Flow patterns and mixing in a cold model of the inco flash furnace

A 1/10 scale cold model of one of Inco's Copper Cliff smelter flash furnaces has been built and operated. Its purpose was to simulate flow and mixing in the slag layer. The oxygen/solid feed burners were simulated by water jets. With four symmetrically-oriented water jets feeding the model, the flow pattern in the shallow bath of water consists of four lateral circulation loops. Circulation flows are driven by momentum transfer from the jets and are typically about 20 times the flow through the jets. Circulation with one or two loops can occur when the jets are set at unequal angles. Circulation rates and mixing are improved by increasing the convergence angle between symmetrical pairs of jets situated at opposite ends of the model. This is consistent with the improved flash furnace performance obtained by Inco when the convergence angles of the burners were increased. Copyright © 1996 Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.