Experimental studies on the flow velocity of molten metals in a ladle model at centric gas blowing

Experimental measurements of the flow velocity were carried out with liquid Wood's metal in a ladle-shaped vessel with an inner diameter of 40 cm at centric gas blowing. By means of permanent magnet probes the liquid flow field was measured under various blowing conditions. The results show that a circulating flow field is established in the vessel. In the bubble plume zone an upwardly directed liquid flow is formed. The radial distribution of the flow velocity in this zone follows a Gaussian function. The axial flow velocity increases with growing gas flow rate and is nearly constant in vertical direction. The width of the upward flow becomes larger with increasing distance from the nozzle and its dependence from the gas flow rate is not considerable. At centric gas blowing the liquid in the upper part of the bath streams quickly, whereas in the lower part so-called “dead zones” with very low flow velocity are present. Besides the time-averaged value of the flow velocity, the turbulent behaviours of the liquid flow such as fluctuation velocity, the turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation rate were investigated on the basis of measured data. It was found that the liquid flow is turbulent particularly in the region of bubble plume and of bath surface. The radial profiles of these parameters can also be described by a Gaussian function. Only a small part of the gas stirring energy is changed into the kinetic energy of the directed liquid flow. Most of the stirring energy is already dissipated in the bubble plume zone.     

Measurement of physical characteristics of bubbles in gas-liquid plumes: Part II. Local properties of turbulent air-water plumes in vertically injected jets

The structural development of air-water bubble plumes during upward injection into a ladle-shaped vessel has been measured under different conditions of air flow rate, orifice diameter, and bath depth. The measured radial profiles of gas fraction at different axial positions in the plume were found to exhibit good similarity, and the distribution of the phases in the plume was correlated to the modified Froude number. Different regions of flow behavior in the plume were identified by changes in bubble frequency, bubble velocity, and bubble pierced length which occur as bubbles rise in the plume. Measurement of bubble velocity indicates that close to the nozzle the motion of the gas phase is strongly affected by the injection velocity; at injection velocities below 41 m/s, the velocity of the bubbles along the centerline exhibits an increase with height, while above, the tendency reverses. High-speed film observations suggest that this effect is related to the nature of gas discharge,i.e., whether the gas discharge produces single bubbles or short jets. In this region of developing flow, measurement of bubble frequency and pierced length indicates that break-up of the discharging bubbles occurs until a nearly constant bubble-size distribution is established in a region of fully developed flow. In this largest zone of the plume the bubbles influence the flow only through buoyancy, and the spectra of bubble pierced length and diameter can be fitted to a log-normal distribution. Close to the bath surface, a third zone of bubble motion behavior is characterized by a faster decrease in bubble velocity as liquid flows radially outward from the plume.     

Model study on mixing and mass transfer in ferroalloy refining processes

An experimental study has been performed to investigate the bath mixing intensity induced by a high-strength submerged gas injection in a bottom blown air-stirred one-seventh water model of Creusot-Loire Uddeholm (CLU) reactor using three different tuyere configurations. Experimental results have been discussed in terms of the mass transfer rate and mixing time. The air flow rates varied from 0.00599 to 0.01465 m³/s. The mixing time was determined at various gas flow rates, bath heights, and nozzle orientations, both in the presence and absence of a second phase. The mixing time was found to decrease with increasing gas flow rate and decreasing bath height. The influence of bath mixing intensity on mass transfer between metal (water) and slag (paraffin) was studied by measuring the transfer of benzoic acid from the gas-stirred water bath to paraffin as a function of the gas injection parameters. The bath mixing intensity was characterized by the value of the mass transfer rate constant. The rate constant of mass transfer between the metal and slag was found to increase with increasing gas injection rate and decreasing bath height.     

Computer simulation on the hydrodynamics of gas injection process in liquid steel

It is shown that with the aid of digital simulation methods complex multiphase interrelated systems, such as gas-injection process can be analysed. Interdependencies can be revealed and quantitative evaluation of characteristic system quantities are provided. The method of digital system simulation is a very convenient tool for process analysis or system engineering. Results of the computer-aided process simulations (Caps) yield a better understanding of complex phenomena and better aimed engineering of gas dispersion techniques in metallurgical processes. A particular interest of this investigation is to reveal the effect of mass-transfer rate on the hydrodynamic behaviour of a gas-injection process. The combined effects of total flow rate of injected gas and mass-transfer rate on the system quantities such as mixing power, induced liquid flow rate, holdup, interfacial area and volumetric mass transfer coefficient are evaluated under steady state conditions of the investigated systems and illustrated in simulation plots. The liquid velocity has a minor effect on bubble size at some distance from the orifice but controls the location of bubble breakup. The frequency of bubble breakup and final bubble size depends on the intensity of mass transfer. Mixing power due to gas bubbles and circulation velocity of the steel bath increase appreaciably if there is a chance of bath reactions producing more gas. The integral mean values of mixing power, induced velocity of liquid and holdup in plume, specific interfacial area and volumetric mass-transfer coefficient increase with increasing total flow rate of injected gas and intensity of mass transfer.     

