Numerical and Physical Simulation of Mixing Process in Argon-Stirred Ladles with Single and Dual Bottom Injection

A combined method including numerical and physical simulations has been employed to investigate the influence of nozzle arrangement and flow rate on the mixing effect and flow pattern within a 100-ton industrial ladle. The findings indicate that positioning the dual injection either too close or too distant impedes the mixing efficiency within the ladle. The plumes generated by the uplifting bubbles discharged from closely spaced nozzles tends to interact with one another. This interaction induces a downward flow in the region opposite to the upflow area, resulting in the dissipation of kinetic energy. The velocity field created by the dual injection closely resembles that produced by the single injection, consequently diminishing the mixing effect within the ladle. Furthermore, as the flow rate increases, both the dual and single injection cases exhibit a decreasing and subsequently increasing trend in terms of mixing times, implying the existence of a specific range of flow rates for both cases to minimize their respective mixing times. Moreover, within this specific flow rate range, the single injection method achieves notably shorter mixing times compared to the dual injection approach. The optimized case achieved the desired results during industrial production.