Flow Pattern Velocity and Turbulence Energy

Measurements and Predictions in a Water

Model of an Argon-Stirred Ladle

J. SZEKELY, H. J. WANG, AND K. M. KISER

E x p e r i m e n t s w e r e c a r r i e d out u s i n g a s i m p l i f i e d w a t e r m o d e l of an a r g o n - s t i r r e d ladle
s y s t e m . The flow p a t t e r n s w e r e d e t e r m i n e d by a flow v i s u a l i z a t i o n t e c h n i q u e and the v e -
l o c i t y and t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y fields w e r e q u a n t i t a t i v e l y m e a s u r e d u s i n g h o t - f i l m a n e m o m -
e t r y . The l a t t e r q u a n t i t i e s w e r e p r e d i c t e d by s o l v i n g the t u r b u l e n t N a v i e r - S t o k e s equations
u s i n g S p a l d i n g ' s k - W m o d e l for the t u r b u l e n c e v i s c o s i t y . T h e r e is s e m i q u a n t i t a t i v e a g r e e -
m e n t b e t w e e n p r e d i c t i o n s and m e a s u r e m e n t s . Mixing lengths a l s o w e r e computed. This
a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n m e a s u r e m e n t s and p r e d i c t i o n s p r o v i d e s f u r t h e r e v i d e n c e that m o d e l -
ing is a p r o m i s i n g a p p r o a c h for the s t u d y of r e e i r c u l a t i n g t u r b u l e n t flows in s t e e l p r o c e s s -
ing o p e r a t i o n s .

T U R B U L E N T r e c i r c u l a t i n g flows play an i m p o r t a n t r o r s (e.g., it m a y o v e r p r e d i c t the v e l o c i t y and u n d e r -

