Nucleation and growth kinetics of inclusions during liquid steel deoxidation

Abstract

The phenomenon of solid inclusion nucleation and growth during the liquid steel deoxidation process is studied numerically. It is shown that the diffusion of atoms, the Ostwald ripening effect, and Brownian movement together control the growth of small size particles. It appears that this stage of initial precipitation lasts for only about 10 s. When the particle diameter exceeds a threshold of ~1 μm, the growth process becomes dominated by particle collisions and agglomeration. The efficiency of these mechanisms depends on the particle size distribution as produced during growth. Comprehensive evaluations are still impeded by the limited capacity of computers at present.