Melt-particle mixing in gas-stirred ladles with throughflow

Abstract

An experimental study is performed on a gas-particle stirred ladle system with throughflow, using a simplified water model. Narrow ladles are used to produce 2-D flows. Flow visualization by the direct photographic method is employed to investigate the effects of ladle geometry, throughflow rate, air flow rate and its injection location on the melt-particle mixing performance. Image processing is applied to aid in determining the mixing performance. It is disclosed that an efficient mixing may be achieved if the gas at a higher flow rate is injected with particles through a nozzle near the bottom corner of the ladle wall on the melt inlet side. The mixing performance is better in a rectangular ladle (aspect ratio of 2) than in a square ladle (aspect ratio of unity). The effect of throughflow rate on mixing is minor. The study has an important application in manufacturing processes, such as continuous casting process, and materials processing.