Experimental study on splashing phenomenon in Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking

In Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking, liquid metal splashes on the wall of the furnace due to the impingement of high-speed oxygen jet. The splashed metal droplets cause wear of furnace wall and loss of production. Optimization of the operating condition (lance angle, lance height and flowrate) should allow less splashing and increase productivity. In the present study, the effect of different operating conditions on the wall splashing rate was investigated. Air was injected on a water surface in a small-scale thin slice model at different lance angles, lance heights and flowrates. Splashed liquid in the forward direction was collected and measured in each case. The forward splashing rate was found to increase with an increase in lance angle and flowrate. The critical depth of penetration, as well as the impact velocity for the onset of splashing was found to decrease with increasing angle of the lance from the vertical. The experimental results are compared with the modeling results obtained from CFD.