Critical fluid-flow phenomenon in a gas-stirred ladle

Measurement of the velocities of bubbles and liquid with a two-element electroresistivity probe and laser-Doppler velocimeter, respectively, during bottom injection of air into a water bath, has confirmed the existence of a critical gas-injection rate. Above the critical flow rate, the change of axial bubble velocity in the air jet, and of liquid velocity with increasing volume flow rate, diminishes markedly. The existence of the critical flow rate is explicable from high-speed motion pictures of the vertical gas jets, which reveal four zones of gas dispersion axially distributed above the orifice: primary bubble at the orifice, free bubble, plume consisting of disintegrated bubbles, and spout at the bath surface. With increasing gas-injection rate, the free-bubble zone expands such that the point of bubble disintegration rises closer to the bath surface. Above the critical flow rate, the free bubbles rise with minimal breakup and erupt from the bath surface with maximum energy discharge. The combined Kelvin-Helmholtz, Rayleigh-Taylor instability theory has been applied to analyze the bubble breakup in the bath and the critical gas-injection rate in a gas-stirred ladle. The criterion for the critical diameter of bubble breakup has been found to depend primarily on the surface tension and density of the liquid. In the analysis, the propagation time of a disturbance on a bubble surface at the “most unstable” wave number has been compared with the bubble rising time in the bath in order to determine the critical gas-flow rate. The predicted critical values are in close agreement with the measured results. M. ZHOU formerly was Post Doctoral Fellow with the Centre for Metallurgical Process Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4 J.K. BRIMACOMBE holds the Alcan Chair in Materials Process Engineering     

Measurements of bubble plume behaviour and flow velocity in gas stirred liquid Wood's metal with an eccentric nozzle position

The distribution of gas fraction and the flow field of gas-stirred liquid metal in steel ladles at eccentric injection of the stirring gas through the bottom of the vessel were measured in melts of 437 kg liquid Wood's metal. The melts had a temperature of 100°C. The bath height was 37 cm and the vessel diameter 40 cm. The blowing nozzle was positioned at half of the vessel radius. Gas flow rates were between 100 and 800 cm³(STP)/s. The gas fractions were measured by electrical resistance probes. The flow velocity of the liquid metal was determined by magnet-probes. The gas fraction and the velocity distribution in the plume were found to have a Gaussian shape. The cross-section of the plume is ellipsoid, as the plume width in the direction of the radius was a little smaller than the width in the direction perpendicular to it. Moreover the plume was inclined to the wall. The results which were found for the plume are mathematically described. The flow field at eccentric gas-stirring consists of one great loop, which fills almost the entire vessel. This is contrary to centric blowing, where for aspect ratios of the ladle in the order of 1, a toroid is formed in the upper and a dead zone exists in the lower part of the vessel. The consequences of this behaviour, especially for mixing in the melt, are discussed.     

大型转炉高供氧强度吹炼的水模实验

为使大型转炉的生产率达到国际先进水平,在300~350t大型氧气转炉上实现4.0~5.0m3/(t·min)的高供氧强度吹炼,设计了新的大流量氧枪喷头,并在1∶10的有机玻璃模型上进行氧射流与熔池作用的水模实验。水模实验大流量氧枪喷头的主要参数为:喷头孔数6~8个,采用双角度交错布置,喷孔倾角10°~17°,喷孔出口马赫数2.0~2.2。同时测定了枪位高度为1.8~2.6m时的熔池喷溅率、混匀时间和穿透深度。研究结果表明,大流量新喷头的喷溅量和射流对熔池的穿透深度都在转炉正常吹炼范围内,熔池混匀时间平均缩短6s,泡沫渣可将喷溅率降低50%。大流量新喷头良好的吹炼性能为大型转炉高供氧强度吹炼的氧枪喷头设计提供了可靠的数据。     

