Numerical Simulation and Industrial Verification for Electromagnetic Stirring Technology in a 450t Consteel Furnace

The effect of electromagnetic stirring (EMS) on stirring velocity, stirring power, bath temperature homogenization, temperature gradient during arc power‐on, and heat transfer from arcs through liquid metal to scrap in the 450ton Arvedi Consteel furnace has been investigated via numerical modeling and industrial performance test results. The effect of the stirring direction on bath mixing has also been compared for various configurations with the stirrer oriented at 0°, 45°, and 90° relative to the central plane across the slag door and eccentric bottom tapping. The stirring force of EMS in the melt is simulated using Dassault Opera and exported to Ansys Fluent to carry out the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Both arc heating effect and scrap charging zone have been included in the CFD models. Simulation results show that the temperature gradient between furnace bottom and surface during arc power‐on is reduced from 114 °C without EMS to 26 °C with 100% EMS power, and the heat flux transferred to the scrap boundary layer with 100% EMS power is 2–3 times higher than that without EMS. Industrial test results show that EMS increases arc heating efficiency and scrap/HBI/pig iron melting rate, reduces electric energy consumption, power‐on time and oxygen content in the steel, and also increases productivity and scrap yield. This successful industrial case provides a solid reference for the future prospects of modernizing/transforming steel plants to achieve net zero emissions.