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

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.     

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 dispersion and disintegration were studied through bubble image analysis,gas-liquid mass transfer,and power consumption levels of different impeller structures.The results showed that the sloped swept-back blade impeller-2produces optimal bubble′s dispersion and disintegration,as well as higher volumetric mass transfer coefficient and CO2gas utilization while consuming the least power.Numerical simulation result with Fluent software also showed that the sloped swept-back blade impeller-2has higher turbulent kinetic energy and better velocity distribution than the other two impellers.     

Bubble and liquid flow characteristics in a wood’s metal bath stirred by bottom helium gas injection

A model study was carried out to elucidate bubble and liquid flow characteristics in the reactor of metals refining processes stirred by gas injection. Wood’s metal with a melting temperature of 70 °C was used as the model of molten metal. Helium gas was injected into the bath through a centered single-hole bottom nozzle to form a vertical bubbling jet along the centerline of the bath. The bubble characteristics specified by gas holdup, bubble frequency, and so on were measured using a two-needle electroresistivity probe, and the liquid flow characteristics, such as the axial and radial mean velocity components, were measured with a magnet probe. In the axial region far from the nozzle exit, where the disintegration of rising bubbles takes place and the radial distribution of gas holdup follows a Gaussian distribution, the axial mean velocity and turbulence components of liquid flow in the vertical direction are predicted approximately by empirical correlations derived originally for a water-air system, although the physical properties of the two systems are significantly different from each other. Under these same conditions, those turbulent parameters in high-temperature metals refining processes should thus be accurately predicted by the same empirical correlations.     

Bubble and liquid flow characteristics during horizontal cold gas injection into a water bath

In refining processes such as the AOD process cold gas is blown horizontally into the molten metal bath of the processes. The spatial distribution of bubbles in the bath is one of the important factors influencing the efficiency of the processes. In this study, a water model study was carried out to understand the characteristics of bubbles and liquid flow generated by horizontal gas injection. The bubble and liquid flow characteristics were measured using an electro‐resistivity probe and a laser Doppler velocimeter, respectively. In the flow field near the nozzle the bubble characteristics for the horizontal cold gas injection can be predicted by empirical equations derived for isothermal gas injection systems. The liquid flow characteristics could not be measured in this region. On the other hand, in the region far from the nozzle the two characteristics for the cold gas injection became different from those for the isothermal gas injection because of enhanced buoyancy force acting on expanding cold bubbles due to heat transfer.     

Molten wood’s-metal flow in a cylindrical bath agitated by cold bottom-gas injection

Investigation was made of the heat-transfer effect on the motions of cold bubbles and molten metal in a bottom-blown bath. The heat transfer between the bubbles and the molten metal finished at an axial position near the nozzle exit. The bubble and liquid-flow characteristics measured above this position were in good agreement with those in a bath agitated by isothermal gas injection of the same mass flow rate. A simplified mathematical model was proposed to describe the two characteristics. The experimental results of gas holdup and mean liquid-flow velocity were satisfactorily predicted by it. The accuracy of the prediction became higher as the distance from the nozzle exit increased, due to disintegration of bubbles.     

喷嘴结构对铁水脱硫气泡微细化的影响

针对铁水预处理镁蒸气脱硫的气泡微细化问题,本文通过水模型实验,研究了喷嘴结构对气泡在熔池中的分散、CO_2吸收速率和利用率以及均混时间的影响规律.结果表明:使用SSB-D桨,搅拌转速200 r/min,通气流量为1.0 m~3/h,偏心度0.4,浸入深度250 mm时,透气砖结构的喷嘴可以使熔池内的气泡分布"死区"减小,同时缩短了均混时间,提高了镁蒸气的容积传质系数和利用率.     

Effects of pore diameter, bath surface pressure, and nozzle diameter on the bubble formation from a porous nozzle

The effects of the pore diameter, bath surface pressure, and nozzle diameter on the bubble formation from a porous bottom nozzle placed in a water bath and on the behavior of rising bubbles were investigated with still and high-speed video cameras and a two-needle electroresistivity probe. Three types of bubble dispersion patterns were observed with respect to gas flow rate, and they were named the low, medium, and high gas flow rate regimes. The transition boundaries between these gas flow rate regimes were expressed in terms of the superficial velocity at the nozzle exit, i.e., the volumetric gas flow rate per unit nozzle surface area. These transition boundaries were dependent on the pore diameter but hardly dependent on the bath surface pressure and the porous nozzle diameter. The characteristics of rising bubbles in each gas flow rate regime were investigated as functions of the three parameters.     

