Influence of Plug Design on Bubble Injection Characteristics in Ladle Metallurgy

• The bubble characteristic created during bottom injection in a ladle has been studied using physical modeling and mathematical modeling. The width of central plume, statistical number of bubbles, and the periodic behavior of bubble injection have been compared using a slot plug and three porous plugs with various porosities. Furthermore, the effect of the plug’s permeability on the plume structure and bubble size distribution has been predicted using the Eulerian Multiphase Model and Population Balance Model. The results show that, for the bottom blowing using a slot plug, an increased flow rate will not change the gas-liquid plume width significantly, but lead to an increased periodic behavior of bubble’s statistic amount. For the bottom blowing using porous plug, an increased flow rate results in a wider central plume, but no obvious change of the periodic characteristic of bubbles. The effect of porosity on the bubble behavior was also studied. As the porosity increases, the volume fraction of gas and the average size of bubbles at the central plume zone increases, and the width of two-phase plume decreases. Moreover, the results predicted by the mathematical modeling are consistent with those from the physical modeling. The difference between a slot plug and a porous plug in industrial applications has been analyzed theoretically. The results show that it is more beneficial to use the slot plug to create strong stirring and to reach beneficial desulfurization condition nearby the open eye, and to use the porous plug for the inclusion removal.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Metallurgi och metalliska material (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Metallurgy and Metallic Materials (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

ladle

physical modeling

mathematical modeling

porous plug

slot plug

Metallurgical process science

Metallurgisk processvetenskap

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