Mathematical Modelling of Water Sampler Filling

摘要

Steel samples taken from ladles or tundishes during the steel making process can be of significant importance when monitoring the inclusion size and distribution. In order to preserve the original size and distributions of inclusions in the extracted samples, it is important to avoid their collisions and coagulations inside samplers during filling. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the flow during a sampling process to make sure that this is minimized. In addition, it is important to study the turbulence characteristics, since it is known to influence the inclusion growth. This study presents mathematical modelling of sampler filling using water as a media and experimental results for verification. The study focuses on a lollipop-shaped sampler since it is one of the most common in the industry. The sampler is filled from an inlet pin located at the bottom centre of the main body. In addition, two different turbulence models, the realizable k-s model and Wilcox k-ω model, were used to study the flow pattern in the sampler. The predictions were compared to experimental results obtained by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements. It was found that the flow field predictions using the Wilcox k-ω model agreed best with the flow field obtained by PIV measurements. Furthermore, it was illustrated that the Wilcox k-ω model can be used for predictions of the different flow regions as well as the positions of the centres of vortexes which are located near the free surface. Thus, it is concluded that the Wilcox k-ω model can be used in the future to predict the filling of steel samplers.