The production of high quality steels from steel scraps by Electroslag Remelting (ESR) and modelling the properties of slags

The recycling of scrap steels includes the melting of steels in electric arc furnaces (EAF) and following the refining of steels by various processes. The electroslag remelting (ESR) process, which is one of the techniques used in the production of high quality steels, is the refining of steel by melting a precast ingot under a slag. When high quality steel scraps are recycled by melting in an EAF or induction furnace, a considerable amount of valuable alloying elements in the chemical composition of steels are lost. This study contains utilization of high quality steel scraps as a consumable electrode in ESR process and the production of high quality steels by skipping the melting and ladle furnace route. For this purpose, high sulfur containing AISI 12L14 (DIN 11SMnPb37)free-cutting steel,AISI 304 (DIN X5CrNi18-10) stainless steel containing high amounts of chrome and nickel and AISI M2 (DIN HS6-5-2C) high speed steel containing considerable amounts of carburizing element like Mo, V and W were melted and refined by using various synthetic slags. By this process, it was attempted to remove the elements which reduces the quality, as S and P, while keeping the valuable alloying elements as possible. The slag parameters, primarily the electrical conductivity, which is the most important one in ESR process, were investigated and the effects of slag composition on the process and the alloying elements of steels were determined. It was observed that, due to the fact that the elements are generally lost by oxidation, their losses are a function of free Gibbs energies (?G°) of their oxides. A relatively new concept of basicity of slags, the optical basicity, was investigated and its effects on the slag properties and the alloying elements of steels were determined. Consequently, it was observed that optical basicity of slag was a measure of free oxygen anions in slags and an increase of the optical basicity results with higher alloying element losses. Additionally the existing models that involve the relations between the slag properties and alloying element losses of steels were compared with the experimental data and as a result some models were advised or new ones were generated. Moreover it was determined that, the optical basicity of slags not only affects the alloying elements in steels, but also the slag properties like electrical conductivity or viscosity. The increase of the basic oxides slags, in other words, the optical basicity of slags, the web structures in slags were destroyed and consequently the electrical conductivity increases while the viscosity decreases.