Modeling of the vacuum oxygen decarburization refining process

A dynamic model for the vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD) refining proces s is presented. A new method is used to calculate the oxygen distribution i n the metal/gas reactions. It is based on a stepwise comparison of the reac tion free energies, and it allows the continuous calculation of the change of the metal, slag, and gas composition throughout the duration of the VOD process. Fine tuning of a limited number of model parameters is sufficient to simulate an industrial VOD process. The calculated final metal compositi on and temperature are:in reasonable agreement with the production data. Th e influence of oxygen flow rare, vacuum pressure, and argon flow rate on pr ocess characteristics was analyzed and suggestions are made for improving t he processing conditions.