The effects of slag layer thickness and physical properties on steel splashing in basic oxygen furnace converter

Abstract

This study employs a coupled Volume of Fluid (VOF) and Discrete Phase Model (DPM) approach along with the Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) technique to capture the transient topological behaviour of the slag-metal-air interface in a 260-ton top-bottom combined blowing converter. The droplet splashing patterns and mechanisms are investigated both qualitatively and quantitatively based on blowing number theory. The results indicate that droplet formation arises from the combined effects of shear stress and surface waves. The two resulting types of splashes are designated as ‘impact-induced splashing’ and ‘wave-induced splashing’. Droplet splashing exhibited two distinct modes: ‘dropping’ and ‘swarming’. The slag layer demonstrated inhibitory effects on the ‘swarming’ splashing pattern. The droplet generation rate decreases with increasing slag layer thickness, air-slag surface tension and slag viscosity. Furthermore, the morphology of the impact cavities significantly influences splashing behavior, while the slag layer tend to suppress cavities formation.