Discussion on steel burning in oxygen (from a steelmaking metallurgist's perspective)

A fundamental understanding of iron and steel combustion in oxygen is important to the safe selection and specification of these materials for oxygen service. Much is, and should be, known on this topic - for reactions involving iron and steel with pure oxygen have been both commercially employed and extensively researched for decades in the field of steelmaking process metallurgy. This paper takes inventory of what is generally understood by the process metallurgist concerning steel/oxygen reactions, and discusses its relevance to the topic of steel compatibility and combustion propagation in oxygen. An argument is made on the expected importance of the steel's carbon content in combustion propagation.