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Modeling on the Fluid Flow and Mixing Phenomena in a RH Steel Degasser with Oval Down‐Leg Snorkel
Author(s) -
Luo Yan,
Liu Chang,
Ren Ying,
Zhang Lifeng
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
steel research international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.603
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1869-344X
pISSN - 1611-3683
DOI - 10.1002/srin.201800048
Subject(s) - ladle , volume of fluid method , water model , mixing (physics) , mechanics , refining (metallurgy) , particle image velocimetry , materials science , impeller , flow (mathematics) , service life , turbulence , computational fluid dynamics , fluid dynamics , mechanical engineering , multiphase flow , metallurgy , engineering , chemistry , composite material , physics , molecular dynamics , computational chemistry , quantum mechanics
The RH vacuum refining process is vitally important for the production of ultra‐low‐carbon steels, due to its effective degassing and homogenizing. A combined physical and mathematical modeling approach is performed in the current study to investigate the multiphase fluid flow and mixing phenomena during the RH vacuum refining process. The numerical simulation coupled VOF and DPM is used to obtain the flow pattern and the interface profile in the RH reactor in the water‐air system. Turbulent characteristics are predicted by a modified k‐ϵ model. A water model is used to validate calculated results. Based on the results of RH water modeling, the 2D‐velocity distribution in the section Y = 0 is captured by particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. To improve the refining efficiency and the service life time of the RH reactor, a new designed RH degasser with an optimized down‐leg snorkel is established. The oval down‐leg snorkel with a larger cross‐sectional area will increase the circulation rate of the fluid by 20% and weaken the impact on the ladle wall compared with the traditional one, which has immense potential in future applications to improve the service life of the ladle.