Basic Oxygen Furnace: Assessment of Recent Physicochemical Models

Abstract

Modeling of the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) process, both for online monitoring and fundamental research, has gained importance in steelmaking industry over the past few decades. Especially models integrating fundamental physicochemical relations are appealing. Even though a vast amount of these kind of models and submodels can be found in the literature, no recent review paper is available which thoroughly discusses the most up-to-date BOF modeling methods. This study aims to do so. In the introductory chapters, an overview is given on the assumptions and models for underlying BOF phenomena, which are frequently used in the BOF models and submodels. Focus was put on six models with emphasis on the chemical aspect of the BOF process. For each model, its assumptions are given and subsequently evaluated, highlighting both their strengths and limitations. The six different models are also compared with each other. Finally, opportunities for future research are discussed.