On March 24-27, CIVS Director Chenn Zhou presented 2 papers at TMS 2025 Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Development and Validation of Optimization Tool for Continuous Caster Operations Based on CFD Simulations” co-authored by CIVS Graduate Research Assistant Sai Bhuvanesh Nandipati, CIVS Senior Research Engineer Kyle Toth, CIVS Associate Director for Operations Armin Silaen, and from SSAB Americas Yufeng Wang, Sunday Abraham and Dallas Brown.

“Modeling Dynamic Burden Behavior in a Secondary Lead Reverberatory Furnace Using Computational Fluid Dynamics” co-authored by CIVS Senior Research Engineer Nicholas Walla, CIVS Graduate Research Assistant Zachary Holmes, CIVS Graduate Research Assistant Misbahuddin Syed, CIVS Associate Director for Operations Armin Silaen, from Gopher Resource Jason Schirck, Joseph Trouba, and Joseph Grogan, and from RHI Magnesita Alexandra Anderson.

The TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition brings together more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, business leaders, and other professionals in the minerals, metals, and materials fields for a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary exchange of technical knowledge. TMS 2025 presented more than 100 symposia planned by all five TMS technical divisions and covering a broad range of topics related to minerals, metals, and materials science and engineering divided into 11 technical tracks.

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On April 8, CIVS Senior Research Engineer Kyle Toth, CIVS Senior Research Scientist Jack Morelalnd, and Steel North Trainer, U.S. Steel, Jeffrey Maxfield delivered the Keynote Presentation at the April AIST Midwest Chapter Dinner at Avalon Manor in Merrillville. Their presentation was titled “Development and Implementation of Digital Technology Solutions for Safety and Training in the Ironmaking and Steelmaking Industry”. The dinner meeting was attended by approximately 220 industry professionals including PNW students and staff. The presentation was very well-received followed by a productive Q&A.

The AIST Midwest Member Chapter is the largest AIST member chapter including members from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northern Indiana and a small portion of Northwestern Illinois.

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CIVS Researchers and collaborators delivered 8 technical papers and presentations at AISTech 2022 in Pittsburgh, PA from May 16^th to May 18^th, 2022. Following is the list of the papers:

1. Modeling the Impacts of Nuisance Elements on Blast Furnace Operation, Tyamo Okosun¹, Samuel E. Nielson¹, Stuart J. Street², Gerard Louwerse³, Jan van der Stel³ Chenn Q. Zhou¹; ¹Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), Purdue University Northwest, ²Cleveland-Cliffs Dearborn Works, ³Tata Steel Europe.
2. Numerical Simulation of Desulfurization in a Steel Ladle, Congshan Mao¹, Xipeng Guo¹, Nicholas J. Walla¹, Armin K. Silaen¹, Vivek Thapliyal² and Chenn Q. Zhou¹ ; ¹Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), Purdue University Northwest, ² Nucor Steel .
3. Proceedings Computational Analysis of Surface Wave Fluctuation utilizing Electromagnetic Braking in a Continuous Caster, Saswot Thapa ¹, Armin Silaen¹, Chenn Zhou ¹, Mauro E. Ferreira ², Wesley Rollings ²; ¹Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), Purdue University Northwest, ²Nucor Steel Decatur, LLC.
4. Numerical Investigation of EAF Arc Exposure and Water-panel Overheating, Yuchao Chen, Qingxuan Luo, Armin K. Silaen, and Chenn Zhou; Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), Purdue University Northwest.
5. Enhanced Digital Twin Solution for Continuous Casting, Kyle Toth¹, Yifan Fei¹, Aleeha Zafar¹, Chenn Zhou¹, Nicholas Gregurich², Lidia Yakovleva²; ¹ Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS); Purdue University Northwest, ²Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor.
6. Numerical Modeling of Hydrogen Application in a Reheating Furnace, Chukwunedum Uzor¹, Emily Higley¹, John Rosser¹, Armin K. Silaen¹, Kelly Tian², Joe Maiolo², Lawrence Fabina³, Chenn Zhou¹; ¹Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), Purdue University Northwest, ²Linde, ³Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor.
7. Interactive 360-Degree Videos for Hazard Awareness Training, ¹Na Zhu, ¹John Moreland, ¹Kyle Toth, ²Garrett Page, ¹Chenn Zhou; ¹Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), Purdue University Northwest, ²Steel Dynamics Inc.
8. 360-Degree Video for Virtual Tours and Workforce Development, ¹John Moreland, ¹Kyle Toth, ²Angela Hiller, ¹Chenn Zhou; ¹Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), Purdue University Northwest, ²Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

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On March 5, CIVS Director Chenn Zhou gave a lecture at the AIST Steel Mill Combustion and Thermal Systems Training Conference in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Zhou’s lecture was titled “Use of Data Verified Tools and Visualization for System Troubleshooting and Optimization”.

