PMET_07: Vacuum Oxygen Decarburization Kinetics

The vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD) process is used to lower the carbon content in a stainless steel without compromising on the Cr yield.

This application example, which is available on our website and uses the Process Metallurgy Calculator, shows how the Process Metallurgy Module in Thermo-Calc can be used to simulate the Vacuum Oxygen Decarburization (VOD) process for a stainless steel.

In this example, based on data of a real vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD) process published by Ding et al. [2000Din], we show how to set up the VOD process in Thermo-Calc’s Process Metallurgy Module. Use of the following features in the Process Metallurgy Module are highlighted in this example:

  • Change of pressure as a function of time during the process
  • Change of reaction kinetics as a function of time during the process
  • Selection of zone where degassing is allowed
  • Folder: Process Metallurgy
  • File name: PMET_07_Vacuum_Oxygen_Decarburization_Kinetics.tcu

This example requires a license for Thermo-Calc 2024a or newer, the database TCOX13 or newer, and a license for the Process Metallurgy Module.

Visualizations

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access in a variety of ways. When in Thermo‑Calc, from the menu select Help → Video Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately, you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects, you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the results on the Visualizations window.

The resulting plots and details related to setting up this example are available to download via the dedicated web page.

Reference

[2000Din] R. Ding, B. Blanpain, P. T. Jones, P. Wollants, Modeling of the vacuum oxygen decarburization refining process. Metall. Mater. Trans. B. 31, 197–206 (2000).