RH metallurgy
Since its introduction more than 40 years ago vacuum degassing has developed from being used
primarily for hydrogen removal to an essential part of secondary steelmaking, with an ability to
refine, alloy, heat and deoxidise steel. Metallurgical reactions are influenced by thermo-chemistry
and vessel design as well as vacuum level.
Authors: Dieter Tembergen, Rainer Teworte and Robert Robey
SMS Mevac
degassing had been used primarily for hydrogen removal.
Today, however, vacuum degassing processes are also
used for secondary refining and have become increasingly
important in the modern steelmaking industry, mainly
because of the rising demand for cold-rolled sheet with
improved mechanical properties. Pressure dependent
reactions are the reason for the treatment of liquid steel
under vacuum (see Table 1).
The dominating vacuum degassing system is the RH
type degasser (see Figure 1). This process was named
after the companies Ruhrstahl and Heraeus where the
process was developed. The amount of steel requiring
vacuum treatment will continue to grow and every
r Fig 1 Schematic view of the reaction area of the RH process international competitive integrated plant and many
electric furnace plants will require vacuum degassing if
they are to remain competitive.
D uring the past 30 years there has been a tremendous
improvement in the secondary processing of steel. In
the first stage of this development simple ladle metallurgical
RH/RH TOP PROCESS
The mechanism of the vacuum treatment of liquid steel is
processes were developed to: shown in Figure 1. The unit consists mainly of a refractory
lined reaction vessel and two steel pipes attached to
` Improve deoxidation control the bottom of this vessel. These are the inlet and outlet
` Remove inclusions by gentle bath stirring snorkels. Both of them are completely refractory lined
` Desulphurise steel by synthetic slags and injection on the inside but only the lower part is refractory coated
metallurgy on the outside. The inlet snorkel is equipped with a number
` Modify inclusions primarily by calcium of gas injection pipes arranged in the lower section in
one or two levels and equally distributed around the
In the next stage of development, ladle furnaces were circumference.
implemented in order to improve productivity and the The degassing process is started after both snorkels
quality of steel. These have been used to: are sufficiently immersed into the melt. Before snorkel
immersion the injection of inert gas, usually argon, is started
` Reheat steel and control temperature in the gas pipes of the inlet snorkel. Having achieved the
` Buffer heats for sequence casting required immersion depth, the reaction vessel is evacuated
` Add large quantities of alloys by means of a vacuum pump system which is connected
` Homogenise composition and temperature to the reaction vessel via an off-take duct. The density
` Produce ultra clean steels with an extended gentle of liquid steel is assumed as 6.94t/m3 at 1,600°C. The
gas stirring atmospheric pressure exerted on the ladle surface causes
` Desulphurise and, in some cases, dephosphorise steel the steel in the snorkels to rise to a barometric height of
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2008
with synthetic slags approximately 1.45m under deep vacuum conditions.
Due to the economic benefits achieved by using secondary
Since its introduction more than 40 years ago, vacuum metallurgical equipment the processes of steel treatment
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STEELMAKING
Parameter RH technology Tank & ladle technology
RH-OB, RH-TOP RH VOD, VD-OB Tank Ladle
Carbon content – < 20 < 20 < 50 30-40 30-40
final product, ppm
Decarburisation rate Very high Sufficient High 2-30% less than
for LC steels with RH-TOP/VOD
Decarburisation < 13 < 15 Depends on 15-20 20
time, min initial C content
Hydrogen removal All systems have sufficient performance
Steel cleanliness All systems improve steel cleanliness / VD-OB, VOD, tank and ladle need soft stirring period
Desulphurisation Powder injection No Very efficient
by lance – seldom
Chemical heating Yes No Yes No No
Relative capital costs 1 0.8-0.9 0.4-0.6 0.4-0.5 0.3-0.4
Operating costs →Decreasing
r Table 1 Comparison of various degassing systems
in vacuum conditions are under continuous development.
The development of vessel geometry (size and shape),
cross-section of snorkels and production capacities of RH
units is demonstrated in Figure 2 [2]. It shows the vessel
design of RH units in Thyssen’s steelmaking shops since
the beginning of RH technology.
