Investigation into the Cause of Spontaneous Emulsification of a Free Steel Droplet; Validation of the Chemical Exchange Pathway

Stephen Spooner, Andre N. Assis, Jason Warnett, Richard Fruehan, Mark A. Williams, Seetharaman Sridhar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Small Fe-based droplets have been heated to a molten phase suspended within a slag medium to replicate a partial environment within the basic oxygen furnace (BOF). The confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM) has been used as a heating platform to interrogate the effect of impurities and their transfer across the metal/slag interface, on the emulsification of the droplet into the slag medium. The samples were then examined through X-ray computer tomography (XCT) giving the mapping of emulsion dispersion in 3D space, calculating the changing of interfacial area between the two materials, and changes of material volume due to material transfer between metal and slag. Null experiments to rule out thermal gradients being the cause of emulsification have been conducted as well as replication of the previously reported study by Assis et al.[1] which has given insights into the mechanism of emulsification. Finally chemical analysis was conducted to discover the transfer of oxygen to be the cause of emulsification, leading to a new study of a system with undergoing oxygen equilibration.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2123-2132
Number of pages10
JournalMetallurgical and Materials Transactions B: Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science
Volume47
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Metals and Alloys
  • Materials Chemistry

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