Advanced computer simulation and visualization technologies are increasingly playing a key role for system troubleshooting and optimization in steel manufacturing. These technologies can provide coherent understandings of complex phenomena and processes, and enable faster and better decision-making for process design, optimization, troubleshooting, scale-up and training. The Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC) has been formed with the mission to develop and implement innovative technical solutions, through the integration of advanced computer simulation and visualization technologies. To-date research outcomes include improved energy efficiencies, productivity and product quality, as well as reduced CO2 and other emissions, time and cost. The presentation included an overview of the SMSVC projects, simulation and visualization technologies and methodologies, as well as high-impact project examples in various ironmaking and steelmaking processes.

At the conference, industry leaders, engineers, and experts came together to tackle steel combustion challenges and explore groundbreaking strategies to enhance system efficiency. Presentations captured best practices for optimizing thermally-driven energy performance and reducing emissions, data-driven insights and advanced energy optimization techniques, decarbonization strategies and so much more. Attendees finished off the seminar with a tour of Georgia Institute of Technology Combustion Lab making for an altogether well-rounded learning experience.

 

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On February 27, CIVS Associate Director for Research Tyamo Okosun and CIVS Research Scientist Orlando Ugarte were invited to present a Keynote at the AIST Ohio Valley Member Chapter Dinner Meeting in Florence, Indiana. The Ohio Valley Member Chapter has members in Southern Indiana, Kentucky, Western Tennessee, and Southern Ohio. The meeting was attended by over 70 members. Their Keynote was well received and followed by Q&A from chapter members.

Their presentation was titled “Virtual and Simulation Technologies for Ironmaking and Steelmaking Process Improvement: Physics and Data-based Applications.” The presentation showed the modeling effort carried out by CIVS and SMSVC in the ironmaking and steelmaking processes. In particular, it discussed the application of CFD, machine learning and image processing tools to actual blast furnace operations, as well as the development and application of advanced CFD models to simulate real EAF operations.

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On February 28, CIVS Senior Research Engineer John “Jack” Moreland presented work on the VR-FUTURES project in a workshop at the NWI Child Trauma Summit at PNW’s Westville campus. The project title is short for “Virtual Reality For Understanding Trauma and Utilizing Regulation When Experiencing Stress” and provides a tool for clinicians to use when working with youth who have been affected by ACEs (adverse childhood experiences). The VR application is being developed to teach strategies for dealing with stressful situations and provide virtual scenarios to practice deploying those strategies when they’re encountered in daily life.

VR-FUTURES is being developed by a team made up of researchers from CIVS, PNW Psychology, collaborators and clinicians from the Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis, the Institute for Creative Technologies at USC, and others. The project is led by PI, Professor Amanda Zelechoski of PNW Psychology, and Co-PI John Moreland of CIVS.

The summit was attended by clinicians and psychology professionals from Northwest Indiana and covered a variety of presentations and workshops covering implementation of various intervention models, strategies, and common challenges associated with working with children who have experienced trauma. The VR-FUTURES workshop included a live demonstration of the VR intervention followed by guided focus groups to gather insights on customizing the VR practice environments and situations for youth.

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On Friday, March 7, CIVS welcomed Steve Ryan to give a seminar to CIVS staff and students and PNW College of Engineering staff and students. His lecture was titled “Electric Steelmaking”. He spoke about Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking, covering key chemical and physical processes that enhance efficiency and quality. Topics included CO suppression of NOx, bath stirring from oxygen injection, slag foaming, carbon boil effects, and phosphorus removal. Ideal for students, researchers, and professionals, the seminar offered valuable insights into modern steel production. The seminar was very well received and followed with a productive Q&A.

Steve Ryan is a Chemical Engineering graduate from Tulane University and has nearly 30 years of experience in EAF steelmaking with companies like Luria Brothers, Nucor, and NLMK. His expertise spans raw materials, AC/DC EAF operations, and refining processes, bringing a deep understanding of electric steelmaking’s evolution and best practices.

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CIVS is honored to welcome Dr. Sara Hornby on April 8, 2025. We invite you to attend her award-winning AIST John F. Elliott Lecture, “The Green Steel Revolution”.

Time: 11:00 AM | Location: CIVS Theater, Powers 123

“The Green Steel Revolution”

The green steel revolution is the most exciting era in the steel industry since the advent of continuous casting. The steel industry is under pressure for contributing 7% to 9% of worldwide carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) and, as steel will always be a part of our infrastructure, ways to mitigate these emissions must be found.