贫化电炉气液混合顶吹的气泡群形态及搅拌效果

针对贫化电炉还原油枪中气、油混合顶吹对渣层搅拌效果的研究,等比例制作贫化电炉水模型,进行气液混合喷吹实验。实验结果表明：顶吹气液两相混合射流在熔池中形成大小不一的气泡或气泡群,气泡本身的形变、破裂以及气泡间的团聚运动决定了油枪对熔池的搅拌效果。通过测量不同流量下气泡群尺寸的变化,分析气液流量混合比对熔池搅拌效果的影响。     

Measurement of physical characteristics of bubbles in gas-liquid plumes: Part II. Local properties of turbulent air-water plumes in vertically injected jets

The structural development of air-water bubble plumes during upward injection into a ladle-shaped vessel has been measured under different conditions of air flow rate, orifice diameter, and bath depth. The measured radial profiles of gas fraction at different axial positions in the plume were found to exhibit good similarity, and the distribution of the phases in the plume was correlated to the modified Froude number. Different regions of flow behavior in the plume were identified by changes in bubble frequency, bubble velocity, and bubble pierced length which occur as bubbles rise in the plume. Measurement of bubble velocity indicates that close to the nozzle the motion of the gas phase is strongly affected by the injection velocity; at injection velocities below 41 m/s, the velocity of the bubbles along the centerline exhibits an increase with height, while above, the tendency reverses. High-speed film observations suggest that this effect is related to the nature of gas discharge,i.e., whether the gas discharge produces single bubbles or short jets. In this region of developing flow, measurement of bubble frequency and pierced length indicates that break-up of the discharging bubbles occurs until a nearly constant bubble-size distribution is established in a region of fully developed flow. In this largest zone of the plume the bubbles influence the flow only through buoyancy, and the spectra of bubble pierced length and diameter can be fitted to a log-normal distribution. Close to the bath surface, a third zone of bubble motion behavior is characterized by a faster decrease in bubble velocity as liquid flows radially outward from the plume.     

Model study of bubble and liquid-flow characteristics in a bottom blown bath under reduced pressure

Gas injection techniques are widely used in metals refining processes. Pressure on the bath surface of reactors is sometimes highly reduced to enhance the efficiency of refining. Many fundamental and practical investigations have been made to clarify the effects of reduced surface pressure on the mixing time and reaction rates of decarburization or desulfurization in the bath. However, details of these effects are not fully understood yet. Since the mixing time and chemical reaction rates are closely associated with fluid flow phenomena in the bath, information on, for example, the total surface area of bubbles rising in the bath and liquid flow induced by the buoyancy force of the bubbles should be accumulated as much as possible. In this study, the so-called water-model experiments were carried out to reveal the effects of reduced surface pressure on the bubble and liquidflow characteristics using a two-needle electroresistivity probe and a two-dimensional laser Doppler velocimeter. At an axial position near the nozzle, each bubble expanded to a volume corresponding to the hydrostatic pressure. The bubble and liquid-flow characteristics in the axial region located farther than this axial position were found to be approximately the same as those obtained under an atmospheric surface pressure.     

Mathematical Modeling of Fluid Flow in a Water Physical Model of an Aluminum Degassing Ladle Equipped with an Impeller-Injector

In this work, a 3D numerical simulation using a Euler–Euler-based model implemented into a commercial CFD code was used to simulate fluid flow and turbulence structure in a water physical model of an aluminum ladle equipped with an impeller for degassing treatment. The effect of critical process parameters such as rotor speed, gas flow rate, and the point of gas injection (conventional injection through the shaft vs a novel injection through the bottom of the ladle) on the fluid flow and vortex formation was analyzed with this model. The commercial CFD code PHOENICS 3.4 was used to solve all conservation equations governing the process for this two-phase fluid flow system. The mathematical model was reasonably well validated against experimentally measured liquid velocity and vortex sizes in a water physical model built specifically for this investigation. From the results, it was concluded that the angular speed of the impeller is the most important parameter in promoting better stirred baths and creating smaller and better distributed bubbles in the liquid. The pumping effect of the impeller is increased as the impeller rotation speed increases. Gas flow rate is detrimental to bath stirring and diminishes the pumping effect of the impeller. Finally, although the injection point was the least significant variable, it was found that the “novel” injection improves stirring in the ladle.     