r o l e in m a n y s t e e l p r o c e s s i n g o p e r a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g
BOF s t e e l m a k i n g , R - H and D - H v a c u u m d e g a s s i n g and
induction and a r g o n - s t i r r e d l a d l e s s y s t e m s . Until v e r y
r e c e n t t i m e s the q u a n t i t a t i v e c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of the
flow p a t t e r n s and m i x i n g in t h e s e s y s t e m s was v e r y
difficult; the m o s t that could be done was to e s t i m a t e
m i x i n g t i m e s and d i s p e r s i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s f r o m w a t e r
model s t u d i e s .
In a r e c e n t s e r i e s of p a p e r s ~-7 an a l t e r n a t i v e a p -
proach to t h e s e p r o b l e m s was developed which was
b a s e d on the t u r b u l e n t N a v i e r - S t o k e s e q u a t i o n s , to-
gether with d i f f e r e n t i a l equation m o d e l s for the t u r b u -
lent v i s c o s i t y . In this a p p r o a c h use was m a d e of a
c o m p u t a t i o n a l a l g o r i t h m developed by Spalding and his
c o w o r k e r s a and u l t i m a t e l y p r e d i c t i o n s w e r e m a d e of
the v e l o c i t y f i e l d s , t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y d i s t r i b u t i o n s ,
and t r a c e r d i s p e r s i o n r a t e s in a r a n g e of s t e e l p r o -
c e s s i n g o p e r a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g induction s t i r r e d ladle
r e f i n i n g and R - H v a c u u m d e g a s s i n g s y s t e m s .
It is to be s t r e s s e d that the p r e d i c t i o n of flow fields
u s i n g t u r b u l e n c e m o d e l s p r o v i d e s only a p p r o x i m a t e
r e s u l t s and for this r e a s o n it is i m p o r t a n t to v e r i f y
such p r e d i c t i o n s b y e x p e r i m e n t and, when n e c e s s a r y ,
to c o r r e c t the m o d e l by a p p r o p r i a t e m o d i f i c a t i o n s .
With p r e s e n t day technology it is i m p o s s i b l e to m e a -
s u r e d i r e c t l y the v e l o c i t y fields and t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y
d i s t r i b u t i o n s in m o l t e n m e t a l baths. However the model
has b e e n used to p r e d i c t t r a c e r d i s p e r s i o n r a t e s for a
n u m b e r of i n d u s t r i a l s y s t e m s 8'~2 with c o n s i d e r a b l e s u c -
c e s s . This c a n be r e g a r d e d a s a helpful i n d i c a t i o n that
the t e c h n i q u e is p r o m i s i n g but it h a s to be noted that
t r a c e r d i s p e r s i o n r a t e s p r o v i d e an i n d i r e c t and not
v e r y r i g o r o u s t e s t of the m o d e l ; in a r e a l s y s t e m
t r a c e r s a r e d i s p e r s e d by the c o m b i n e d effect of bulk
flow and eddy diffusion. It is always p o s s i b l e that u n d e r
c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s the m o d e l c o n t a i n s c o m p e n s a t i n g e r -
J. SZEKELY, formerly of the State University of New York at Buf-
falo is now Professor of Materials Engineering, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139. K. M. KISER is Associate Pro-
fessor of Chemical Engineering, State University of New York at Buf-
falo, Buffalo, NY 14214. H. J. WANGis Engineer, Raw Materials and
Ironmaking Section, Research and Technology, Armco Steel Corpora-
tion, OH 45043.
Manuscript submitted June 25, 1975.
p r e d i c t the eddy v i s c o s i t y ) and would s t i l l p r o v i d e g o o d
a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n p r e d i c t e d and m e a s u r e d t r a c e r d i s -
persion rates.
F o r this r e a s o n it was thought d e s i r a b l e to s u b j e c t
the m o d e l i n g e q u a t i o n s to a m o r e r i g o r o u s t e s t , by
c o m p a r i n g the p r e d i c t i o n s with m e a s u r e d v e l o c i t y and
t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y fields in a w a t e r m o d e l s y s t e m .
Ideally, the r e s u l t s of such a c o m p a r i s o n should p r o -
vide both a r e l i a b l e a s s e s s m e n t of the a p p l i c a b i l i t y of
the m o d e l and the m e a n s of its r e f i n e m e n t .
The work d e s c r i b e d in this p a p e r was u n d e r t a k e n to
p r o v i d e a p r e l i m i n a r y a s s e s s m e n t of the m a t h e m a t i c a l
m o d e l for r e c i r c u l a t i n g flow by d i r e c t c o m p a r i s o n with
m e a s u r e m e n t s t a k e n in a w a t e r model of an a r g o n -
s t i r r e d ladle.
1. E X P E R I M E N T A L PROGRAM
The a p p a r a t u s , shown s c h e m a t i c a l l y in Fig. 1, c o n -
s i s t e d of a c y l i n d r i c a l P l e x i g l a s tank, 0.60 m in d i a m
and 0.65 m deep. In o p e r a t i o n the tank was filled with
w a t e r and s t i r r e d by a m e t e r e d c o n t i n u o u s j e t of a i r
a d m i t t e d t h r o u g h an o r i f i c e c e n t r a l l y p l a c e d in the b o t -
tom of the tank. To m i n i m i z e light r e f l e c t i o n s d u r i n g
the flow v i s u a l i z a t i o n s t u d i e s , this tank was i m m e r s e d
in a c u b i c a l P l e x i g l a s c o n t a i n e r , 0.65 m on a s i d e ,
which also was f i l l e d with w a t e r . Both t a n k s w e r e open
at the top so that v e l o c i t y s e n s i n g p r o b e s could be i n -
t r o d u c e d and m o v e d f r e e l y in the t h r e e c o o r d i n a t e d i -
rections.
1.1 Flow V i s u a l i z a t i o n Studies
The e x p e r i m e n t a l a r r a n g e m e n t for the flow v i s u a l i -
z a t i o n s t u d i e s is also i l l u s t r a t e d in Fig. 1. P h o t o g -
r a p h y was e m p l o y e d to r e c o r d the m o v e m e n t of 0.6
mm diam, illuminated, polystyrene particles dispersed
in the w a t e r . The light s o u r c e c o n s i s t e d of two high
i n t e n s i t y GE 1500 W, 240 V, t u b u l a r q u a r t z l a m p s w i r e d
in p a r a l l e l and e n c l o s e d in a t u b u l a r l a m p h o u s e m a d e
of thin s t a i n l e s s s t e e l . The l a m p h o u s e c o n t a i n e d a s l i t
1.2 c m wide and the b e a m i s s u i n g through it was c o l -
l i m a t e d u s i n g two s h e e t s of a l u m i n u m . Through this
a r r a n g e m e n t , f u r t h e r d e t a i l s of which a r e a v a i l a b l e in

METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONSB VOLUME 78, JUNE 1976 287

 i1 Light source

Polystyrene
particles
\
\

00 o.."
; : 9. . ~ . 0 0 ~ pOO. ":
9 . .oqi
. 00~o0", - , Comefo

.. " . . . ' 06~,0. 9 9

9 9 . o( ~ 9' "

9 ." ." "Of o - . . -

9 . o o, - .. ,
9 . .bo , " , , 9 -.

