A 2D Axisymmetric Mixture Multiphase Model for Bottom Stirring in a BOF Converter

A process model for basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steel converter is in development. The model will take into account all the essential physical and chemical phenomena, while achieving real-time calculation of the process. The complete model will include a 2D axisymmetric turbulent multiphase flow model for iron melt and argon gas mixture, a steel scrap melting model, and a chemical reaction model. A novel liquid mass conserving mixture multiphase model for bubbling gas jet is introduced in this paper. In-house implementation of the model is tested and validated in this article independently from the other parts of the full process model. Validation data comprise three different water models with different volume flow rates of air blown through a regular nozzle and a porous plug. The water models cover a wide range of dimensionless number \( R_{\text{p}} \), which include values that are similar for industrial-scale steel converter. The k–ε turbulence model is used with wall functions so that a coarse grid can be utilized. The model calculates a steady-state flow field for gas/liquid mixture using control volume method with staggered SIMPLE algorithm.