Flows and mass transfers in two superimposed liquid layers in an induction furnace

In foundry, induction furnace is a well-known, clean, energy-efficient and well-controllable melting process. In order to improve its refining capacity, a salty or oxide liquid layer can be added at the surface of the liquid metal. This paper aims to simulate numerically mass transfers that occur at the liquid-liquid interface between these two liquid layers. To achieve this, the flows in both salty and metallic phases are calculated, taking into account all the present phenomena in the bulks (i.e. electromagnetic stirring, buoyancy, turbulence, heat transfer), as well as those at the interface (i.e. electromagnetic shaping, viscous shear driving). Comparison is made with literature experimental measurements. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.