Transient flow and heat transfer in a steelmaking ladle during the holding period

Transient, turbulent flow and heat transfer in a ladle during the holding period are numerically investigated. The ladle refractories including the working lining, safety lining, insulation layer, and steel shell have been simultaneously taken into account. No assumptions are made for the heat transfer between the liquid steel and the inside ladle walls. Both the initial ladle heating and the heat loss from the slag surface are changed to examine their effect on thermal stratification in molten steel. A simplified model for the heat loss from the molten steel to the refractory is proposed. Correlations for the history of mean steel temperature, thermal stratification, and heat loss rate are obtained, which can be easily applied for industrial operations. Predictions are compared with experimental data in an industrial ladle and a pilot plant ladle, and those from previous studies.