RH PROCESS CHARACTERISTICS
When the RH process was introduced, the primary target
was the reduction of hydrogen in liquid steel. The first
results were not as successful as expected due to an
insufficient vacuum in the vessel, however, the application
of steam ejector vacuum pumps in the early 1960s
enabled sufficiently low pressure to be reached, leading to
hydrogen contents of less than 1ppm. r Fig 2 Various RH units (ThyssenKrupp Steel, 1958-92)
The application of the RH process for decarburisation was
introduced at the end of the 1970s. Today, extremely low
final carbon contents of less than 20ppm can be obtained,
as required for the production of automotive sheets. The RH KINETICS
addition of alloying elements during degassing has the RH vacuum processes, in general, do not reach equilibrium
advantage of achieving high yields for alloys and high and the amount of hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen removed
accuracy of chemical analysis of steel due to the absence are governed by kinetic considerations.
of air and the avoidance of metal-slag reactions. Decarburisation The decarburisation mechanism is
Further developments were the use of gaseous oxygen fairly complex as the reaction kinetics depend both on the
during RH treatment in RHO, RH-OB, RH-KTB, RH-MESID circulation rate and rate of decarburisation. The effect of
and MFB processes. The targets for these processes were bath mixing on decarburisation is well known and many
to accelerate the decarburisation reaction, to reheat liquid studies have been performed to enhance this reaction.
steel by alumino-thermic reaction, to remelt skulls, to Based on a simple simulation, molten steel in vacuum
keep vessel at high temperature by converting generated refining equipment can be divided into two vessels (see
CO gas into CO2 during the decarburisation period, and Figure 3): a reaction vessel, where the decarburisation
to heat the refractory lined vessels between treatments. occurs, and a mixing vessel.
Recently, some RH TOP lances have also been used for Between the two vessels, the molten steel circulates at
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2008
blowing powder onto the liquid steel for reducing sulphur constant speed. The mass balance of carbon in the mixing
or carbon contents to the lowest contents. Today, all these and the reaction vessel is represented by the following
processes, except RH-OB, are called RH TOP. equations [3]: a
105
If equations 1 and 2 are solved, assuming that:
C1=C2=C10 at t=0 (3)
and v is considerably smaller than V, the following
equations are obtained as approximate solutions:
(4)
(5)
where:
r Fig 3 Two vessel model of bath mixing is mass transfer coefficient for carbon in liquid steel
k is apparent rate constant
VM is v+V
A is surface area of metal exposed to the vacuum
The effects of the circulation rate Q’ and the volumetric
coefficient of decarburisation on the apparent rate
constant are calculated and shown in Figure 4. The figure
shows the presence of three regions:
1. Reaction control region where k increases slightly by
increasing the circulation rate
2. Recirculation control region where k increases
slightly by increasing the volumetric coefficient ak
3. Mixed control region where k is affected equally by the
circulation speed Q’ and the volumetric coefficient ak
r Fig 4 Apparent rate constant for decarburisation in a RH as The improvement of the operational conditions to increase
a function of recirculation rate Q’ and mass transfer parameter k (shortening the decarburisation time), can be investigated
ak (volumetric coefficient) using Figure 4. If the recirculation rate is small, the apparent
rate constant, k, is controlled by the circulation and can
be improved by increasing the recirculation rate. This can
(1) be accomplished by increasing the snorkel diameter or,
in some cases, by increasing the flow rate of the lift gas.
In this case, the volumetric coefficient of decarburisation
is sufficiently high. In other words, bath mixing has a
strong influence in the early and middle periods of the
(2) decarburisation process, when decarburisation proceeds
rapidly with decreasing vacuum pressure.
where : (1), (2) and (3) in this diagram represent three phases of
V, v are volumes of mixing vessel and reaction vessel an investigation to increase the decarburisation rate at a
ak is volumetric coefficient for decarburisation 270t RH plant. In the beginning of the investigation the
C1 and C2 are carbon concentrations in mixing vessel and conditions were in phase (1). As the size of the snorkel was
reaction vessel increased to increase the recirculation rate, the conditions
Ce is carbon concentration in molten steel in equilibrium were improved to phase (2). Finally, as ak was augmented
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2008
with partial pressure of CO in gas phase by agitating molten steel in the vessel more vigorously
Q’ is recirculation flow rate of molten steel and increasing the interfacial reaction between gas and
t is time molten steel, the conditions were improved to phase (3).
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STEELMAKING
r Fig 5 Changes of carbon content and -ln([Ct]/[C0]) with the decarburisation time in a RH unit
In state-of-the-art RH facilities, heavy splashing of the DEGASSING
steel melt inside the vacuum vessel is a further limiting Hydrogen and nitrogen removal in RH TOP plants follow
factor which is playing an increasingly important role. similar equations. In general, the rate constant for
This effect occurs at extremely high decarburisation hydrogen is greater than for carbon because the mass
rates, which correspond to high k values. transfer coefficient for hydrogen is a factor of three times
A typical example of the change of carbon content with higher than carbon. However, at low hydrogen levels He
time is given in Figure 5. The decarburisation reaction may become important and must be taken into account.
