CIVS Presents Steel Research Results at METEC

This past June, CIVS attended the European Steel Technology and Application Days (ESTAD) conference in Dusseldorf, Germany to present exciting new results in steel research. The 6th European Steel Technology and Application Days (ESTAD) 2023 ran in parallel with the METEC Trade Fair.

The topics presented included the latest research in the use of hydrogen fuels in steel reheating furnaces and electric arc heating of the steel refining ladle. Both of these works, presented by CIVS Senior Research Engineer Nicholas Walla, are part of the global efforts of the steel industry towards removing or reducing carbon emissions that occur as part of the production of steel.
ESTAD 2023 was broadly focused around new and transformative technologies that can advance steel quality, reduce emissions, and incorporate new technologies such as AI. Attendees came from around the world to present the newest steel research and to discuss the future of steel manufacturing. The event also coincided with the 12th International Metallurgic Trade Fair with Congress (METEC).

In the topic of decarburization and reducing emissions, CIVS presented research on “Numerical Modeling of Hydrogen Staged Combustion to Mitigate NOx”, which explored the emissions that occur when using hydrogen fuel in place of typical natural gas in a reheating furnace using numerical simulations. As the global steel industry moves towards green steel, the ability to use simulations to explore potential design and fuel changes becomes an increasingly-important step to avoid costly dead-ends.

The second topic presented by CIVS was “Numerical Study and Validation of Electric Arc Heating in a Steel Ladle”, which uses simulations to see the temperature changes that occur within liquid steel while undergoing electric arc heating. Electric arc heating is a common process used to heat liquid steel, but identifying the interior behavior of the steel is nearly impossible due to the high temperatures. Simulation efforts allow researchers to “see inside” the liquid steel during heating and explore different operation approaches. This is key to avoiding damage to the ladle vessel that might be caused by over-heating, and to avoid issues from incomplete heating.

Since the inception of the METEC in 1979, the Steel Institute VDEh has hosted various metallurgical conferences in parallel to the leading metallurgical trade fair. METEC & 6th ESTAD 2023 hosted steel experts representing 240 companies from 33 countries, who gave presentations on topics of Ironmaking, Steelmaking, Rolling & Forging, Industry 4.0, and Steel Materials. Despite the broad range of topics, this year’s ESTAD was dominated by “Hydrogen-based steel production”.