Spout formation in a gas-stirred ladle: Experimental results
Abstract
Model experiments simulating the spout formation in a gas-stirred ladle were performed with and without a slag-simulating phase (oil) above the bulk liquid (water). The height and width of the spout region were obtained by means of a digital video technique over a wide range of operating conditions. A dimensional analysis of the experimental data was employed to correlate the characteristic dimensions of the spout region to the operating variables of the system and the predicted results match with the available data from other works. This analysis reveals that the ladle diameter, size and type of gas injector and physical properties of gas-liquid system do not significantly affect the spout formation. Further, the spout size information have been used to quantitatively characterize gas-liquid plumes in a companion paper.