Advances in ladle metallurgy control

Ladle Metallurgy Stations (LMS) play a crucial role in ensuring the quality of steel products. There is significant understanding of key aspects of both the chemistry and physics of the ladle process but this understanding has not translated into the development of sophisticated control systems. In general, the control of LMS is dominated by manual procedures that emphasize process stability over process optimization. This, in part, reflects the lack of suitable sensors but also a failure to produce a holistic control strategy for ladle metallurgy. There have been some significant developments in sensors and wider application of these new techniques is still being evaluated by the industry. Future work in LMS control should emphasize both sensor development and new control strategies that include the ability to optimize the process.