DEVELOPING A THEORY OF THE REFINING OF METAL IN TUNDISHES BASED ON POSTULATES OF FLUID MECHANICS

摘要

Results are presented from a theoretical evaluation of the extent to which metal is refined of alumina particles through their interaction with a covering slag in the tundish of a continuous caster. Mass exchange between the alumina particles and the refining slag is analyzed by simultaneously solving equations that describe the convective diffusion of the inclusions in the metallic melt and the flow of the melt inside the tundish. One key element of the problem's formulation is allowance for the turbulent character of the melt's flow by using the method proposed by Launder and Spalding and employing the finite-elements method to numerically solve the system of partial differential equations. Another method is proposed for theoretically evaluating the coefficient of mass transfer between the alumina particles and the refining flux at the interface between the metal and the covering slag. This method is based on a representation of the wave-driven flow of a thin film of liquid flux during the interaction of the film with the rough surface of sintered slag.