Physical Modeling of Fluid Flow in Ladles of Aluminum Equipped with Impeller and Gas Purging For Degassing

In the current study a transparent water physical model was developed to study fluid flow and turbulent structure of aluminum ladles for degassing treatment with a rotating impeller and gas injection. Flow patterns and turbulent structure in the ladle were measured with the particle image velocimetry technique. The effects of process parameters such as rotor speed, gas flow rate, and type of rotor on the flow patterns and on the vortex formation were analyzed using this model, which control degassing kinetics. In addition, a comparison between two points of gas injection was performed: (a) conventional gas injection through the shaft and (b) a “novel” gas injection technique through the bottom of the ladle. Results show that the most significant process variable on the stirring degree of the bath was the angular speed of the impeller, which promotes better stirred baths with smaller and better distributed bubbles. A gas flow rate increment is detrimental to stirring. Finally, although the injection point was the less-significant variable, it was found that the “novel” injection from the bottom of the ladle improves the stirring in the ladle, promotes a better distribution of bubbles, and shows to be a promising alternative for gas injection.     

Critical fluid-flow phenomenon in a gas-stirred ladle

Measurement of the velocities of bubbles and liquid with a two-element electroresistivity probe and laser-Doppler velocimeter, respectively, during bottom injection of air into a water bath, has confirmed the existence of a critical gas-injection rate. Above the critical flow rate, the change of axial bubble velocity in the air jet, and of liquid velocity with increasing volume flow rate, diminishes markedly. The existence of the critical flow rate is explicable from high-speed motion pictures of the vertical gas jets, which reveal four zones of gas dispersion axially distributed above the orifice: primary bubble at the orifice, free bubble, plume consisting of disintegrated bubbles, and spout at the bath surface. With increasing gas-injection rate, the free-bubble zone expands such that the point of bubble disintegration rises closer to the bath surface. Above the critical flow rate, the free bubbles rise with minimal breakup and erupt from the bath surface with maximum energy discharge. The combined Kelvin-Helmholtz, Rayleigh-Taylor instability theory has been applied to analyze the bubble breakup in the bath and the critical gas-injection rate in a gas-stirred ladle. The criterion for the critical diameter of bubble breakup has been found to depend primarily on the surface tension and density of the liquid. In the analysis, the propagation time of a disturbance on a bubble surface at the “most unstable” wave number has been compared with the bubble rising time in the bath in order to determine the critical gas-flow rate. The predicted critical values are in close agreement with the measured results. M. ZHOU formerly was Post Doctoral Fellow with the Centre for Metallurgical Process Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4 J.K. BRIMACOMBE holds the Alcan Chair in Materials Process Engineering     

CO2吸收模型中容积传质系数的确定

气泡微细化是“原位机械搅拌法铁水炉外脱硫技术”的关键.气液传质系数是研究气液吸收过程的基本参数.本文根据相似性原理建立水模型实验装置,并通过测定NaOH吸收CO2的速率来研究气泡微细化过程,同时根据吸收原理定量计算出容积传质系数Ak及CO2气体利用率η.当溶液pH值从12降低到9的过程中,容积传质系数为2.938×10 4m3/s,本实验所用CO2的利用率的公式可简化为:η=18.98/Qt.本论文的研究结果可为进一步研究吸收速率提供理论依据.     

Experimental Research of External Desulfurization in Situ Mechanical Stirring

This paper presents a new idea about desulfurization with in-situ mechanical stirring method on the basis of desulfurization by single blow grain magnesium and KR method, that is, the inner gases carry the magnesium vapor formed in-site in molten iron by magnesium-based desulfurization, and bubble dispersed and disintegrated under the condition of mechanical stirring, thence to improve the efficiency of desulfurization by single blow grain magnesium .It has been proved by research of cold water model experiment that the bubble dispersion and disintegration can not only improve the desulphurization efficiency but also increase the utilization rate of magnesium. Obviously, the bubble dispersion and disintegration of magnesium vapor is the key problem in improving the desulphurization efficiency and increasing the utilization rate of magnesium. Thus the research focus on exploring the performance of bubble dispersion and disintegration on the base of refining process and gas-liquid mass transfer. According to the literature and cold water model experimental result basing on principle of similitude, the influencing factors and interaction of bubble dispersion and disintegration have been studied from the perspectives of physical and numerical simulation. The study would provide the theoretical and experimental data for the new method of desulfurization with in-situ mechanical stirring.     

Physical modeling of gas/liquid mass transfer in a gas stirred ladle

The absorption of gas through the plume eye and of an injected gas in a steelmaking ladle process was investigated, using a physical model of CO₂ absorption into a NaOH solution. The results show that the inert gas escaping through the plume eye is ineffective in protecting the bath from the atmosphere, and placing an oil layer (simulated slag) decreases the absorption rate significantly. Increasing the flow rate of the inert gas not only exposes more of the liquid surface to the CO₂ atmosphere, but also increases the mass transfer coefficient at the surface. The overall mass transfer between an injected CO₂ gas and NaOH solution includes the mass transfer through the surface of the bath as well as the mass transfer in the bubble dispersion zone. The difference between the mass transfer in the bubble dispersion zone and the overall mass transfer was found to be significant for relatively low gas flow rates. The mass transfer coefficient of CO₂ in the bubble dispersion zone was estimated using available information regarding the bubble size and velocity. Mass transfer coefficient estimated for the constant bubble frequency regime shows a dependence on gas flow rate. However, if a constant characteristic size of bubbles is assumed as an alternative approach, the mass transfer coefficient is independent of the gas flow rate.     

