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Experimental measurements of bubble size distributions in a water model and its influence on the aluminum kinetics degassing
Author(s) -
Mancilla Ernesto,
CruzMéndez Wiener,
RamírezArgáez Marco Aurelio,
GonzálezRivera Carlos,
Ascanio Gabriel
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.23432
Subject(s) - bubble , mechanics , rotor (electric) , particle image velocimetry , impeller , turbulence , materials science , dispersion (optics) , injector , work (physics) , turbulence kinetic energy , dissipation , flow (mathematics) , aluminium , particle size distribution , particle tracking velocimetry , particle size , thermodynamics , chemistry , mechanical engineering , physics , optics , metallurgy , engineering
ABSTRACT An experimental study of the gas‐liquid dynamics in a water model of an aluminum ladle was conducted. The rotor degassing performance was evaluated for two commercial rotor‐injector devices compared to a new rotor design. In this work, the influence of the turbulent properties of the flow fields on the bubble size distribution is analyzed for a better understanding of its impact on the degassing efficiency in aluminum refinement operations. The degassing process was analyzed by two different methods: (a) a high‐speed camera was used to obtain the bubble size distribution into the container; and (b) the particle image velocimetry technique (PIV) was employed to obtain the liquid flow properties. It was found that the rotor geometry plays an important role on the average size and distribution of the bubbles. The energy dissipation rate contours show significant differences for the distinct rotors tested. These hydrodynamic states and bubbles distribution dominate the kinetic and efficiency of the degassing processes. It was shown that the new rotor configuration enhances the degassing kinetics, due to a more suitable bubble dispersion compared to the commercial rotors tested.