Cold Model Experiments on the Enhancement of Scrap Melting in a Bath Accompanied by Gas Injection

Abstract

A fundamental study based upon an aqueous system was carried out to reveal the effect of gas injection on the melting rate of solid bodies such as scrap. Ice spheres and ice cylinders were used as models of solid metals for the aqueous system. As the first step, the melting behavior of a single ice sphere or cylinder in a water bath was observed in this study using a high-speed video camera and by eye inspection. The melting rate of the ice was highly increased with an increase in gas flow rate. An estimation method of the melting time of the ice was proposed. Measured values of the melting time were found to compare well with estimated ones. The estimation method of the melting time originally proposed for the aqueous system was applicable to Wood's metal systems by adding time required for a solid Wood's metal sphere or cylinder to be heated up to its melting point.