9 . . . 9 , OJlo a . 9 - j 9

////TZ/.////////)i ~/////////// //, ~ tank

Outside /
square
tank

F i g . 1 - - S i d e - v i e w of the s e t u p f o r the flow v i s u a l i z a t i o n 9

the t h e s i s upon which this work is b a s e d , 9 it was p o s s i -

b l e to p r o v i d e a b e a m of light, a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1.2 c m
wide e x t e n d i n g a c r o s s the tank and p a s s i n g downward
through the c e n t e r l i n e of the tank.
The photographs w e r e t a k e n with a VISOFLEX III
L E I C A - M c a m e r a . The c a m e r a was p o s i t i o n e d about
1.2 m f r o m the v e s s e l and the s h u t t e r speed was 1/2 s.
Fig. 2 shows a t y p i c a l photograph obtained by this
t e c h n i q u e . The left hand side of the p i c t u r e shows the
r i s i n g t w o - p h a s e r e g i o n of the c e n t e r bubble c o l u m n
and the r e s u l t a n t r e c i r c u l a t i n g flow p a t t e r n i s r e a d i l y
s e e n on the r i g h t hand s i d e . While the i n f o r m a t i o n o b -
t a i n e d f r o m the flow v i s u a l i z a t i o n t e s t s is v e r y helpful,
it is only q u a l i t a t i v e . A q u a n t i t a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n of the
flow field was obtained u s i n g hot f i l m a n e m o m e t r y .
1.2 The Use of a Hot F i l m A n e m o m e t e r
for D e t e r m i n i n g the Velocity F i e l d
and the Spatial D i s t r i b u t i o n of T u r b u l e n c e E n e r g y
Over the y e a r s the hot f i l m a n e m o m e t e r has found
e x t e n s i v e a p p l i c a t i o n s for the m e a s u r e m e n t of f l u c t u -
a t i n g v e l o c i t i e s in t u r b u l e n t flow s y s t e m s . The t e c h -
nique has been well d o c u m e n t e d in the l i t e r a t u r e so we
s h a l l confine o u r d e s c r i p t i o n to the b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s of
this m e a s u r e m e n t t e c h n i q u e . Hot film ~ n e m o m e t r y r e -
l i e s on the fact that if a m e t a l film (deposited on a
b a c k i n g s u b s t r a t e ) heated by a c u r r e n t is i m m e r s e d
in a m o v i n g fluid, the r a t e of heat l o s s f r o m the film
i s r e l a t e d to the v e l o c i t y of the fluid a d j a c e n t to the
p r o b e . Since the e l e c t r i c a l c o n d u c t i v i t y of the film is
t e m p e r a t u r e dependent, if the c u r r e n t r e q u i r e d to m a i n -
t a i n the p r o b e at a c o n s t a n t t e m p e r a t u r e is d e t e r m i n e d ,
then, through a p p r o p r i a t e c a l i b r a t i o n , this c u r r e n t can
be r e l a t e d to the local fluid v e l o c i t y . F u r t h e r m o r e ,
s i n c e the heat c a p a c i t y of the p r o b e is s m a l l , the s y s -
F i g . 2 - - P h o t o g r a p h o f the flow p a t t e r n . Gas flow r a t e = 162
c m / s ; o r i f i c e d i a m - 1.27 c m ; b a t h h e i g h t = 0.6 m,
tern has low i n e r t i a and is c a p a b l e of following r a p i d
f l u c t u a t i o n s in the v e l o c i t y .
A DISA 55A01 c o n s t a n t t e m p e r a t u r e a n e m o m e t e r was
u s e d in the p r e s e n t study in c o n j u n c t i o n with a DISA
55R42 conical f i l m probe. A c c o r d i n g to the DISA l i t e r -
a t u r e the m e a s u r e a b l e v e l o c i t y r a n g e in w a t e r for this
p r o b e is 0.01 to 25 m / s and the u p p e r f r e q u e n c y l i m i t
is about 30 kHz. The p r i n c i p a l e l e c t r o n i c c o m p o n e n t s
of the hot film a n e m o m e t e r a r e shown s c h e m a t i c a l l y
in Fig. 3. The p r o b e was m o u n t e d on a f r a m e and was
attached to a s u i t a b l e t r a v e l i n g m e c h a n i s m which a l -
lowed the p o s i t i o n i n g of the p r o b e at any d e s i r e d point
within the s y s t e m .
The RMS v o l t m e t e r was used to d e t e r m i n e the f l u c -
t u a t i n g v e l o c i t y c o m p o n e n t s , while the output of the DC
v o l t m e t e r p r o v i d e d the m e a n v e l o c i t y .
As shown in Fig. 3 the output f r o m both the RMS
v o l t m e t e r and the DC v o l t m e t e r w e r e r e c o r d e d on a
Hewlett P a c k a r d s t r i p c h a r t r e c o r d e r . A s e l e c t i o n of
the e x p e r i m e n t a l l y m e a s u r e d v a l u e s of the m e a n v e l o c -
ity and the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y (which is r e l a t e d to the
f l u c t u a t i n g v e l o c i t y component) a r e p r e s e n t e d in Section
3. As noted e a r l i e r , the m a i n o b j e c t i v e of the study was
to a t t e m p t a d i r e c t c o m p a r i s o n b e t w e e n t h e s e m e a s u r e -
m e n t s and the p r e d i c t i o n s b a s e d on S p a l d i n g ' s r e c i r c u -
l a t i n g t u r b u l e n t flow model. Let us p r o c e e d by o u t l i n i n g
the g o v e r n i n g e q u a t i o n s r e p r e s e n t i n g the s y s t e m in
t e r m s of this m o d e l .