Experimental investigation of mixing phenomena in a gas stirred liquid bath

Mixing phenomena in a room temperature water bath, agitated by injecting air through a straight circular nozzle fitted axially at the bottom of the vessel, were characterized by experimentally measuring mixing time(t _mix) by electrical conductivity technique. It was found thatt _mix defined at 99.5 pct homogenization did not depend on location and size of conductivity probe, location of tracer injection, and the amount of tracer injected. tpet decreased with increasing gas flow rate and bath height, but decreasing nozzle diameter. Visual observations of the two-phase plume and flow conditions in the bath revealed that the plume swirled above a certain gas flow rate which enhanced the mixing rates in the bath. The transitions in Int _mix vs In ε_b curves were found to correspond to onset of swirling; ε_b is the rate of buoyancy energy input per unit bath volume. Systematic analysis of experimental data revealed that a fraction of gas kinetic energy contributed to mixing in the bath. It was a function of bath height, being negligible at lower bath heights and almost 1 at larger bath heights. Further, it was experimentally found thatt _mix decreased with increasing bath height only up to a certain value, beyond which it started increasing. Visual observations of the bath revealed that the height at whicht _mix started increasing corresponded to a transition in which the bath was converted into a bubble column. The experimental data, for a particular bath height, were fitted into two separate straight lines of the formt _mix =cε ⁻ⁿ wherec andn are empirical constants and ε is the rate of energy input per unit bath volume. Formerly Graduate Student in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India     

Effects of surface flow control on fluid flow phenomena and mixing time in a bottom blown bath

The intensity of mixing in a molten metal bath stirred by bottom gas injection can be represented by the mixing time. According to previous water model experiments, the mixing time is known to be dependent on the operational variables such as the bath diameter, bath depth, location of a bottom nozzle, and gas flow rate. It is not easy to control the former three variables during processing, and the dependence of the mixing time on the gas flow rate is weak. In this study, the possibility of changing the mixing time drastically due to the control of the surface flow in the bath is examined. Three kinds of boundary conditions were imposed on the bath surface, and the relation between the fluid flow phenomena resulting from the surface flow control and the mixing time was investigated. The mixing time was found to be significantly influenced by the surface flow control. In particular, when the surface flow was suppressed by bringing a circular cylinder into contact with the bath surface, the mixing time became very long.     

Hydrodynamics of gas stirred melts: Part I. Gas/liquid coupling

A hydrodynamic model of submerged gas injection systems and their effects on liquid metal stirring is presented. It is argued that hydrodynamic conditions at the nozzle, tuyere, or plug are not critical to flow recirculation produced in large cylindrical vessels(i.e., furnaces or ladles). An analysis of a buoyancy driven plume generated through gas injection shows that gas voidages are usually quite low (less than 10 pct). By equating the energy supplied by rising bubbles to turbulent energy losses within the bath, it is shown that mean plume velocities can be predicted using the relationship,U _p α (Q ^1/3 L ^1/3)/R^1/3 whereU _p equals mean plume velocity,Q is gas flow rate (at mean height and temperature),L is depth of liquid, andR is radius of the vessel. Associated rates of liquid turnover as a function of vessel dimensions and gas flow rate can also be predicted and these are similarly presented.     

100 kg中频感应炉底吹氧搅拌的水模拟研究

采用几何相似比1:1的水模型对100 kg中频感应炉底吹氧的工艺参数(底吹流量0.2~0.56 m³/h,熔池高度120~330 mm)和流场进行模拟试验。结果表明,底吹熔池内形成的气相流速度在竖直方向上变化不明显,而在水平方向上存在较大梯度;随熔池高度和底吹流量的增加,气相流速度梯度变大,竖直气-液两相流变为倾斜向上运动;在熔池高度H小于240 mm、气体流量Q小于0.56 m³/h时,混匀时间分别随熔池高度和底吹流量的增加而减小,超过这一范围后混匀时间变化不明显。     

Aluminium scrap melting under different liquid aluminium flow conditions: part-II: two phase flow

