1995 Volume 81 Issue 7 Pages 733-738
Flow phenomena in a hot dip plating bath were investigated by using cold models with reduced scale of 1/5 and 1/10.The flow pattern, mean velocity components, root-mean-square value of turbulence components and Reynolds shear stress in the bath were measured using a hot-wire anemometer and a two-channel laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV). The flow pattern in the bath was three dimensional. Main flow induced by belt motion on the entry side moved into the exit side and subsequently returned along the side walls and the bottom wall to the entry side. A part of the flow returning along the side walls to the entry side entered from the edges of the belt into the region enclosed with the belt. The flow pattern in the region enclosed with the belt was also three dimensional. The flow pattern in the whole bath was in good agreement with that suggested by mean velocity vectors measured with the LDV. Mean velocity components and the root-mean-square value of turbulence components were altogether low in the almost all part of the entry side region except near the belt. A great amount of dross accompanied with flow in a practical hot dip plating bath seems to exist in this region. As the Reynolds shear stress was very high in the vicinity of the strip extending from the sink roll to the exit side, the dross would be vigorously disturbed and dispersed there.
