Field Measurements of Mean Velocity Characteristics of a Large-Diameter Swirling Jet

Full-scale field acoustic Doppler velocimeter measurements of the radial, axial, and tangential flow components were undertaken in a large-diameter turbulent swirling jet generated by a raft-mounted axial flow-mixing propeller discharging through a draft tube during isothermal and stratified conditions. The results were compared with classical jet theory and showed significant differences in the zone of flow establishment though similar behavior in the zone where established flow was found. It was concluded that the efflux from the axial flow-mixing propeller could not be described adequately by conventional jet theory due to the jet size and swirling characteristics.     

“全混式—卷入—轴向循环型”搅拌混合反应器的模型研究

本文是在“模型研究KR法的搅拌混合特性”一文的基础上,应用模型研究了“全混式—卷入—轴向循环型”反应器的混合特性、机械能的输入和流体流动状态等。研究结果表明,在KR装置中,若同时使用适宜的导流板结构,则在很大程度上阻碍了水平径向流动,发展了垂直轴向循环流,使之成为“完全导流板型”的搅拌混合反应装置。与“剪切型”的KR法相比,这种反应器提高了混合效率。其工艺效益表现为达到均匀混合所需搅拌桨转数可以减少,即达到均匀混合速度约可提高55％,在达到相同的混合程度时,搅拌桨旋转速度大约降低50％,输入功率约为KR法的70％,则所需功率消耗可降低30％左右。搅拌时,容器中液面不再升高,从而提高了搅拌容器的有效处理容积。     

Optimization Study of Flocculation Mixing by Means of Grids

The purpose of this study was to optimize flocculation mixing created by single grids. Double and triple biplane grids were vertically oscillated within a standard 2 L jar. The turbulent velocities were measured using a 2D laser doppler anemometer. The particle removal performance was observed based on the settled water turbidity. When a larger number of grids were applied, the same average volume velocity gradient (G) could be achieved at lower vertical grid speeds. A uniform and more gentle mixing was therefore created, producing high particle contacts and low particle breakup. The minimum settled water turbidity was also achieved at lower G values. A larger number of grids, especially of high solidity ratio, produced a wider range of G values with low settled water turbidity. These findings showed that the grid mixing performance could be optimized by applying a larger number of high solidity ratio grids. It was also found that grids, at their best arrangement, had a better performance than a standard flat blade impeller.     

Turbulent Velocity in Flocculation by Means of Grids

Eleven types of single circular biplane grids with different diameter (d) and mesh (M) were vertically and constantly oscillated inside a 2 L square jar. The velocity components were measured using a 2D laser doppler anemometer. The average root-mean-square turbulent velocity q′ values were found to be relatively constant at both vertical and horizontal points of measurement—a condition that could not be achieved in the case of impeller mixing. Since the mixing intensity was uniform within the jar, the average volume velocity gradient ? could be applied as the surrogate mixing intensity parameter. It was also found that q′ was linearly related to the vertical grid speed and grid physical characteristics, indicating that the mixing was easily controlled. The macro length scale (L) was calculated and was found to be constant and proportional to d or M, as it should be in the case of turbulent mixing. This study shows the potential of grids as the mixing devices that can be expected to produce an optimum mixing environment for the flocculation process.     

Turbulence Dissipation in Stirred Jars

A two-compartment analytical model was developed to estimate the turbulent dissipation rates in a standard jar stirred by a radial impeller. A simple numerical simulation was also performed to support the analytical arguments. Results of the numerical model showed that away from the impeller, the turbulent dissipation rate rapidly decays proportionally with z?2, where z is the axial distance. The turbulent velocity away from the impeller region showed a decay proportional to z?0.5. Although the dissipation rates at the wall boundary layer were higher compared to those in the tank interior, the total energy dissipated in the boundary layer is smaller compared to that expended in the impeller zone.     

Behaviour of Argon Gas Bubbles in an Electromagnetic Driven Swirling Flow

An innovative steelmaking process is suggested using an electromagnetic driven swirling flow in the up‐leg of an RH vacuum degassing vessel. The effectiveness of this new process depends on the two‐phase flow behaviour of molten steel and argon gas. A physical and a mathematical model are developed to understand the effect of electromagnetic driven swirling flows on the behaviour of gas bubbles in the up‐leg of an RH vessel. Both water model experiments and numerical simulation show the distribution and trajectories of the gas bubbles. The gas bubbles’ trajectories are spiral and move towards the centre of the up‐leg in the swirling flow field. The accumulation of gas bubbles depends on the swirling number. At the same time, the swirling flow can prolong the residence time and trajectories of non‐metal inclusions in the vessel. The viscous drag force becomes important for small bubbles in the RH degassing vessel, and small bubbles have the trend to rotate with the swirling flow.     