2 8 8 - V O L U M E 7B, JUNE 1976 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B

 ,l{
I
DISA 52A40
,1
I DISA 55DI5
DISA 55AOI
Constant DISA 55D30 'HP 71OOBM
Fig. 3--Simplified block diagram of the setup
for the hot film anemometer.
Power
Supply Lineorizer
Temperature
Anemometer v~ { Strip
[ Chart
Recorder
T J

2. THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL

To
Probe '=

t' DISA 55D55

RMS
Unit

If we a s s u m e c y l i n d r i c a l s y m m e t r y , th e p r o b l e m
m a y be stated by w r i t i n g the e q u a t i o n of c o n t i n u i t y and
the equations of m o t i o n t o g e t h e r with the a p p r o p r i a t e
e x p r e s s i o n s for the t u r b u l e n t v i s c o s i t y in c y l i n d r i c a l
c o o r d i n a t e s . The equations of c o n t i n u i t y and m o t i o n
for t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l , a x i s y m m e t r i c a l s y s t e m s a r e
a v a i l a b l e in the l i t e r a t u r e and will not be r e p r o d u c e d
here.
F o r the p u r p o s e of c o m p u t a t i o n t h e s e equations a r e
w r i t t e n in t e r m s of the v o r t i c i t y , 4, and the s t r e a m
function, ~, defined as:
T[
t u r b u l e n c e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c which in p h y s i c a l t e r m s , is
" t h e g r a d i e n t of the l o c a l a c c e l e r a t i o n in the t u r b u l e n t
f i e l d " , or, " t h e m e a n s q u a r e of the f r e q u e n c y of the
t u r b u l e n t e d d i e s " . 1~
C o m p a r i n g Eq. [7] to the o r i g i n a l P r a n d t l - K o l m o g o -
r o v m o d e l , the length s c a l e , l, for the t u r b u l e n c e is
Z = (klWU 2 [8]
The a c t u a l d e t e r m i n a t i o n of ~t is a c o m p l e x p r o c e d u r e
which r e q u i r e s the s o l u t i o n of two a d d i t i o n a l e l l i p t i c
p a r t i a l d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n s for k and W (Ref. 10),
namely;

_aVr avz
~- o~ o~ [i] 0z

Vr
_ 1
pr
0r
Oz '
Vz -
pr
1 O~b
~r
[2,3] 0
~r
(r ok
0k)
0r
Io]
w h e r e p is the d e n s i t y of the fluid and r and z a r e the and
r a d i a l and a x i a l c o o r d i n a t e s r e s p e c t i v e l y . The v o r t i c -
ity t r a n s p o r t equation, obtained f r o m the r and z c o m - 0
p o n e n t s of the equations of m o t i o n , is 0z oW Oz