This experimental research work deals with aluminium (Al) alloy melting in an Al bath. In this liquid metal, nitrogen gas was introduced at specific locations and at different gas flow rates. The samples employed, along with their position in the liquid Al, and the procedure for melting detection, were identical with the ones utilised in Part I. The introduction of gas into liquid Al has different effects on the melting time of the immersed Al 6061 alloy cylinder. For the range of gas flow rates examined, the addition of gas into a stagnant Al bath (i.e. natural convection conditions) produces insignificant changes in melting time. However, when the liquid Al is moving (i.e. forced convection conditions), the gas addition leads to a sizeable reduction in melting time. The melting time reduction ratio is introduced as a way to compare the melting under single and two phase flow liquid Al conditions. It is found that this ratio is affected by the nozzle position and also by the gas flow rate. The concept of an equivalent single phase velocity is also introduced, and defines the single phase velocity of liquid Al which results in the same melting time of the cylinder as under two phase flow conditions. It is found that the equivalent single phase velocity is influenced by both the gas flow rate and the nozzle position. The parameter which most likely contributes to the acceleration of the melting rate in two phase flow is the turbulence intensity, which is expected to increase due to the nitrogen gas injection.     

180 t转炉底吹和顶-底复吹射流与熔池作用的水模型研究

根据180 t转炉的实际生产情况,以修正的Froude准数为相似准数,建立几何相似比10 ： 1水模型,进 行了四孔对称单纯底吹试验,并在最佳的底吹工艺参数下(底吹最佳位置为喷嘴所在同心圆直径:转炉熔池直径= 0. 3处;最佳流量为0. 7 m³/h,均混时间18. 2 s),通过改变顶吹氧枪的气体流量和吹炼枪位进行了顶底复吹转炉射 流与熔池作用的试验。结果表明,在底吹条件下,增加顶吹工艺(最佳枪位150 mm,最佳流量39 m³/h),熔池平均 的均混时间减少了 5.6 s, 180 t转炉顶底复吹可显著提高经济效益。     

Physical and mathematical models of gas‐liquid fluid dynamics in LD converters

Fluid dynamics of gas‐liquid interactions in a LD converter to refine steel was physically and mathematically simulated. Using a water model three cases of gas supply were considered, top blowing, bottom injection and combined process top blowing‐bottom injection. Mixing time in top blowing increases with bath height and the distance between the lance of the gaseous jet and the bath surface. The jet penetration was found to be dependent on the modified Froude number. The unstable and unsteady behaviour of the bath topography, as affected by the gaseous jet, was well simulated through a multiphase momentum transfer model. In top blowing, three zones of liquid splashing were found, penetration with low splash, heavy splash and dimpling with low splash intensity. These zones depend on the gas flow rate and the distance from the lance to the bath surface. During bottom injection mixing times decrease with the number of tuyères, increases of bath height and gas flow rate. In a combined process mixing time decreases considerably due to the recirculating flow formed by the action of the top jet and the submerged jets. When a submerged jet is located just below the top jet the mixing time does not decrease as compared with the separated processes either top blowing or bottom stirring.     

Mixing and solid-liquid mass-transfer rates in a creusot-loire uddeholm vessel: A water model case study

The process of mixing and solid-liquid mass transfer in a one-fifth scale water model of a 100-ton Creusot-Loire Uddeholm (CLU) converter was investigated. The modified Froude number was used to relate gas flow rates between the model and its protoype. The influences of gas flow rate between 0.010 and 0.018 m³/s and bath height from 0.50 to 0.70 m on mixing time were examined. The results indicated that mixing time decreased with increasing gas flow rate and increased with increasing bath height. The mixing time results were evaluated in terms of specific energy input and the following correlation was proposed for estimating mixing times in the model CLU converter: T _mix=1.08Q ^−1.05 W ^0.35, where Q (m³/s) is the gas flow rate and W (tons) is the model bath weight. Solid-liquid mass-transfer rates from benzoic acid specimens immersed in the gas-agitated liquid phase were assessed by a weight loss measurement technique. The calculated mass-transfer coefficients were highest at the bath surface reaching a value of 6.40 × 10⁻⁵ m/s in the sprout region. Mass-transfer coefficients and turbulence parameters decreased with depth, reaching minimum values at the bottom of the vessel.     

Numerical and Experimental Study on Fluid Dynamic Features of Combined Gas and Electromagnetic Stirring in Ladle Furnace

Basic fluid dynamic features of combined electromagnetic stirring, EMS, and gas stirring (EMGAS) have been studied in the present work. A transient and turbulent multiphase numerical flow model was built. Simulations of a real size ladle furnace were conducted for 7 cases, operating with and without combined stirring and varying the argon gas inlet plug position. The results of these simulations are compared considering melt velocity, melt turbulence, melt/slag‐interface turbulence and dispersion of gas bubbles. An experimental water model was also built to simulate the effects of combined stirring. The water model was numerically simulated and visual comparison of the gas plume shape and flow pattern in the numerical and in the experimental model was also done for 3 flow situations. The results show that EMGAS has a strong flexibility regarding the flow velocity, gas plume, stirring energy, mixing time, slag layer, etc.     

