Gas-Liquid Reaction Model in Gas-Stirred Systems: Part 1. Numerical Model

A finite-element turbulent model for the fluid-dynamic and the interfacial mass transfer in gas-stirred ladles was developed. The model is based on a dispersed two-phase Eulerian–Eulerian approach and constructs the gas-phase velocity as the liquid velocity plus a gas-liquid slip velocity. In this work, such slip velocity is calculated in terms of the so called “drift flux model.’’ The model is able to describe both desgasification and gas absorption processes in liquid steel systems. The influence of different chemical species was taken into account. Validation was made using experimental data obtained from the literature. These data came from two sources: laboratory and industrial scale tests. The presented model can simulate the turbulent flow pattern and the gas-liquid mass transfer with reasonable accuracy.