a ~ a ~ or
w h e r e /% is the " e f f e c t i v e " v i s c o s i t y and is defined by
ue = u + u t
w h e r e u is the m o l e c u l a r v i s c o s i t y and ~t the t u r b u l e n t
v i s c o s i t y . The r e q u i r e d r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the
s t r e a m function and the v 6 r t i c i t y m a y be obtained by
c o m b i n i n g Eqs. [1] through [3]
a-Y 7-0-o~Y + - ~ - ~ +~=o.
But for the p r e s e n c e of /~t, the t u r b u l e n t v i s c o s i t y ,
the f o r m of Eqs. [1] through [6] is i d e n t i c a l to the f o r m
of the e x p r e s s i o n s r e p r e s e n t i n g the c o r r e s p o n d i n g
l a m i n a r flow p r o b l e m .
In g e n e r a l , ~t depends on both p o s i t i o n and flow. A
n u m b e r of m e t h o d s a r e a v a i l a b l e for e s t i m a t i n g this
p a r a m e t e r . In this work we have used the two equation
m o d e l of Spalding 1~ which is an e x t e n s i o n of the now
classical Prandtl-Kolmogorov model.
This model p o s t u l a t e s that
#t = pk/~
w h e r e k is the t u r b u l e n c e k i n e t i c e n e r g y and W is a
METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONSB
Or
(,. ,eo W aW
I10]
o k and o w a r e the t u r b u l e n t P r a n d t l and S c h m i d t
n u m b e r s r e s p e c t i v e l y and a r e t a k e n to be u n i t y in a
f i r s t a p p r o x i m a t i o n . I n s p e c t i o n of Eqs. [9] and [10]
shows that they a r e b a s e d on the p o s t u l a t e that the
q u a n t i t i e s k and W obey the t r a n s p o r t equation, with
[5]
S k and S w c o n s t i t u t i n g the net s o u r c e t e r m s for k and
W r e s p e c t i v e l y . In a p h y s i c a l s e n s e one should be j u s -
tified in w r i t i n g c o n s e r v a t i o n type e q u a t i o n s for the
t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y , indeed, this p r o c e d u r e has been
j u s t i f i e d by L a u n d e r and Spalding. it However, the
w r i t i n g of c o n s e r v a t i o n e q u a t i o n s for the f r e q u e n c y
[6] t e r m , W, is r a t h e r m o r e q u e s t i o n a b l e .
S k , the s o u r c e t e r m of k i n e t i c e n e r g y , is made up of
two p a r t s
Sk = 62--D. [11]
fl, the g e n e r a t i o n t e r m , is a consequence of the i n t e r -
a c t i o n of the t u r b u l e n t s t r e s s e s with the g r a d i e n t s of
the t i m e - m e a n m o t i o n and m a y be w r i t t e n in the f o r m 6
= 2/~t L \ - ~ - ~ - / +\ ar / + 2- \ ~ +
[121
[7]
D, the d i s s i p a t i o n t e r m , is c a u s e d by the d a m p i n g of
the t u r b u l e n t eddies. Thus:
VOLUME 7B,JUNE 1976 289
 D = CdPk4-W- [13] g r a m , a r e a v a i l a b l e in the t h e s i s 9 upon which this
p a p e r is b a s e d . The c o m p u t e d r e s u l t s a r e p r e s e n t e d
w h e r e C d is a s s u m e d to have a v a l u e of about 0.09
in the following s e c t i o n .
(Ref. 10). Sw, the s o u r c e of W, also is c o n s i d e r e d to
be f o r m e d of g e n e r a t i o n and d i s s i p a t i o n t e r m s ; s p e -
c i f i c a l l y , it is a s s u m e d l~ that 3. RESULTS--COMPARISON OF
MEASUREMENTS WITH PREDICTIONS
S w = ClUt (grad ~,)z + CsW~2/k _ CepW3/2. [14]
Fig. 4 shows a plot of the s t r e a m l i n e s computed for
In this p r o b l e m C1, C2, and C3 a r e c o n s i d e r e d c o n -
the flow c o n d i t i o n s which p r e v a i l e d when the s t r e a k -
s t a n t s with the t e n t a t i v e v a l u e s of 3.5, 0.17 and 1.04,
r e s p e c t i v e l y , I~ while ~' is the a b s o l u t e v a l u e of the l i n e s shown in Fig. 2 w e r e photographed. The l a r g e ,
v o r t e x type m o t i o n f r o m c e n t e r to side is r e v e a l e d in
local time averaged vorticity vector.
both f i g u r e s . In this r e s p e c t t h e r e is good a g r e e m e n t
It should be noted that the n u m e r i c a l v a l u e s quoted
b e t w e e n the two s t u d i e s . The g e n e r a l f o r m of the o v e r -
for the c o n s t a n t s C1-C 3 a r e not f u n d a m e n t a l q u a n t i t i e s ,
all m o t i o n could have b e e n deduced f r o m intuition,
but r a t h e r , e x p e r i m e n t a l l y d e t e r m i n e d v a l u e s for the
s p r e a d i n g of a p l a n e jet. The a s s e s s m e n t , w h e t h e r one however, and t h e r e f o r e the s i m i l a r i t y should not be
r e g a r d e d as adequate v e r i f i c a t i o n of the c o m p u t a t i o n a l
m a y obtain, through the s e l e c t i o n of d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s
model. F u r t h e r t e s t i n g m a y be achieved by c o m p a r i n g
for t h e s e c o n s t a n t s , b e t t e r a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n m e a -
the m a g n i t u d e of the p r e d i c t e d v e l o c i t y and t u r b u l e n c e
s u r e m e n t s and p r e d i c t i o n s for the p r e s e n t s y s t e m
e n e r g y fields with the m e a s u r e m e n t s of t h e s e q u a n t i -
should be c o n s i d e r e d one of the l o n g e r t e r m o b j e c t i v e s
ties taken with the hot film a n e m o m e t e r .
of the r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m .
Figs. 5 and 6 show the m e a s u r e d and the computed
v e l o c i t y f i e l d s r e s p e c t i v e l y , for conditions that c o r r e -
B o u n d a r y Conditions spond to those given in Fig. 2. In these f i g u r e s the v e -
The b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s r e q u i r e d to c o m p l e t e the l o c i t y field is r e p r e s e n t e d by v e c t o r s d r a w n at d i s -
s t a t e m e n t of the p r o b l e m , i n c o n j u n c t i o n with Eqs. [1] c r e t e points within the s y s t e m , whose length and d i -
t h r o u g h [14], have to e x p r e s s the following c o n s t r a i n t s : r e c t i o n a r e m e a s u r e s of the flow.
1) Both the fluid v e l o c i t y and the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y I n s p e c t i o n of F i g s . 5 and 6 shows a q u a l i t a t i v e a g r e e -
a r e z e r o at solid s u r f a c e s .
2) No s h e a r is t r a n s m i t t e d through the " f r e e s u r -
face".
3) S y m m e t r y i s o b s e r v e d about the c e n t e r l i n e .
The m a t h e m a t i c a l s t a t e m e n t of t h e s e p h y s i c a l c r i t e r i a
is r e a d i l y made and is not r e p r o d u c e d h e r e . "
The e s t a b l i s h m e n t of r e a l i s t i c b o u n d a r y conditions
at the i n t e r f a c e of the gas jet (bubble s t r e a m ) and the
b u l k liquid is r a t h e r m o r e difficult. As a f i r s t a p p r o x -
i m a t i o n , the following a s s u m p t i o n s w e r e made
V~ = 0 ~ [15]
yz = Vz,o~ at r = r c [16]

