Mixing Time in a Side-Blown Converter

The mixing time in a side-blown converter was studied using physical modelling. Water was used to simulate steel and a KCI tracer was added during the experiments. Thereafter, the mixing time was determined experimentally by measuring the electrical conductivity in the water bath. Experiments were done for two bath diameters of 200 mm and 300 mm, respectively. Furthermore, for gas flow rates between 30 cm(3)/s and 800 cm(3)/s as well as bath heights ranging from 106 to 314 mm. The mixing times were also calculated based on an expression involving the Strouhal and Reynolds numbers. The experimentally determined mixing times were found to be within +/- 20% of the theoretical values, which is considered to be good in physical modelling. Overall, the mixing time was found to be influenced by the gas flow rate and the vessel diameter, but not by the bath height.