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Raw
Materials Evaluation Laboratory -
This laboratory has bench scale facilities for the production of
iron ore sinter and the evaluation of quality characteristics of
lump iron ores, sinters, pellets, and other agglomerates, both at
room temperature and at higher temperatures under conditions
simulating those present in the blast furnace.
Burden Distribution
Model -
This full scale model simulates a portion of the top of blast
furnaces, approximately 45 degrees of the circumference. The model
can be modified to simulate the top of any of U. S. Steel’s blast
furnaces with the exception of the Paul Wurth bell-less top.
Actual burden materials are charged to the model and charging
sequences and techniques are developed for use in the commercial
blast furnaces.
Refractory
Laboratory - This laboratory has complete facilities for the
evaluation of quality characteristics of various refractory
materials, both at room temperature and at higher temperatures
under conditions simulating those present in the processes for
which the particular refractory material is intended.
Bench-Scale
Laboratory - This laboratory is equipped with numerous iron
and steel melting furnaces capable of making heats ranging in size
from <1 gram to a maximum of 250 kilograms in various
environments including air, inert gas, and vacuum. Fundamental
studies on the equilibration or kinetics of slag/metal/gas
reactions as related to new steelmaking processes, evaluation of
deoxidation efficiencies of various scrap aluminum sources, and
the study of initial solidification of interstitial-free steels
using a continuous casting mold simulator, are but a few of the
experiments conducted in this facility.
Flow
Modeling Laboratory - This laboratory is equipped with many
large (1/2 to 2/3 scale) Plexiglas models including a steel ladle,
an RH degasser, and numerous continuous caster tundish, pouring
tube, and mold configurations to simulate all of the various
caster designs in our plants. The large models and the use of
heated water in these experiments are necessary to satisfy
important similarity criteria, and to make accurate calculations
in scaling-up to the commercial liquid steel system. The flow
modeling laboratory is also equipped with state of the art laser
measurement and data gathering equipment including numerous
personal computers and a Unix graphics workstation. In addition,
this laboratory has access to and when appropriate uses a Cray
supercomputer located in Pittsburgh. This sophisticated computer
system is necessary in developing complicated three dimensional
mathematical models; for example, one such application could be
describing the flow of steel through a caster tundish containing
various dams and weirs for inclusion removal.
 
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