w h e r e r c is the r a d i u s of the c e n t r a l b u b b l e c o l u m n .
That is, we a s s u m e that the r a d i a l c o m p o n e n t of v e l o c -
ity is z e r o at the i n t e r f a c e and that the axial c o m p o n e n t
of v e l o c i t y on this s u r f a c e can be s p e c i f i e d as the v a l u e
at the g a s - l i q u i d i n t e r f a c e . As a p r a c t i c a l m a t t e r ,
V z , o was e s t i m a t e d f r o m the a c t u a l e x p e r i m e n t a l m e a -
surements.
The v a l u e s of k, the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y , and W, the
f r e q u e n c y factor, w e r e e s t i m a t e d u s i n g a p r o c e d u r e
r e c o m m e n d e d by Spalding: 1~
k = (~w),iq C4-C~aO [17]
and
W = ('rw)liq/0.16 Cd r2 [18]
w h e r e ( v w ) l ~ is the local v a l u e of the s h e a r s t r e s s
e s t i m a t e d f'r~)m c o r r e l a t i o n s for a s o l i d s u r f a c e . The
s y s t e m of Eqs. [1] through [18] was put into finite
d i f f e r e n c e f o r m and was i n t e g r a t e d u s i n g an i t e r a t i v e
p r o c e d u r e adapted f r o m a technique r e c o m m e n d e d by
Spalding and his c o w o r k e r s f i The a c t u a l c o m p u t a t i o n
was p e r f o r m e d on the CDC 6400 d i g i t a l c o m p u t e r of
the State U n i v e r s i t y of New York at Buffalo and a t y p - Fig. 4--Computed streamline pattern. Conditions correspond
i c a l r u n r e q u i r e d about 500 s of c o m p u t e r t i m e . C o m - to those shown in Fig. 2. The numbers on the curves denote
p u t a t i o n a l d e t a i l s , i n c l u d i n g a full l i s t i n g of the p r o - constant values of the stream function.

