Fully Funded M2A EngD Scholarship: Modelling the heat transfer of molten metal during the steel making process

Start Date: October 2018

Sponsoring Company: Tata Steel

Supervisors:

Academic- Dr Nick Lavery (Primary) and Professor Stephen Brown
Industrial- Chris Francis

TATA Steel UK Ltd is currently undergoing a huge transformation and is looking to the future with its Steel products. Steel is a 21st Century industry with research that is at the scientific and industrial forefront. A research project with TATA Steel UK and Swansea University will give the correct student the opportunity to be heavily involved with industry whilst performing high level academic research in the Swansea Bay Campus facilities. The candidate will be working with multidisciplinary teams, heading up their own research project and gaining invaluable experience at the industrial academic interface.

In large scale steel manufacturing it is unfeasible to change operating procedures without being able to simulate the outcome beforehand. During the steel making process, molten metal is transported to the continuous caster via large refractory lined steel ladles. Heat transfer and fluid modelling would allow for a deeper understanding of the effects of heat generated from the molten metal to the surrounding areas. The knowledge gained from this piece of work can then be further applied to the other elements of the casting process. During formation of molten metal into slabs the continuous caster requires an in-depth knowledge of how the slab solidify to ensure the integrity of the slabs being produced. This allows more efficient processing speeds and optimised water cooling which will improve the processing time. The aim of the project would be to have a fully working simulation for the heat transfer of molten metal in various situations during the steel making process.

Project Aims:

Findings from the simulation data will bench mark the predictable transition of heat throughout the ConCast environment and will allow the development of scenario-based models to consider various plant scenarios. Outcomes from these types of simulations will be used to determine the direction of heat flows and to offset catastrophic destruction of critical plant and equipment. Further simulations can then be applied to other areas of the steel making process.

The Athena SWAN Charter recognises work undertaken by institutions to advance gender equality. The College of Engineering is an Athena SWAN bronze award holder and is committed to addressing unequal gender representation.

Eligibility
Candidates should hold an Engineering or Physical Sciences degree with a minimum classification level of 2:1 or equivalent relevant experience.

Suitable candidates should have a background in Engineering/Maths/Physics with an interest in computational modelling.

We would normally expect the academic and English Language requirements to be met by point of application. For details on the University’s English Language entry requirements, please visit – http://www.swansea.ac.uk/admissions/englishlanguagerequirements/

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