Mechanical stirring for highly efficient gas injection refining

In gas injection refining processes,wide dispersion of small bubbles in the bath is indispensable for high refining efficiency.Eccentric mechanical stirring with unidirectional impeller rotation was tested using a water model for pursuing better bubble disintegration and dispersion.Effects of various factors on bubble disintegration and dispersion were investigated.These factors were stirring mode,eccentricity and rotation speed,nozzle structure,nozzle immersion depth,and gas flow rate.Gas injection from a nozzle at the end of the impeller shaft and from an immersed lance was studied.Under eccentric stirring,a vortex was formed away from the shaft.Small bubbles were produced in the strong turbulence or high shear stress field near the rotating impeller and moved in the direction to the vortex keeping up with the macroscopic flow induced by the mechanical stirring.Thus small bubbles could disperse widely in the bath under eccentric stirring with unidirectional rotation.

Numerical simulation of nozzle structure to improve eccentric mold electromagnetic stirring in a round bloom mold

A three-dimensional mathematical model coupling electromagnetic,flow,heat transfer,and solidification has been developed to investigate the effect of eccentric mold electromagnetic stirring(EM-EMS)on the flow and heat transfer of molten steel in round blooms with different cross sections.The uneven distribution of the flow field caused by EM-EMS was improved by changing the straight submerged entry nozzle(SEN)to a four-port SEN.The symmetry index was determined by the velocity distributions on the left and right sides of the center cross section of mold electromagnetic stirring(M-EMS),which quantitatively evaluated the symmetry of EM-EMS on the flow field.In the presence of EM-EMS,the maximum temperature difference ofϕ500 mm andϕ650 mm round blooms between the inner and outer curves amounted to 63 and 26 K,respectively.The maximum distinction between the solidified shells in the inner and outer curves was 11.5 and 5.3 mm,respectively.After using the four-port SEN,the temperature and the shell distribution on the inner and outer curves for theϕ500 mm round bloom were almost the same.The symmetry indices ofϕ500 mm andϕ650 mm round blooms were increased from 0.55 and 0.70 to 0.77 and 0.87,respectively.The four-port SEN can be used to mitigate the negative impact of EM-EMS on the steel flow field.

Study on Absorption Rate by Eccentric Mechanical Stirring in Gas Injection Refining for Iron and Steel Making

In gas injection refining processes, a great amount of gas is injected into molten metal in short time, so that very large bubbles are inevitably formed. Wide dispersion of small bubbles in the bath is indispensable for high refining efficiency. Eccentric mechanical stirring with unidirectional impeller rotation was tested using a water model for pursuing better bubble disintegration and dispersion. Absorption rate are used to research on the influence law of the bubble dispersion and disintegration and gas-liquid absorption by the influence of, rotation mode, rotation speed and gas flow rate. Compared to the experimental results of absorption rate under eccentric stirring and centric stirring ,provide the scientific experimental and theoretical guidance for high-temperature experiment of hot metal desulfurization .According to experimental and theoretical analysis, this paper has studied various factors effecting on gas absorption process and volumetric mass transfer coefficient using the system of CO2-NaOH-H2O.The results show that:the volumetric mass transfer coefficient and absorption efficiency of CO2 can be increased under eccentric stirring mode, Because bubble disperse quickly with eccentric mechanical stirring, which results in promoting complete reaction between CO2 and NaOH, and improving the mass transfer coefficient and absorption. Volumetric mass transfer coefficient and efficiency of CO2 increase with the increasing rotation speed under the condition of eccentric stirring .But volumetric mass transfer coefficient and efficiency of CO2 decrease with the increasing rotation speed under the condition of centric stirring.

Cold Model Study on Mg Desulfurization of Hot Metal Under Mechanical Stirring

The new method of in-situ desulfurization with mechanical stirring of new type impellers was introduced, in which the bubble＇s dispersion and disintegration of magnesium vapor were the key to boosting the desulfurization efficiency and increasing the utilization rate of magnesium. Effects of different new type of impellers on bubble dis persion and disintegration were studied through bubble image analysis, gas-liquid mass transfer, and power con- sumption levels of different impeller structures. The results showed that the sloped swept-back blade impeller-2 pro- duces optimal bubble＇s dispersion and disintegration, as well as higher volumetric mass transfer coefficient and CO2 gas utilization while consuming the least power. Numerical simulation result with Fluent software also showed that the sloped swept-back blade impeller-2 has higher turbulent kinetic energy and better velocity distribution than the other two impellers.

Improvement of Impeller Blade Structure for Gas Injection Refining under Mechanical Stirring

Abstract： The impeller blade structure for gas injection refining under mechanical stirring has been explored by water model experiments. A sloped swept-back blade impeller is＇proposed for the purpose. The central part of the impeller is disk- or plate-shaped, and the blades are fitted to the side of the disk or plate. In addition, a disk is put on the top side of the impeller blades. The impeller can strengthen the radial and downward flow between the blades and weaken the swirl flow in the zone above the impeller. These effects on flow phenomena are favorable for disintegration and wide dispersion of bubbles which are injected from a nozzle attached to the center of the underside of the impeller. In addition, the sloped swept-back impeller requires less power consumption. The impeller shaft should be placed away from the vessel center so as to disperse the injected bubbles widely in the bath under mechanical stirring even with unidi- rectional impeller rotation and without installing baffles. The number of gas holes in the nozzle and the direction of gas injection have a little effect on the bubble disintegration and dispersion in the bath. Highly efficient gas injection refining can be established under the conditions of proper impeller size, larger nozzle immersion depth, larger eccen- tricity and rotation speed of the impeller. The sloped swept back blade impeller can decrease the power consumption and vet improve the bubble disintegration and wide dist^ersion in the bath.