On February 5, 2024, through February 9, 2024, CIVS researchers Orlando Ugarte, Sathvika Kottapalli, and Shiyu Wang attended Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking – A Practical Training in Louisville, KY.
This seminar covered the basics of electrical and mechanical features of electric arc furnaces (EAF), including the role of refractories and raw materials. Multiple experts presented fundamental aspects of electric furnace steelmaking technology, such as using energy inputs, the steelmaking process, and electrode operation. Also, environmental concerns for electric steelmaking and decarbonization were presented. The seminar included extensive discussion of current operation procedures, troubleshooting and latest developing technologies in EAF.
Master’s student Shiyu Wang mentioned the importance of this seminar and how these topics relate to her current research in CIVS:
“This EAF seminar was very helpful to me, as most of the topics discussed in the presentations, such as energy loss, slag, energy balance, etc., are related to my research. There were also some topics I had never heard about before, such as the maintenance of EAF, which also helped me deepen my understanding of EAF.”
The series of presentations included “EAF Efficiencies and Slag Fundamentals” by Eugene Pretorius, Manager of Steelmaking Technology at Nucor Corp. His presentation covered EAF slag fundamentals, transient slags, understanding the C/O/Fe balance and how it impacts energy efficiency (electrical and chemical) material recoveries in the EAF, heel control in the EAF, slag retention, and bath level control. Dr. Pretorius represents Nucor, a member of the Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC), as an SMSVC Board member and has worked with CIVS and other SMSVC member companies to develop a comprehensive, integrated EAF CFD model with various simulators for different stages of EAF operations, such as preheating, melting, and refining. It has been used to simulate the whole EAF process and individual stages of EAF operations and provided fundamental insights and practical guidance to resolve several operation issues.
“Attending the seminar on Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking was insightful. Especially the expert-led discussions by Dr. Eugene Pretorius and many others sparked my interest in industrial metallurgy. I’m ready to try and apply what I learned in my CFD models.” Sathvika Kottapalli, CIVS Graduate Research Assistant
For Orlando Ugarte, Postdoctoral Associate in CIVS, the seminar was a valuable experience for his EAF research activity:
“The EAF seminar has been a great experience as we have learned from experts in the industry. The presentations covered the fundamentals of the processes and real issues that the EAF operations deal with. The speakers were all experts in the industry, and it was valuable to learn from their experience and to know their thoughts for the future of EAF.”
The Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking Seminar was organized by the Electric Steelmaking Technology Committee, one of the 29 technology committees of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). AIST is a non-profit organization with 16,600 members from more than 70 countries.
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