Mixing and solid-liquid mass-transfer rates in a Creusot-Loire Uddeholm vessel: A water model case study

The process of mixing and solid-liquid mass transfer in a one-fifth scale water model of a 100-ton Creusot-Loire Uddeholm (CLU) converter was investigated. The modified Froude number was used to relate gas flow rates between the model and its prototype. The influences of gas flow rate between 0.010 and 0.018 m(3)/s and bath height from 0.50 to 0.70 m on mixing time were examined. The results indicated that mixing time decreased with increasing gas flow rate and increased with increasing bath height. The mixing time results were evaluated in terms of specific energy input and the following correlation was proposed for estimating mixing times in the model CLU converter: T-mix = 1.08Q(-1.05) W-0.35, where Q (m(3)/s) is the gas flow rate and W (tons) is the model bath weight. Solid-liquid mass-transfer rates from benzoic acid specimens immersed in the gas-agitated liquid phase were assessed by a weight loss measurement technique. The calculated mass-transfer coefficients were highest at the bath surface reaching a value of 6.40 x 10(-5) m/s in the sprout region. Mass-transfer coefficients and turbulence parameters decreased with depth, reaching minimum values at the bottom of the vessel.