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Vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD) of stainless steel
Author(s) -
Teeuwsen Anke
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
vakuum in forschung und praxis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.213
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1522-2454
pISSN - 0947-076X
DOI - 10.1002/vipr.201400555
Subject(s) - decarburization , injector , vacuum pump , ultra high vacuum , mechanical engineering , process (computing) , materials science , process engineering , metallurgy , engineering , nanotechnology , computer science , operating system
High costs for vacuum generation and maintenance can be overcome by replacing steam ejector pumps with mechanical vacuum pumps, initially for the vacuum degassing (VD) process but later also for the vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD) process. Initial concerns about the technical suitability of mechanical pumps for vacuum processing of large heat weights have proven unfounded. There is no real technical upper limit. With detailed knowledge about the vacuum process mechanical vacuum pumps can be successfully engineered for any heat weight where a steam ejector pump would previously have been selected. In fact, suction speed of mechanical vacuum pumps can be ideally controlled to fit the various phases of vacuum processing. This article will show how mechanical vacuum pumps contribute to significant cost reduction and to the possibility of automation of decarburisation, thereby achieving better process control.