In 2015, the International Energy Authority (IEA) postulated the ultimate solution to net zero by 2070 was conversion of the heavy-emissions steelmaking route (blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BF/BOF)) to
electric arc furnace (EAF) melting of hydrogen direct reduced iron (H2 DRI). Why? Globally, 72% of steel is produced via the BF/BOF route, which, due to its dependence upon coke, produces 90% of steel’s
CO2e emissions. The EAF route, on the other hand, produces only 10% of the current emissions and, by charging H2 DRI, will produce almost zero emissions, generating an incredibly significant impact.

Whilst the BF/BOF to H2 DRI EAF conversion is technically feasible, the H2 DRI EAF route is fraught with challenges. These challenges will be enumerated along with possible intermediate solutions and an
overview of the new technologies being developed which have a technology readiness level (TRL) of 3 to 7 (laboratory to demonstration stage), with some new innovative processes achieving TRL 7 in less than
3 years.

There is still room in this green steel revolution to capitalize on “out of the box thinking” to develop even more techno-economic solutions for the steelmaking option pool. Discover options available for a career
in the new and exciting steel industry as part of the green steel revolution.

Dr. Sara Hornby, Global Strategic Solutions, Inc.

Sara Hornby, variously described as a trailblazer and an inspiration for ambitious women, has continually proven nothing is out of reach for women in engineering. The first woman to graduate from Sheffield Hallam University with a B.Sc. Hons. in metallurgy and a Ph.D. in industrial metallurgy, she spent her early career in the U.K. working for Firth Brown Tools Engineering and British Steel Corp. Her initial Canadian and U.S. Air Liquide roles, developing new technologies and bringing best available technologies to the metals industry (whilst managing multi-disciplinary, multi-location team members), coupled with other electric arc furnace steelmaking optimization positions (Tenova Goodfellow, Midrex, Linde, Intertech, TMS International), put her in good stead to set up her own company, Global Strategic Solutions Inc., which supplies expert consultancy and expert witness to the metals and related industries.

Hornby holds five patents and has authored over 136 International papers, seminars and courses. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3) and was their 2022 Hadfield Medal and Prize winner. In 2020, she was the recipient of the Benjamin Fairless Award and the John Bell Award. In November 2023, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering by Sheffield Hallam University in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the international steel industry.

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On February 18-19, CIVS Senior Research Engineer Kyle Toth was invited to the AIST Safety and Health Technology Committee (SHTC) / Cranes Committee (CTC) meeting in Mobile, Alabama. This joint session covered committee activities, AISTech 2025 planning, and discussions on safety in crane operations. Kyle is currently the sitting Vice Chair of the SHTC.

Collaboration and discussion between the safety committee and other AIST committees is being seen as a good way to dive into specific topics or concerns in the ironmaking and steelmaking industry, and there are ways to try and evaluate and create some general guidelines or suggestions from safety professionals about how to make processes generally safer.

Cranes and mobile equipment make up a large portion of incidents tracked by AIST, so collaborations like this meeting are especially important, for member companies that are producers, and vendors, to try and understand what the problems are, and how to approach them.

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On February 25-26, CIVS Graduate Research Assistant & Ph.D. student Dianzhi Meng was invited to present at the AIST Continuous Casting Technology Committee Spring Meeting in Louisville, KY. Approximately 30 people attended the meeting. There were 6 talks, 5 of which were student presentations to industry professionals. Attendees also toured Nucor Brandenburg’s new casting shop.

The presentation was titled “CFD Modeling of Twin-Slab Caster”. Co-authors include CIVS Graduate Research Assistant Sai Bhuvanesh Nandipati, CIVS Associate Director for Operations Armin Silaen, U.S. Steel Senior Casting Process Engineer Rudolf Moravec, and CIVS Director Chenn Zhou.

The SEN of twin-slab caster is off-centered, which exhibits widthwise asymmetry, influencing heat transfer and solidification. This study employs Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to investigate the effects of this asymmetry on temperature distribution and shell formation for slabs with different widths. A three-dimensional model is established, with solidification modeled using the enthalpy-porosity approach. The thermal boundaries is treated separately—the mold employs the Savage-Prichard heat flux model, whereas the slab cooling is defined using an HTC correlation based on real nozzle configurations. Results show that the temperature difference between loose and fixed sides exceeds 250°C, with the maximum value observed near the slab’s inner corner. Shell thickness and metallurgical length are directly linked to mold heat flux. Additionally, wider slabs demonstrate greater asymmetry. These findings provide insights into optimizing secondary cooling strategies to reduce thermal asymmetry and improve solidification uniformity in twin-slab casting.

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