In secondary steelmaking, the optimal size and position of open-eye is important for effective alloying practice. In the current work, the effect of the top layer thickness and density on the formation of open-eye in a gas stirred ladle was investigated. A one-fifth scale water model of 150-ton ladle was established with single and dual plug configurations for the physical modeling measurements. Air, water and three different oils were used to simulate the argon, liquid steel and slag in the water model, respectively. A transient Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model based on Eulerian Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach was developed for numerical modeling of the fluid flow behavior. The physical modeling results show that the relative open-eye area decreases from 46.7 to 5.6% when top layer thickness was increased from 0.75 to 7.5 cm using a gas flow rate of 7.5 NL min À1 . The effect of the number of plugs on the open-eye area for the same range of top layer thickness mentioned above was also studied. The relative open-eye area generated due to the gas injection through the dual plugs decreased from 49.9 to 5.8%. To study the effect of top layer properties, rapeseed oil, castor oil and paraffin oil were employed for studying the effect of density and dynamic viscosity on the open-eye formation. The results revealed that a larger open-eye is formed when the density is increased. Furthermore, it was found out that the density of the upper phase dominates the open-eye formation while dynamic viscosity has only minor effect. The results obtained from numerical simulations and physical modeling were found to be in good agreement.

In ladle metallurgy of steelmaking, the role of gas injection into the metal bath is been studied to a great extent as it improves the quality of steel. The size of the open‐eye is associated with higher emulsification of top slag, which intensifies metal–slag reactions, and information about the position and size of the open‐eye is important for effective alloying practice. Moreover, the open‐eye has an effect on the energy balance since it increases heat losses. In this work, experimental measurements and numerical simulations are performed to study the effect gas flow rate on the formation of the open‐eye in a steelmaking ladle. A one‐fifth scale water model is constructed for studying gas injection with single and dual plug configurations. For the numerical modeling, the Multiphase Volume of Fluid (VOF) model is used for simulating the system including the behavior of the slag layer. The physical modeling results show that the open‐eye area changes from 9.22 to 198.34 cm2 when the gas flow rate varies from 0.75 to 15 SLM using a single plug. The effect of the number of plugs on the open‐eye area for the same range of flow rates mentioned above is also studied. The two open‐eye areas generated due to the gas injected through the dual plugs change from 37.59 to 231.1 cm2 when the gas flow rate is increased from 0.75 to 7.5 SLM for each plug in the physical modeling. The numerical simulation results of the open‐eye area are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data obtained from the water model. During the gas stirring process, the slag layer is deformed such that the thickness of the slag becomes thick near to the wall and thin near the slag eye at high gas flow rates. In dual plug system, the two open‐eyes tends to merge and form a huge open‐eye at high flow rates that suits for better alloying purposes. The high‐flow velocity near the surface, which could damage the ladle refractory, tends to be reduced in dual plug system when compared to single plug system.

In secondary metallurgy, argon gas stirring and alloying of elements are very important in determining the quality of steel. Argon gas is injected through the nozzle located at the bottom of the ladle into the molten steel bath; this gas breaks up into gas bubbles, rising upwards and breaking the slag layer at high gas flow rates, creating an open-eye. Alloy elements are added to the molten steel through the open-eye to attain the desired steel composition. In this work, experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of argon gas flow rate on the open-eye size and mixing time. An Eulerian volume of fluid (VOF) approach was employed to simulate the argon/steel/slag interface in the ladle, while a species transport model was used to calculate the mixing time of the nickel alloy. The simulation results showed that the time-averaged value of the open-eye area changed from 0.66 to 2.36 m 2 when the flow rate of argon was varied from 100 to 500 NL/min. The mixing time (95% criterion) of tracer addition into the metal bath decreased from 139 s to 96 s, when the argon flow rate was increased from 100 to 500 NL/min. The model validation was verified by comparing with measured experimental results.

-In ladle metallurgy, gas stirring and behavior of the slag layer are very important for the quality of the steel. When gas is injected through a nozzle located at the bottom of the ladle into the metal bath, the gas jet exiting the nozzle breaks up into gas bubbles. The rising bubbles break the slag layer and create a slag eye. In this paper, the behavior of the slag eye area for different gas flow rates is been investigated through experimental measurements and CFD simulations. A 1/5-scale water model of 150 ton-ladle was deployed for the experimental measurements and for studying the effect of gas flow rate on the slag eye diameter. The physical modelling results show that the slag eye area changes from 20 to 182 cm 2 when the gas flow rate increases from 1.

In ladle metallurgy, gas stirring and behavior of the slag layer are very important for the quality of the steel. When gas is injected through a nozzle located at the bottom of the ladle into the metal bath, the gas jet exiting the nozzle breaks up into gas bubbles. The rising bubbles break the slag layer and create a slag eye. In this paper, the behavior of the slag eye area for different gas flow rates is been investigated through experimental measurements and CFD simulations. A 1/5-scale water model of 150 ton-ladle was deployed for the experimental measurements and for studying the effect of gas flow rate on the slag eye diameter. The physical modelling results show that the slag eye area changes from 20 to 182 cm 2 when the gas flow rate increases from 1.5 to 15 NL/min. The dimensionless area of the open eye was found to be in agreement with earlier studies. The simulations were carried out in the commercial CFD code ANSYS Fluent with mesh generation in ANSYS Workbench. The numerical model developed is based on the Eulerian Multiphase Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach and employs standard − turbulence model for solving the turbulent liquid flow induced by bubble-liquid interaction. The simulation results of slag eye area showed a good agreement when compared to experimental results measured.