was analysed assuming that it would the first order Nitrogen removal is controlled by liquid phase mass
reaction of equation 4, where Ce=0. It indicates that transfer and chemical kinetics. The chemical aspects depend
the decarburisation reaction can be divided into three on the oxygen and sulphur content. This is because oxygen
different stages with different k values. It is clear from and sulphur segregate to the surface of the lift gas bubble
the equations that the apparent decarburisation rate, k, and impede the formation of N2. In general, the nitrogen
can be obtained from the slope of a straight line shown removal rate increases as the oxygen and sulphur contents
in a -ln([Ct]/[Cini] versus time plot. decrease. The rate is slow compared to hydrogen removal. If
In stage 1, where the evacuation of the vacuum vessel oxygen and sulphur are low, the rate is controlled by liquid
and the recirculation of the melt have commenced, the phase mass transfer, which is also slow. The rate constant is
value of k is the smallest of the three stages. In stage 2, about one third of that of hydrogen.
the k value is the largest, and approximately 80-90%
of the total carbon removed during the RH process is LIFT GAS, SNORKEL GEOMETRY AND
removed within this step, indicating that this is the main STEEL RECIRCULATION
decarburisation step. When decarburisation reaches As the RH process is based on the exchange of molten
stage 3, the carbon content approaches a critical value steel between the ladle and the RH vessel, the rate of steel
which is different for each RH facility. The critical carbon recirculation determines the velocity of the metallurgical
content between stage 2 and stage 3 is approximately reactions and the duration of the process assuming a
20-50ppm. defined metallurgical target. Melt circulation depends on
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2008
In the past, many investigations have shown that the the geometry of the equipment such as snorkel diameter,
decarburisation rate of stage 2 can be influenced by the the radius of the equipment, and the position and number
recirculation rate and the pump down behaviour. of lift gas tuyeres. a
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STEELMAKING
where:
U is steel recirculation rate
is diameter of the up-snorkel
is diameter of the down-snorkel
G is the flow rate of lift gas
H is the length of snorkel used by the lift gas
(plume zone height)
The parameter H has been evaluated several times by users
of the Ono formula and is defined as the length of the inlet
snorkel used by the lift gas. With increased H-value the
velocity of the up-stream in the inlet snorkel will also be
increased. Equation (6) allocates the strongest influence to
the snorkel inner diameter.
These theoretical investigations were considered for
the engineering and design of SMS MEVAC’s new RH
r Fig 6 Snorkel diameter vs heat size units, with the recommendation for an optimised relation
between the ladle capacity and process related lift gas
rates shown in Figures 6 and 7.
CONCLUSIONS
The RH process, now in industrial use for nearly 50
years, has been continuously developed to satisfy ever
more stringent demands of the steel producer. Further
developments are ongoing to provide an economic tool for
decarburisation and hydrogen removal to even lower levels
within a shorter treatment time and thus make the RH ‘fit
for the future’. With achievable high levels of cleanness
and accurate composition and temperature control, the
RH process is a key facility in modern steelmaking. MS
Dieter Tembergen and Rainer Teworte are with SMS
Mevac, Essen, Germany, and Robert Robey is with
r Fig 7 Lift gas flow vs snorkel diameter SMS Mevac UK, Winsford, UK.
CONTACT: [email protected]
The first simple functional relations between steel
recirculation rate, snorkel inner diameter and argon flow References
rate were published from 1963 to 1965. In 1971 Hupfer [1] F-J Hahn and HP Haastert, “Entwicklung
et al [1] tried to describe the influence of geometrical der RH-Vakuummetallurgie für Stähle mit tiefen
factors of the snorkel design on the steel recirculation Kohlenstoffgehalten bei der Thyssen Stahl AG”, in
rate. The calculation formulas developed by Kuwabara Stahl und Eisen, 113(12), pp103-8 (1993).
[2], Lutz [3] or Kleimt [4] also consider the effect of the [2] RJ Fruehan, Vacuum Degassing, Iron & Steel
vacuum on steel circulation. Society (1990).
The empirically derived formula (see equation (6) for [3] T Kuwabara et al, (trans.) ISIJ Int., 28,
the determination of steel recirculation rate, defined by pp305-14 (1988).
Ono et al [5] considers the so-called ‘plume zone’ (H), [4] W Lutz, Stahl und Eisen, 115(8) pp89-93
the distance between point of lift gas injection and the (1995).
refractory lined vessel bottom. [5] B Kleimt et al, Stahl und Eisen, 115(8)
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2008
pp75-81 (1995).
(6) [6] K Ono et al, Denki Seiko 56(7), pp149-57 (1981).
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