Effect of Interfacial Energy on the Drain Sink Formation Height

抄録

The effect of the liquid/gas interfacial energy on the drain sink formation height has been studied using both mathematical and physical modeling. Initially, the mathematical model predictions of the drain sink formation height were compared with data from physical modeling, representing a situation with a low interfacial energy. The agreement was found to be good. Thereafter, mathematical modeling was done to evaluate the drain sink formation height at higher interfacial energies. In addition, an analytical expression was derived for the prediction of the drain sink formation height. The calculations using this equation were found to align well with both the experimental data as well as the numerical predictions. This analytical equation is suitable to use for determination of the drain sink formation height as function of the liquid/gas interfacial energy, liquid density, outlet radius and outlet length. In order to demonstrate its industrial usefulness the equation was used to predict drain sink formation heights for steel in a system with geometrical dimensions relevant for steel production. It was found that an increased interfacial energy lowered the drain sink formation height severely for small outlets, low-density fluids and short outlet lengths. In real plant practice, the predictions with the analytical equation yield that the effect of steel/argon interfacial energy decreases the predicted drain sink formation height by approximately 10% compared to if the interfacial energy was neglected.