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Structure and Performance of the Oxygen Lance
The structure and performance of the oxygen lance largely determine the effectiveness of oxygen‑blown steelmaking. In particular, for top‑blown oxygen converter steelmaking, the oxygen lance plays a pivotal, overarching role. It governs critical process parameters such as the contact area between the oxygen jet and the molten bath, the penetration depth of the oxygen jet, the degree of bath stirring, the extent of element oxidation, the rate of temperature rise in the bath, and the iron oxide content in the slag. Consequently, it exerts a significant influence on slag formation, spattering, impurity removal, endpoint control in converter steelmaking, and a wide range of technical and economic performance indicators. The oxygen lance consists of three main components: the nozzle, the lance body, and the lance tail (Figure 1). The nozzle, fabricated from industrial‑grade pure copper, is the most critical part of the lance.
Figure 2 shows the structures of several types of nozzles. Nos. a, b, and c are oxygen‑converter nozzles: high‑pressure oxygen (0.6–1.0 MPa) is supplied through the inner tube and, at the nozzle head, splits into several Laval‑type nozzles that first contract and then expand. Small and medium converters typically use three nozzles, known as three‑hole nozzles, while larger furnaces (100 t or more) employ four to six nozzles. To increase the proportion of CO produced during steelmaking that is combusted within the furnace to form CO₂ (secondary combustion), dual‑stream or split‑flow nozzles are required. Dual‑stream nozzles facilitate adjustment of the ratio between the primary and secondary oxygen streams, but they necessitate an additional secondary‑oxygen passage in the lance body. For open‑hearth and electric‑arc furnaces, oxygen flows through the annular space between the inner and middle tubes, and the nozzles are straight cylindrical in shape; however, they have a greater number of holes and a much larger angle relative to the central axis. The lance consists of three concentric seamless steel tubes (four for dual‑stream lances), with the lower end connected to the nozzle and the upper end attached to the lance tail. The lance tail comprises branch lines for oxygen supply, water inlet, and water drainage, along with connecting flanges and sealing gaskets, enabling connection to the workshop’s oxygen‑supply network and high‑pressure water‑supply network.
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