Water model and numerical study on the spout height in a gas stirred vessel

The average spout height and width produced by bottom gas injection in a water model of a steel ladle were measured with an image processing technique. It was revealed that the spout height could be described by a Gaussian curve. A combined SIMPLE -VOF model was developed to simulate the liquid surface and flow. The results showed that, though the model produced reasonable velocity distributions and flee surface positions, the spout height due to the dynamic head of the rising liquid was substantially lower than observed, indicating that the bubble dynamics at the bath surface play an important role in spout height.