Advanced fluid flow simulation for the RH process

The RH process in steel melting shops is a secondary refining process in the production of decarburised and degassed steels. In this process, the circulation of liquid steel between the vacuum chamber and the ladle has a significant effect on the decarburisation and degassing rates and the productivity of the equipment as well. In the present work, a CFD model (Computational Fluid Dynamics) has been developed to simulate the transient multiphase flow of melt in an RH degasser and to investigate the effects of several geometric parameters. The simulations show, among others, specific melt flow phenomena such as surface level fluctuations and local dead water regions and help to improve the RH degassing process.