桨叶形状对KR法脱硫混合行为影响的数值模拟

为了改善KR搅拌法脱硫剂浪费严重的问题，开发3种新型搅拌桨改善铁水和脱硫剂的混合效果。应用CFD技术，以速度场、湍动耗散率和混匀时间为特征，描述液面的卷入能力和内部混合能力。通过对比3种桨形与传统桨形（A桨）的铁水流动结构，分析结构参数和操作参数之间的影响规律。研究结果表明，方形桨（B桨）卷入脱硫剂的能力和改善混合效果强于其他3种桨形，随转速从60r/min增加到80r/min，柱状回转区体积减小60%，死区体积减小67%，混匀时间缩短52%；D桨的下倾角和径向斜边改善了搅拌桨下方死区混合效果，随转速从60r/min增加到80r/min，死区体积减小51%，混匀时间缩短48%；C桨的卷入能力和混合效果介于D桨和B桨之间；A桨效果最差。     

刚柔组合桨搅拌强化锰矿浸出数值模拟

通过CFD软件对以SO₂气体为还原剂的锰矿浸出过程进行数值模拟,对比刚性单桨、刚性双桨及刚柔组合桨对于气-固-液三相混合强化作用。通过对固相及气相浓度云图分析,比较三种不同结构配置的搅拌反应器对固体颗粒悬浮和气体分散的作用大小,并对搅拌反应器内宏观、介观及其微观混合性能通过轴向和纵向的速度、湍动能及湍动能耗散率进行对比分析。结果表明：刚柔组合桨流场内并未出现颗粒团聚、气体分散不均等现象,并在流场上部对于颗粒悬浮及气体分散作用明显要强于单轴单桨及单轴双桨;刚柔组合桨的宏观、介观及其微观混合性能的表现均优于单轴单桨及单轴双桨。     

Improvement of Impeller Blade Structure for Gas Injection Refining under Mechanical Stirring简

Abstract： The impeller blade structure for gas injection refining under mechanical stirring has been explored by water model experiments. A sloped swept-back blade impeller is＇proposed for the purpose. The central part of the impeller is disk- or plate-shaped, and the blades are fitted to the side of the disk or plate. In addition, a disk is put on the top side of the impeller blades. The impeller can strengthen the radial and downward flow between the blades and weaken the swirl flow in the zone above the impeller. These effects on flow phenomena are favorable for disintegration and wide dispersion of bubbles which are injected from a nozzle attached to the center of the underside of the impeller. In addition, the sloped swept-back impeller requires less power consumption. The impeller shaft should be placed away from the vessel center so as to disperse the injected bubbles widely in the bath under mechanical stirring even with unidi- rectional impeller rotation and without installing baffles. The number of gas holes in the nozzle and the direction of gas injection have a little effect on the bubble disintegration and dispersion in the bath. Highly efficient gas injection refining can be established under the conditions of proper impeller size, larger nozzle immersion depth, larger eccen- tricity and rotation speed of the impeller. The sloped swept back blade impeller can decrease the power consumption and vet improve the bubble disintegration and wide dist~ersion in the bath.     

Improvement of Impeller Blade Structure for Gas Injection Refining under Mechanical Sirring

The impeller blade structure for gas injection refining under mechanical stirring has been explored by water model experiments.A sloped swept-back blade impeller is proposed for the purpose.The central part of the impeller is disk-or plate-shaped,and the blades are fitted to the side of the disk or plate.In addition,a disk is put on the top side of the impeller blades.The impeller can strengthen the radial and downward flow between the blades and weaken the swirl flow in the zone above the impeller.These effects on flow phenomena are favorable for disintegration and wide dispersion of bubbles which are injected from a nozzle attached to the center of the underside of the impeller.In addition,the sloped swept-back impeller requires less power consumption.The impeller shaft should be placed away from the vessel center so as to disperse the injected bubbles widely in the bath under mechanical stirring even with unidirectional impeller rotation and without installing baffles.The number of gas holes in the nozzle and the direction of gas injection have a little effect on the bubble disintegration and dispersion in the bath.Highly efficient gas injection refining can be established under the conditions of proper impeller size,larger nozzle immersion depth,larger eccentricity and rotation speed of the impeller.The sloped swept-back blade impeller can decrease the power consumption and yet improve the bubble disintegration and wide dispersion in the bath.     