290 VOLUME 7B, JUNE 1976 METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONSB

m e n t b e t w e e n the m e a s u r e m e n t s and p r e d i c t i o n s which
is thought r e a s o n a b l e in view of the g e n e r a l a c c u r a c y
of t u r b u l e n c e m o d e l i n g and the c o m p l e x i t y of the flow
field r e p r e s e n t e d here.* Both the t h e o r e t i c a l p r e d i c -
*It should be remarked that the modeling of recirculating flows of the type
encountered in this work is particularly difficult because both the velocity and
the eddy viscosity vary in a nonmonotonous manner with distance from the solid
surface. This is in marked contrast to boundary layer type flows which are much
more readily modeled.
tions and the m e a s u r e m e n t s i n d i c a t e high v e l o c i t i e s
n e a r the c e n t e r of the v e s s e l and s o m e w h a t l o w e r v e -
l o c i t i e s in the v i c i n i t y of the w a l l s ; this b e h a v i o r is in
a c c o r d a n c e with the equation of c o n t i n u i t y - - w h i c h , of
c o u r s e , has to be s a t i s f i e d . A g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n m e a -
s u r e m e n t s and p r e d i c t i o n s s i m i l a r to that s e e n in F i g s .
5 and 6 was found for o t h e r o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s but
these r e s u l t s a r e not r e p r o d u c e d h e r e . ~
The e x p e r i m e n t a l l y m e a s u r e d and the t h e o r e t i c a l l y
p r e d i c t e d t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y p r o f i l e s a r e shown in
F i g s . 7 and 8 r e s p e c t i v e l y . The p r o f i l e s have b e e n
n o r m a l i z e d by d i v i d i n g by the m a x i m a at each of the
vertical levels.
It is s e e n that t h e r e is r e a s o n a b l e q u a l i t a t i v e a g r e e -
m e n t b e t w e e n the m e a s u r e d and the p r e d i c t e d t u r b u -
l e n c e e n e r g y p r o f i l e s over m o s t of the d o m a i n . The
m e a s u r e d t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y has its m a x i m u m v a l u e
at the i n t e r f a c e b e t w e e n the gas b u b b l e c o l u m n and the
liquid, in the c e n t r a l c o r e . In c o n t r a s t , the c o m p u t e d
p a t t e r n s i n d i c a t e a low v a l u e for the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y
at this i n t e r f a c e . The l a t t e r b e h a v i o r was i m p o s e d on
the n u m e r i c a l s o l u t i o n by the way in which the b o u n d a r y
c o n d i t i o n s w e r e specified while the f o r m e r is a c o n s e -
q u e n c e of the e x p e r i m e n t a l t e c h n i q u e and m a y be an i n -
s t r u m e n t a l a r t i f a c t . It is noted that the computed s o l u -

(25.0)

(25.0) (19.0) (14.4)

I
I
I

TI
l t I
I
I
I

\
\
\
\
It \
Ir B 1r \
\
\
\
\
I \

~_~\\\\\[x\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\" \

Fig. 5--Measured velocity distribution. Conditions corre- Fig. 6--Computed velocity distribution. Conditions corre-
s p o n d t o t h o s e s h o w n in F i g . 2. s p o n d t o t h o s e s h o w n i n F i g . 2.

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 7B,JUNE 1976-291

tions indicated a maximum value for the turbulence
energy in the vicinity of the interface, which is consis-
tent with observations.
The numerical comparison of the absolute values of
the measured and the predicted values of the turbu-
lence energy at the various grid points in the system
are shown in Fig. 9.
Inspection of Fig. 9 shows that while the agreement
between measurements and predictions is not quantita-
tive, the predicted and the measured values of the tur-
bulence energy follow the same trends, moreover, their
absolute values are generally of the same order of
magnitude and frequently within a factor of three.
In view of the reasonable correspondence between
the experimental data and the computed results it is
of interest to show the distribution of some of the other
quantities that have been derived from the computation.
Fig. 10 shows the computedvalues for the mixing
length, l, calculated from Eq. [8]. It is seen that the
mixing length is of the order of 3 to 4 cm which is
about 1/20 to 1/15 of the characteristic dimension of
the apparatus. This value satisfies the stipulation that
for systems boundedby solid surfaces, the mixing
length should be small compared to the characteristic
dimension of the apparatus. For turbulent flow through
pipes l is of the order of one-tenth of the pipe diam-
eter. Fig. 11 shows the contours for the effective vis-
c o s i t y . On n o t i n g t h a t t h e m o l e c u l a r v i s c o s i t y of w a t e r
is 0.01 g / c m s it i s r e a d i l y s e e n t h a t t h e t u r b u l e n t
c o m p o n e n t d o m i n a t e s the m o m e n t u m t r a n s f e r o v e r
m o s t of t h e s y s t e m , t h u s t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s i n v o l v e d in
representing turbulence phenomena were indeed nec-
essary.
4. DISCUSSION
Turbulent recirculating flows are of considerable
practical importance in many steel processing opera-
tions, includingR-H vacuum degassing, induction-
stirring, argon-stirringand the like.
In recent papers 1-~ work has been reported where
these systems were represented in terms of the tur-
bulent Navier-Stokes equations in conjunctionwith dif-
ferential equation models for the turbulent viscosity.
The analysis of these systems in terms of these
models was found to be in reasonable agreement with
experimental measurements of radioactive tracer dis-
persion in a 150 ton R-H degassing unit and a 50 ton
ASEA-SKF furnace. Howevertracer dispersion is not
the most critical test for these models so that a more
rigorous assessment of turbulent recirculating flow
models was thought to be desirable.
The work reported in the present paper was ad-
dressed to this problem. Experiments were carried

