S. Sridhar, P. Tang, X. Qi and Y. Liu, “Development of Fluoride-Free Mold Powders for Peritectic Steel Slab Casting,” ISIJ International, Vol. 47, No. 8, 2007, pp. 1117-1125. doi:10.2355/isijinternational.47.1117
[17] M. K. Koul, S. Sankaranarayanan, D. Apelian, W. L. McCauley, “Mould Powder Technology,” Press of Northeast University of Technology, Shenyang, 1988, pp. 2-14.
[18] A. Morita, T. Omoto and Y. Iwamoto, “Molding Powder for Continuous Casting of Steel and a Method for Continuous Casting of Steel,” US Patent No. 6461402, 2002.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.