漩流中间包流场的数值模拟

采用CFD软件Fluent对漩流中间包内的流场进行了数值模拟,分析了漩流中间包内的流场特征,以及漩流室的加入,中间包内的流动形态.模拟结果表明,由于漩流室的加入使湍动能耗散主要集中在漩流室内部,有利于夹杂物的聚合长大;漩流室的加入可改善钢液的流动状态,利于夹杂物的上浮.由于入口位置的非对称布置,造成了漩流中间包内的流场在入口区呈明显的非对称分布,这些结果为进一步优化漩流中间包内漩流室的位置和中间包挡墙参数提供了理论依据.     

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.     

Turbulent flow of liquid steel and argon bubbles in slide-gate tundish nozzles: Part I. model development and validation

The quality of continuous-cast steel is greatly affected by the flow pattern in the mold, which depends mainly on the jets flowing from the outlet ports in casting with submerged tundish nozzles. An Eulerian multiphase model using the finite-difference program CFX has been applied to study the three-dimensional (3-D) turbulent flow of liquid steel with argon bubbles in slide-gate tundish nozzles. Part I of this two-part article describes the model formulation, grid refinement, convergence strategies, and validation of this model. Equations to quantify average jet properties at the nozzle exit are presented. Most of the gas exits the upper portion of the nozzle port, while the main downward swirling flow contains very little gas. Particle-image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are performed on a 0.4-scale water model to determine the detailed nature of the swirling velocity profile exiting the nozzle. Predictions with the computational model agree well with the PIV measurements. The computational model is suitable for simulating dispersed bubbly flows, which exist for a wide range of practical gas injection rates. The model is used for extensive parametric studies of the effects of casting operation conditions and nozzle design, which are reported in Part II of this two-part article.     

Mathematical Modelling of Molten Steel Flow Process in a Whole RH Degasser during the Vacuum Circulation Refining Process: Application of the Model and Results

A three‐dimensional mathematical model for the molten steel flow during the RH refining process has been applied to the circulatory flow processes in both a practical RH degasser and its water model unit. The model was presented earlier [1] and one of its characteristics is that ladle, snorkels and vacuum vessel are regarded as a whole. Using this model, the fluid flow field and the gas holdups of liquid phases and others have been computed respectively for a 90 t RH degasser and its water model unit with a 1/5 linear scale. The results show that the mathematical model can properly describe the flow pattern of molten steel during the refining process in an RH degasser. Except in the area close to the liquid's free surface and in the zone between the two snorkels in the ladle, a strong mixing of the molten steel occurs, especially in the vacuum vessel. However, there is a boundary layer between the descending liquid stream from the down‐snorkel and its surrounding liquid, which is a typical liquid‐liquid two‐phase flow, and the molten steel in the ladle is not in a perfect mixing state. The lifting gas blown is ascending mostly near the up‐snorkel wall, which is more obvious under the conditions of a practical RH degasser, and the flow pattern of the bubbles and molten steel in the up‐snorkel is closer to an annular flow. The calculated circulation rates for the water model unit at different lifting gas rates are in good agreement with experimentally determined values.     

Aeration Characteristics of Ski Jump Jets

Scour downstream of ski jumps may be avoided by jet deflection to an area where the energy dissipation is accomplished. The main purpose of this experimental study was the analysis of the jet air entrainment downstream of a ski jump, both for pure water and preaerated approach flow conditions. A systematic variation of the Froude number and the flow depth in the approach flow channel resulted in a range of discharge characteristics, whereas the geometry of the ski jump was maintained for all tests. The air concentration profile was measured at different locations downstream from the ski jump to evaluate the: (1) jet air concentration distribution; (2) location of minimum air concentration along the mixture flow jet and development of the minimum and the cross-sectional average air concentrations; (3) jet trajectories; and (4) process of air entrainment characteristics and jet disintegration. The results demonstrate the significant effect of the approach flow Froude number, the approach flow depth, and of preaeration on jet disintegration.     

水口类型对大方坯结晶器内钢水流动与凝固行为的影响

采用数值计算方法对比研究了直通式、4分径向以及新型4分切向水口对大方坯连铸结晶器内钢水流动与凝固行为的影响.结果表明,当前常用的直通式水口对坯壳无冲击,利于坯壳均匀生长,但钢水冲击深度大,易在弯月面处形成死区,不利于大方坯内部及表面质量的提高;改用4分水口浇铸时,结晶器宽、窄面冲击区附近都会出现不同程度的坯壳厚度零增长...     

