CFD Investigation of Rotational Sloshing Waves in a Top-Submerged-Lance Metal Bath

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is applied to investigate rotational sloshing waves in a top-submerged-lance (TSL) cylindrical metal bath. The study is an extension of a recent work of the authors, where the top injection of Ar into a metallic bath was examined in a quasi-2D flat setup, allowing the numerical model to be extensively validated against experimental data based on x-ray radiography. The new analysis of top gas injection in a cylindrical vessel reveals the appearance of rotational sloshing in the bath, which is maintained by a condition of synchronism between the gas bubbles and the free surface of the bath. A numerical quantification is achieved with specific post-processing of the simulation results, showing the effect of control parameters such as the lance immersion depth and the gas flow rate. This fundamental research study demonstrates the capability of CFD modeling to predict bath dynamics known from literature and practice, the understanding of which is essential for the design of TSL furnaces.