Assessment of Different Turbulence Models for the Motion of Non-metallic Inclusion in Induction Crucible Furnace

Turbulent fluid flow due to the electromagnetic forces in induction crucible furnace (ICF) is modeled using k-epsilon, k-omega SST and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence models. Fluid flow patterns calculated by different turbulence models and their effects on the motion of non-metallic inclusions (NMI) in the bulk melt have been investigated. Results show that the conventional k-epsilon model cannot solve the transient flow in ICF properly. With k-omega model transient flow and oscillation behavior of the flow pattern can be solved, and the motion of NMI can be tracked fairly well. LES model delivers the best modeling result on both details of the transient flow pattern and motion trajectories of NMI without the limitation of NMI size. The drawback of LES model is the long calculation time. Therefore, for general purpose to estimate the dynamic behavior of NMI in ICF both k-omega SST and LES are recommended. For the precise calculation of the motion of NMI smaller than 10 mu m only LES model is appropriate.