The physical behavior of a gas jet injected horizontally into liquid metal

The gas fraction and bubble frequency distributions in a submerged air jet, injected horizontally into mercury, have been measured under isothermal, nonreactive conditions for nozzle diameters of 0.325 and 0.476 cm and jet Froude numbers ranging from 20.5 to 288. The measurements reveal that the jets expand extremely rapidly upon discharge from the nozzle with an initial expansion angle of 150 to 155 deg. This value, which is over seven times greater than is found with air jets in water, indicates that the physical properties of the liquid exert considerable influence on the jet behavior. In conjunction with the rapid expansion, the air jets in mercury were also found to penetrate extensively behind the nozzle, and in many respects resembled a vertically injected jet. The extent of backward penetration of the jets was constant for all blowing conditions studied while the forward penetration increased with both increasing jet Froude number and nozzle diameter. The measured jet penetration in both the forward and backward directions were considerably larger than expected from model predictions. The core of the jets consists of a high concentration of gas bubbles. Both the gas volume fraction and bubble frequency in the core increase with increasing jet Froude number and nozzle diameter. The gas concentration and bubble frequency decrease with increasing distance along the jet trajectory due presumably to entrainment of liquid metal and bubble coalescence. On the basis of these findings, it is likely that process jets, such as are injected into copper converters, also expand rapidly and penetrate only a short distance into the bath. Thus rather than reacting in the middle of the bath, the jets may be impinging on the backwall refractory and contributing to the erosion observed there.     

底吹气体参数对透气砖侵蚀速度的影响

为了研究底吹气体喷吹参数(压力、流量、喷孔直径等)对透气砖侵蚀速度的影响,对比了食盐、硼砂、碳酸钠和不同比例的食盐与碳酸钠的混合物在水中的溶解速度,选定天然盐砖来模拟透气砖材质进行侵蚀水模拟试验。以水模拟钢水,在1∶10的有机玻璃模型中喷吹压缩空气,改变喷吹参数(压力、流量和喷吹时间),测量喷吹前后透气砖喷孔尺寸的变化,计算喷孔的侵蚀情况(径向侵蚀速度、轴向侵蚀速度和侵蚀角),构建气体的喷吹参数与透气砖侵蚀速度之间的关系。根据喷孔尺寸、气体的喷吹参数和无量纲数(修正的弗劳德数、雷诺数和表观马赫数等),对喷吹气体进入熔池中的流动状况进行分析,如气流中气泡的当量体积和当量直径、喷吹过程中所形成的气柱高度、气泡流和喷射流的转变等。研究结果表明,透气砖喷孔的轴向侵蚀和径向侵蚀速度均随底吹供气流量提高而增大,侵蚀角受喷孔直径、气体流量的影响很小,采用直径较小的喷孔,可以提高底吹气体对熔池的搅拌效果。研究结果对复吹技术的提高具有参考意义。     

底吹气体参数对透气砖侵蚀速度的影响

为了研究底吹气体喷吹参数(压力、流量、喷孔直径等)对透气砖侵蚀速度的影响,对比了食盐、硼砂、碳酸钠和不同比例的食盐与碳酸钠的混合物在水中的溶解速度,选定天然盐砖来模拟透气砖材质进行侵蚀水模拟试验。以水模拟钢水,在1∶10的有机玻璃模型中喷吹压缩空气,改变喷吹参数(压力、流量和喷吹时间),测量喷吹前后透气砖喷孔尺寸的变化,计算喷孔的侵蚀情况(径向侵蚀速度、轴向侵蚀速度和侵蚀角),构建气体的喷吹参数与透气砖侵蚀速度之间的关系。根据喷孔尺寸、气体的喷吹参数和无量纲数(修正的弗劳德数、雷诺数和表观马赫数等),对喷吹气体进入熔池中的流动状况进行分析,如气流中气泡的当量体积和当量直径、喷吹过程中所形成的气柱高度、气泡流和喷射流的转变等。研究结果表明,透气砖喷孔的轴向侵蚀和径向侵蚀速度均随底吹供气流量提高而增大,侵蚀角受喷孔直径、气体流量的影响很小,采用直径较小的喷孔,可以提高底吹气体对熔池的搅拌效果。研究结果对复吹技术的提高具有参考意义。