Numerical Computations of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Gas Injected Iron Baths

Abstract

The time evolution of the flow and temperature fields in industrial scale gas-injected molten iron baths are numerically analyzed. For the vertical injection case, a cylindrical vessel, containing molten iron, is considered. For the horizontal injection system, a cubical vessel is chosen. The Eulerian approach is used for the formulation of both the gas and the liquid phase transports. Turbulence in the liquid phase is predicted using a two-equation k-ε Model. A constant effective viscosity is used for the gas phase turbulence. For the interphase friction and heat transfer coefficients, correlations from the literature are used. In order to realistically model the volume expansion due to gas injection, the computational domain is extended beyond the initial undisturbed liquid height.