转炉局域传质和混匀效果

采用冷态转炉对转炉熔池局域流动和传质效果进行了研究.选用不同氧枪喷头、枪位和熔池形状进行实验,通过测量熔池各区域的电导率值来研究熔池局域传质和混匀效果.根据实验结果,分析了各因素对熔池传质、死区分布、混匀时间及熔池速度均匀性等的影响.研究结果发现:标准熔池(径深比为3.1)中,熔池死区主要位于熔池底部侧壁和环流中心处;浅型熔池(径深比为5.2)中,熔池死区主要位于熔池侧壁.适当增加氧枪喷孔倾角和熔池径深比,有利于增大熔池环流半径,改善熔池内部流动,减小熔池内部死区.      

Water modelling study of fluid flow and mixing characteristics in bath during AOD process

Abstract

The fluid flow and mixing characteristics in the bath during the argon–oxygen decarburisation (AOD) process have been investigated on a water model of an 18 t AOD vessel blown through two annular tube type lances of constant cross-sectional area. The geometric similarity ratio between the model and its prototype (including the lances) was 1 : 3. Based on theoretical calculations of the parameters of the gas streams in the lances, the gas blowing rates used for the model were determined fairly precisely. Thus, sufficiently full kinematic similarity between the model and its prototype was ensured. The influence of the gas flowrate and the angle included between the two lances was examined. The results demonstrated that the liquid in the bath underwent vigorous circulatory motion during blowing, and there was no obvious dead zone in the bath, resulting in excellent mixing and a short mixing time. The gas flowrates, particularly that of the main lance, had a key influence on these characteristics. However, the gas jet of the sublance had a physical shielding effect on the gas jet of the main lance, and mixing efficiency could be improved by a suitable increase in the gas blowing rate of the sublance. The angular separation of the two lances also had a marked influence on the flow and mixing in the bath. An excessively large or small separation of the two lances would reduce the stability of blowing and would also be unfavourable to mixing. The optimum range of separation is 60–100° under the conditions of the present work. The relationships between the mixing time and the gas blowing rate, the stirring energy, the modified Froude numbers for the main lance and sublance, the lance arrangement, etc. have been obtained.     

Physical characteristics of gas jets injected vertically upward into liquid metal

The time-averaged structure of plumes has been measured with a two-element electroresistivity probe during upward injection of nitrogen or helium into mercury in a ladle-shaped vessel. From these measurements and data obtained earlier for air jets in water, general correlations linking the spatial distribution of gas fraction with the Froude number and gas/liquid density ratio have been developed. Early evidence suggests that these correlations should be applicable to gas-stirred metallurgical baths. Measurements of the profiles of bubble velocity and bubble pierced length reveal that the kinetic energy of the gas is dissipated close to the nozzle, and buoyancy dominates flow over most of the plume. Castillejos E., formerly with the Centre for Metallur-gical Process Engineering, The University of British Columbia,     

Influence of Hydrodynamics on the Performance of a Biofilm Airlift Suspension Reactor

Five biofilm airlift suspension (BAS) reactors filled with ceramic materials as biocarriers were used to investigate the hydrodynamics, liquid mixing, and biofilm detachment kinetics in the BAS reactor. A mathematical model was developed to describe the internal liquid circulation within the BAS reactor. The Froude number was introduced to correlate the relationship between the Froude number and superficial gas velocity at different biocarrier concentrations. The validity of the empirical model was verified over a wide range of experimental conditions and the result shows that the internal liquid circulation velocity was proportional to the square root of the reactor height and the superficial gas velocity. Because the internal liquid circulation flow rate was much larger than influent flow rate, the BAS reactor had a strong capacity to resist shock loading caused by the change in influent organic matter concentration. Shock loading resistance increased with the height of a BAS reactor. Although biofilm detachment was a very complicated process which involved many mechanisms, dimensional analysis was employed to successfully analyze the biofilm detachment kinetics. It was found that the biofilm detachment rate was proportional to the first power of the superficial gas velocity and biofilm thickness, and to the 2/3 power of the number of biocarriers in the reactor, respectively. Use of the Froude number and dimensional analysis provide an effective and accurate method to study the characteristics of the BAS reactor.