Analysis of the Degree of Conformity of the Compositions of Exothermic Mixtures to Standards on Environmental and Explosion Safety

Exothermic slag-forming mixtures (ESMs) have been used to cast steel in ingot molds for roughly four decades in Russian metallurgy. During this time, steelmakers have gained a great deal of practical knowledge about choosing mixtures whose composition will have the desired effect. They have had considerably less experience in also selecting the composition of the mixture so as to reduce the danger of fire and explosion. Examining past practices in this area might prove useful for substantiating the choice of ESM composition so as to combine the necessary process characteristics with reduced flammability and explosiveness. With this as our goal, we analyzed the main trends in the development of the compositions used to treat steel by studying recent patents and author's certificates for the invention of these materials.