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Chair of Simulation and Modeling Metallurgical Processes

As part of the Department of Metallurgy at the Montanuniversität Leoben, the chair focuses on advanced numerical simulation and physics-based modelling of complex metallurgical processes involving fluid flow, electromagnetism, heat transfer, plasma physics, electrochemistry, chemistry, and solidification.

Our research covers a broad spectrum of industrial and fundamental applications, including steel continuous casting, Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR), Electro-Slag Remelting (ESR), Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF), smelters, plasma torches, metal electrolysis and deposition, crystal growth, hydrogen metallurgy, and advanced aerospace alloy processing.

A major focus of the chair is magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and the interaction between electrically conducting fluids and electromagnetic fields. We investigate how electromagnetic forces can be used to control turbulent flow, mixing, solidification structures, inclusion transport, plasma dynamics, and macrosegregation in industrial-scale processes. Our work combines high-fidelity numerical modelling, large-scale HPC simulations, theoretical developments, and industrial validation.

In addition to applied process metallurgy, the chair is also engaged in fundamental research on turbulence–solidification interaction, flow instabilities, dendritic mushy zones, electro-vortex flows, plasma–liquid and plasma–solid interactions, compressible plasma jets, and multiphase transport phenomena under extreme thermal and electromagnetic conditions.

The chair maintains strong collaborations with international academic partners and metallurgical industries, particularly in the fields of steelmaking, remelting technologies, advanced materials processing, energy systems, and aerospace metallurgy. Several projects are conducted in close cooperation with industrial partners through international initiatives and Christian Doppler research programs.

Besides research, we offer lectures and practical courses on computational modelling, transport phenomena, numerical methods, CFD, magnetohydrodynamics, solidification, and simulation-driven process optimization for metallurgy, thermoprocess engineering, and petroleum engineering.

Our objective is to bridge fundamental physics and industrial applications in order to develop the next generation of predictive simulation tools for sustainable, efficient, and high-performance metallurgical technologies.

Univ.-Prof. habil. Dr. Abdellah KHARICHA

World Champions

According to the SCOPUS database, Prof. Ludwig and Prof. Wu jointly rank first worldwide in terms of scientific publications on macrosegregation, with 91 documents each. (data collected since Spring 2013; as of 2026).

Worth to mention

Michael Spreitzhofer got awarded the 3^rd Prize in the Best Poster Competition for the poster “Eulerian Multiphase Modeling of Iron Oxide (FeO) Reduction in HIsarna–Type Slag by H₂-Ar Lance Injection” (METAL 2026).
Prof. Ludwig was awarded with the "Certificate of Excellence in Reviewing 2022" from Acta & Scripta Materialia.
Prof. Kharicha acts as president of the Committee for MHD industrial applications within the European MagnetoHydroDynamics Society. He contributes regularly to the EuMHD events.
The paper J197 "Hydrodynamically driven facet kinetics in crystal growth" by Stefan-Karicha et al. is among the most downloaded papers from J. Crystal Growth, April 2022.
Dr. Stefan-Kharicha got the Best Paper Presentation Award for her talk "Hydrodynamically driven facet kinetics in crystal growth" on the 2nd International Symposium on “Modeling of Crystal Growth Processes and Devises” (MCGPD 2021).
Most downloaded MMTB paper in 2021: J166. Karimi-Sibaki E., Kharicha A., Wu M., Ludwig A., Bohacek J.: Metall. Mater. Trans. B 51 (2020) 222-235. DOI:10.1007/s11663-019-01719-5 "A Parametric Study of the Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR) Process: Effects of Arc Radius, Side-Arcing, and Gas Cooling"
Top cited paper in Steel Research International in 2020/21: J175. Barati H., Wu M., Kharicha A., Ludwig A.: Steel Research int. 91 (2020) 2000230. DOI: 10.1002/srin.202000230 "Role of Solidification in Submerged Entry Nozzle Clogging During Continuous Casting of Steel"
Top 3 open access MMTB paper in 2021: J181. Vakhrushev A., Kharicha A., Karimi-Sibaki E., Wu M., Ludwig A., Nitzl G., Tang Y., Hackl G., Watzinger J., Eckert S.: Metall. Mater. Trans. B (2021). DOI: 10.1007/511663-021-02247-x “Generation of Reverse Meniscus Flow by Applying An Electromagnetic Brake”