%0 Journal Article
%T Influence of the Slag Density on the Splashing Process in a Steelmaking Converter
%A Miguel A. Barron
%A Dulce Y. Medina
%A Isaias Hilerio
%A Gabriel Plascencia
%J ISRN Metallurgy
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/525706
%X The way in which slag density influences the slag splashing phenomenon in an oxygen steelmaking converter is numerically analyzed in this work. Several values of the density of the slag are considered, and their effect on the global mass balance and slag average volume fraction on the sidewalls of the converter is studied using isothermal, two-dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics simulations. Diameter of the slag drops is determined from the slag density and the impact velocity of the nitrogen jet. Besides, the effect of the nitrogen jet Mach number on the slag splashing is simulated and discussed. A qualitative comparison between the computer simulations and results from the literature is made. 1. Introduction It is known that the wear of refractory lining in an oxygen steelmaking converter for raw steel manufacturing is a factor which greatly influences the production costs. In the last two decades, slag splashing has emerged as a new technology to extend the lifetime of the converter refractory lining given that this technology reduces the wear associated to thermal and chemical attack by slag and mechanical impact [1, 2]. After the draining of steel, molten slag remaining at the converter bottom is splashed towards the converter sidewalls using a supersonic jet of gaseous nitrogen. Molten slag freezes at the converter walls and forms a protective coating that prevents the wear of the refractory lining. Nitrogen is injected into the converter through a water-cooled vertical lance which has several inclined convergent-divergent nozzles. During the slag splashing process three main stages have been identified in the formation of the slag protective coating: transport of molten slag to the converter walls, adherence of the molten slag to the sidewalls, and freezing and hardening of the slag layer [3]. When the molten slag is transported to the converter sidewalls, two transport mechanisms are present: wash coating and ejection coating [4]. The first one occurs due to the bulk movement of the molten slag to rise above the initial level and the second one due to the ejection of slag droplets which adhere to the vessel sidewalls [5]. In recent years, several experimental studies on the slag splashing phenomenon have been reported. In these studies, physical scale models of the converter are employed, and cold water and air replace molten slag and nitrogen, respectively [4, 6, 7]. In [4] it is reported that large nozzle inclination and lance heights increase the splashing and the main mechanism of splashing changes from ejection to washing as
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.metallurgy/2014/525706/