Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/77296

Title

Computational fluid dynamics simulation of supersonic oxygen jet behavior at steelmaking temperature

Author(s)

Alam, Morshed;  Naser, Jamal;  Brooks, Geoffrey

Abstract

Supersonic oxygen jets are used in steelmaking and other different metal refining processes, and therefore, the behavior of supersonic jets inside a high temperature field is important for understanding these processes. In this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to investigate the effect of a high ambient temperature field on supersonic oxygen jet behavior. The results were compared with available experimental data by Sumi et. al. and with a jet model proposed by Ito and Muchi. At high ambient temperatures, the density of the ambient fluid is low. Therefore, the mass addition to the jet from the surrounding medium is low, which reduces the growth rate of the turbulent mixing region. As a result, the velocity decreases more slowly, and the potential core length of the jet increases at high ambient temperatures. But CFD simulation of the supersonic jet using the k-e turbulence model, including compressibility terms, was found to underpredict the potential flow core length at higher ambient temperatures. A modified k-e turbulence model is presented that modifies the turbulent viscosity in order to reduce the growth rate of turbulent mixing at high ambient temperatures. The results obtained by using the modified turbulence model were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. The CFD simulation showed that the potential flow core length at steelmaking temperatures (1800 K) is 2.5 times as long as that at room temperature. The simulation results then were used to investigate the effect of ambient temperature on the droplet generation rate using a dimensionless blowing number.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences

Source

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B: Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science, Vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 636-645

Publication year

2010

FOR Code(s)

0904 Chemical Engineering;  0914 Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy

Keyword(s)

Computational fluid dynamics;  Supersonic oxygen jets;  Steelmaking;  Temperature

Publisher

Springer

ISSN

1073-5615

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11663-010-9341-0

Copyright

Copyright © The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2010.

Peer reviewed