Application of swirling flow nozzle and investigation of superheat dissipation casting for bloom continuous casing

A swirling flow nozzle (SFN) has been proposed and designed for bloom continuous casting based on the idea that the melt flow pattern in the mould region can be controlled by changing the jet direction from outlets of the submerged entry nozzle. The simulated and plant trial results show that, as compared to the conventional straight nozzle, the oversized shrinkage porosity along with centre cracking at the strand cross-section is removed, and the maximum segregation degree fluctuation range of solute element C is reduced from 0.17 to 0.05. The positive effect is attributed to the remarkable superheat dissipation effect of horizontal swirling flow generated by SFN, which is reduced by 10.6 K as compared to the normal nozzle. Moreover, the adoption of SFN can further enhance the metallurgical effect of in-mould electromagnetic stirring (M-EMS), where both better chemical homogeneity and soundness of bloom castings can be obtained by the combined adoption of SFN and M-EMS.     

含钒页岩浸出槽搅拌速度优化的数值模拟

含钒页岩浸出槽是钒页岩湿法提钒浸出段的主要操作单元,存在固相分布不均、槽底矿物易沉积等问题。通过数值模拟研究来对比分析搅拌桨叶双层同速以及异速方案下对搅拌浸出槽内固液两相流搅拌功率和效率的影响。结果表明,当搅拌桨叶双层同速由1.3 r/s改变至1.7 r/s时,死区由5.02 m³减少至2.03 m³,混匀时间由1 501 s降低至1 116 s,近自由液面平均速度也由0.32 m/s增大至0.56 m/s,因此搅拌桨转速选择1.7 r/s更为合适;搅拌桨叶双层异速可以得到与双层同速情况下基本一致的搅拌效果,当上层桨叶转速由1.5 r/s改变至1.7 r/s时,死区由2.95 m³减少至2.33 m³,混匀时间由1 261 s降低至1 146 s,近自由液面平均速度也由0.44 m/s增大至0.54 m/s。因此搅拌桨转速选择上层1.7 r/s、下层1.5 r/s能在保持较低的搅拌功率同时能得到较好的搅拌效率。     

Aggregation Kinetics of Inclusions in Swirling Flow Tundish for Continuous Casting

 The mechanism of inclusion aggregation in liquid steel in swirling flow tundish is analyzed by applying the theory of flocculation which was developed in the field of colloid engineering. The gas bridge forces due to the micro bubbles on hydrophobic inclusion surfaces were considered responsible for the inclusion collision and agglomeration, which can avoid the aggregation to breakup. The quantity of micro bubbles on hydrophobic inclusion particle is more than that on hydrophilic one. The trend of forming gas bridges between micro bubbles on particles is strong in the course of collision. The liquid film on hydrophobic particles is easy to break during collision process. Hydrophobic particles are liable to aggregate in collision. According to the analysis of forces on a non-metallic inclusion particle in swirling chamber, the chance of inclusion collision and aggregation can be improved by the centripetal force. Hydrophobic particles in water are liable to aggregate in collision. Hydrophilic particles in water are dispersed although collision happens. The wettabiliy can be changed by changing solid-liquid interface tension. The non-metallic inclusion removal in swirling flow tundish is studied. It shows that, under certain turbulent conditions, the particle concentration and the wettability between particles and liquid steel are the main factors to induce collision and aggregation.     

两段强制搅拌调浆的混合特性及对煤泥浮选的影响

基于强化煤泥浮选前的矿浆预处理过程,设计了具有折叶开启式涡轮的两段强制搅拌装置.通过分析两段强制搅拌体系的流量准数、功率准数、剪切特性、循环特性以及混合效率来评价搅拌体系的混合特性,并对永城矿区的无烟煤煤泥进行了两段强制模式的调浆浮选试验.随着转速的增加,输入两段强制搅拌体系的能量以及混合效率增加,单位能耗的矿浆循环性能和剪切性能均减小,剪切性能减小的趋势小于循环性能减小的趋势.在相同转速下,大直径叶片的单位能耗具有较强的剪切特性及混合效率、较小的循环/剪切比.在两段强制搅拌调浆模式下,旋流静态微泡浮选床可获得较好的浮选指标和较大的处理能力.大直径和高转速条件下的能量输入可促进矿浆中难浮颗粒的回收,在合适的处理能力条件下能够加强粗颗粒的回收,而在处理能力较强的条件下可以提高浮选尾煤中的细颗粒灰分.