The impact of bubble dynamics on the flow in plumes of ladle water models

Bubbly plumes are widely encountered in metallurgical processes when gas is injected into liquid metals for refining purposes. Based on the experimental findings from a water model ladle, this phenomenon was simulated with a mathematical model, paying special attention to the dynamics of the bubbles in the plume. In the model, the liquid flow field is first calculated in an Eulerian frame with an estimated distribution of the void fraction. The trajectories of bubbles are then computed in a Lagrangian manner using the estimated flow field, experimentally measured information on bubble drag coefficients, lateral migration due to lateral lift forces, and variation in bubble size due to breakup. Turbulence in the two-phase zone is modeled with a modifiedk-ε model with extra source terms to account for the second phase. The computed void fraction and turbulent liquid flow field distributions are in good agreement with experimental measurements.