Dr. Luis Enrique Jardón-Pérez

Adrian Amaro-Villeda

A. N. Conejo

Introducing the Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence Technique (PLIF) to Measure Mixing Time in Gas-Stirred Ladles

The hydrodynamic performance of a gas-stirred ladle is analyzed experimentally, through a factorial experimental design, through physical modeling and particle image velocimetry techniques, to find the effects of the nozzle position, and its number, the gas flow rate and the presence or not of an oil layer on the flow velocity field, the turbulent kinetic energy distribution, and the open eye area, A. Flow patterns changed drastically in the presence of one or two plugs and as a result of the nozzle’s positions. The turbulent flow fields showed significant differences under the presence or absence of an oil layer and the open eye area strongly depends on the gas flow rate, the position and the number of nozzles. Responses , , and A were statistically processed to identify the relevant effects of each variable on , , and A. These responses were used to calculate the optimum process conditions that minimize A and maximize both and , and then improve mixing efficiency in ladles using multi-objective optimization through the genetic algorithm (GAmultiobj). A Pareto characterization and its analysis were performed to reveal the embedded operation rules allowing optimum performances of the ladle for specific production goals.

1 July 2019 in Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B

Journal Article

Adrian Amaro-Villeda

Gerardo Trápaga

A. N. Conejo

Effect of Differentiated Injection Ratio, Gas Flow Rate, and Slag Thickness on Mixing Time and Open Eye Area in Gas-Stirred Ladle Assisted by Physical Modeling

12 May 2019 in Metals

Journal Article

Daniel R. González-Morales

Gerardo Trápaga-Martínez

Numerical Modeling of Equal and Differentiated Gas Injection in Ladles: Effect on Mixing Time and Slag Eye

In this work, the effects of equal (50%/50%) or differentiated (75%/25%) gas flow ratio, gas flow rate, and slag thickness on mixing time and open eye area were studied in a physical model of a gas stirred ladle with dual plugs separated by an angle of 180°. The effect of the variables under study was determined using a two-level factorial design. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to establish, through the analysis of the flow patterns and turbulence kinetic energy contours, the effect of the studied variables on the hydrodynamics of the system. Results revealed that differentiated injection ratio significantly changes the flow structure and greatly influences the behavior of the system regarding mixing time and open eye area. The Pareto front of the optimized results on both mixing time and open eye area was obtained through a multi-objective optimization using a genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). The results are conclusive in that the ladle must be operated using differentiated flow ratio for optimal performance.

2 August 2020 in Processes

Journal Article

Utilization of the Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence Technique (PLIF) to Measure Temperature Fields in a Gas-Stirred Ladle

Abhishek Dutta

Ladle refining plays a crucial role in the steelmaking process, in which a gas stream is bubbled through molten steel to improve the rate of removal of impurities and enhance the transport phenomena that occur in a metallurgical reactor. In this study, the effect of dual gas injection using equal (50%:50%) and differentiated (75%:25%) flows was studied through numerical modeling, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The effect of gas flow rate and slag thickness on mixing time and slag eye area were studied numerically and compared with the physical model. The numerical model agrees with the physical model, showing that for optimal performance the ladle must be operated using differentiated flows. Although the numerical model can predict well the hydrodynamic behavior (velocity and turbulent kinetic energy) of the ladle, there is a deviation from the experimental mixing time when using both equal and differentiated gas injection at a high gas flow rate and a high slag thickness. This is probably due to the insufficient capture of the velocity field near the water–oil (steel–slag) interface and slag emulsification by the numerical model, as well as the complicated nature of correctly simulating the interaction between both gas plumes.

26 August 2020 in Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B

Journal Article

A. M. Amaro-Villeda

Luis Gerardo Trapaga

Optimizing the Performance of a Dual‐Injection Gas‐Stirred Ladle Using Physical Modeling

1 February 2022 in Steel Research International

Journal Article

Adrian Amaro-Villeda

Gerardo Trápaga-Martínez