Abstract
When liquid was injected through a nozzle settled on the bottom of a cylindrical bath, a liquid jet was formed above the nozzle. The jet swirled around the bath axis under a certain injection condition. The bath was highly agitated in the presence of the swirl motion. Therefore the swirl motion is very beneficial for the agitation of a molten steel bath. Considering these circumstances, the authors previously proposed a novel refining process using the swirl motion and investigated the basic characteristics of the swirl motion such as the preferable condition for its occurrence, the period, and the amplitude. In its practical applications, the transient characteristics of the swirl motion are necessary in addition to the basic characteristics. Water model experiments were carried out in this study to understand the starting time and damping time of the swirl motion in the bath. Empirical equations were derived for the two representative time scales.
