Course detail
Metallurgy of Steel
FSI-PMO Acad. year: 2025/2026 Summer semester
Physical and chemical fundamentals of steel production, steel production sets used in steel foundries, production of steel in basic arc furnaces and acid induction furnaces. Principles of steel-production technologies with regard to individual stages of heat, melting, oxidizing, and deoxidizing. Pouring process, pouring ladles, thermal and chemical heterogeneity of steel in the ladle. Effect of metallurgy on the properties of steel and quality of castings. Suitability of using some secondary metallurgy processes in foundries. Effect of metallurgy on economic and power demands of the production of steel for casting. Intensification of steel production. Understanding the basic physical and chemical reactions of the production of steel and their application in steel foundries.
Language of instruction
Czech
Number of ECTS credits
5
Supervisor
Department
Entry knowledge
The basic knowledge of chemistry, chemical reactions, chemical equilibrium, ideal gas laws. The basic knowledge of physics, kinetic theory of gases, fundamentals of thermodynamics, diffusion fundamentals – Fick's laws, Fundamentals of physical chemistry, heat of phase transformations, heat of dissolution, heat of dilution, heat of reaction, dependence of heat of reaction on temperature, process spontaneity – entropy, free enthalpy. General conditions of thermodynamic equilibria, dependence of equilibrium constant on temperature, activity, chemical potential, partial and molar quantities.
Rules for evaluation and completion of the course
Awarding the course-unit credit is conditional on active attendance at exercises. For the exam, students get list of questions covering the subject matter dealt with. The exam is oral, with written preparation.
Attendance at lecture is recommended. Attendance at seminars is required. Understanding the subject-matter delivered by the lecturer is checked in practicals. The leader of practicals assigns students independent work. Students agree with the course supervisor on making up for absence from classes.
Aims
The objective is to familiarize students with the production of steel in electric furnaces, with focus on foundry technologies in a range sufficient for foundry practice, possibly as a basis for further studies.
Basic thermodynamic calculations of equilibria in reactions taking place during the production of steel. Deriving optimum conditions for the reaction processes in the production of steel, from thermodynamic equilibria. Calculating the performance of individual melting sets. Calculating the charges and final alloying. Classification of individual types of inclusion and their effect on toughness and transient behaviour. Calculating the cost of molten metal.
The study programmes with the given course
Programme N-SLE-P: Foundry Technology, Master's, compulsory
Type of course unit
Lecture
39 hours, optionally
Syllabus
1. History of the production of iron and steel.
2. Application of thermodynamics in steelmaking.
3. Solutions in molten iron.
4. Slags in steel production.
5. Oxidation.
6. Deoxidation.
7. Effect of metallurgy on properties.
8. Theory and practice of the production of steel in basic electric arc furnaces.
9. Theory and practice of the production of steel in basic electric arc furnaces.
10. Theory and practice of the production of steel in electric inductions furnaces.
11. Theory and practice of the production of steel in acid electric furnace.
12. Out -of-furnace refining.
13. Pouring of steel.
Laboratory exercise
26 hours, compulsory
Syllabus
1. Calculation of activity for different standard states.
2. Calculation of reaction heat.
3. Dependence of reaction heat on temperature.
4. Dissolution of carbon in ferrous alloys.
5. Oxygen in ferrous alloys.
6. Gases in ferrous alloys.
7. Calculation of equilibria in metallurgical reactions.
8. Desulphurization of steel.
9. Calculation of the charge and final alloying in alloyed steel.
1.-4. Measuring the temperature and activity of oxygen in steel and cast iron