Ii --" I
..... TF-/-~---
i i
,~ 0.98
1.00
I

0.94 0.95

1I
0.81 0,80

',,\ O r ~ -

k/kmax ! ~ 0,69 z/H 0.70 z/H

0 I,
'k
i

!\
i
~ -----4
I
,,
:
'
I
056

0.40
o 0.55

0.40

i k
o, ~
I I
I~\~\\\\\\\\\\I O.20
Y\ I O.19

~_ 0.29 0.88
r/R r 0.18 r/R

Fig. 7--Measured turbulencekinetic energyexpressed in Fig. 8--Computed turbulencekinetic energyexpressed in

normalized quantities. Conditionscorrespond to those shown normalized quantities. Conditionscorrespond to those shown
in Fig. 2. in Fig. 2.

292-VOLUME 7B, JUNE 1976 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B

out u s i n g a s i m p l i f i e d w a t e r m o d e l of an a r g o n - s t i r r e d ing of t u r b u l e n t flow fields this a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n
ladle s y s t e m ; the e x p e r i m e n t a l m e a s u r e m e n t s i n c l u d e d m e a s u r e m e n t s and p r e d i c t i o n s p r o v i d e s f u r t h e r c o n -
flow v i s u a l i z a t i o n t o g e t h e r with the q u a n t i t a t i v e d e t e r - f i r m a t i o n of the p r e v i o u s l y r e p o r t e d s t u d i e s that t u r b u -
m i n a t i o n of both the v e l o c i t y and the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y l e n c e m o d e l s c o n s t i t u t e a p r o m i s i n g a p p r o a c h for r e p -
d i s t r i b u t i o n in the s y s t e m - - t h r o u g h the use of hot film r e s e n t i n g the m a n y r e c i r c u l a t i n g t u r b u l e n t flow fields
anemometry. that a r e e n c o u n t e r e d in s t e e l p r o c e s s i n g o p e r a t i o n s .
The t h e o r e t i c a l p r e d i c t i o n of t h e s e q u a n t i t i e s was This is an i m p o r t a n t c o n c l u s i o n b e c a u s e at p r e s e n t
b a s e d on the n u m e r i c a l s o l u t i o n of the t u r b u l e n t N a v i e r - this approach is the only t e c h n i q u e a v a i l a b l e for p r e -
Stokes e q u a t i o n s u s i n g Spaldings two equation b - W dicting melt velocities, turbulent energy dissipation
model for the t u r b u l e n c e v i s c o s i t y . The p r e d i c t i o n s and eddy d i f f u s i v i t y p a t t e r n s in the m a n y s t e e l p r o -
for both the v e l o c i t y and the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y d i s t r i - c e s s i n g s y s t e m s w h e r e m o l t e n s t e e l is in t u r b u l e n t
bution w e r e found to be of the s a m e o r d e r of m a g n i t u d e motion.
of the m e a s u r e d v a l u e s , f r e q u e n t l y the a g r e e m e n t was The fact that the m e a n v a l u e s of the t u r b u l e n c e e n -
r a t h e r b e t t e r . M o r e o v e r , the computed v a l u e s of the e r g y d i s t r i b u t i o n a r e r e a s o n a b l y well a p p r o x i m a t e d
m i x i n g lengths a p p e a r e d r e a s o n a b l e . Viewed in the would explain the good a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n p r e d i c t i o n s
light of the g e n e r a l l y accepted a c c u r a c y of the m o d e l - and m e a s u r e m e n t s of r a d i o a c t i v e t r a c e r d i s p e r s i o n in
r e a l m e t a l l u r g i c a l s y s t e m s , b e c a u s e the p r i n c i p a l
m e c h a n i s m of t r a c e r d i s p e r s i o n in t h e s e s y s t e m s a p -
61.60 53.05 27.38 l~.78 p e a r s to be eddy diffusion and the eddy d i f f u s i v i t y is
(17.61) (9,72) (2;11) (0.151 \
\ u n i q u e l y r e l a t e d to the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y . I n s p e c t i o n
of the computed and the m e a s u r e d r e s u l t s r e p o r t e d in
,,.~2 3.;5 2;65 ,'.20 the p a p e r shows, h o w e v e r , that the a g r e e m e n t is only
(,7.65) (9.24) (2.50) (0.,8)
q u a l i t a t i v e . T h e r e m a y be s e v e r a l r e a s o n s for this
\ discrepancy:
\ i) The t u r b u l e n c e m o d e l is not fully adapted to the
14.05 1.28 0.25 2,00 \
\ p a r t i c u l a r flow s y s t e m s c o n s i d e r e d h e r e . It is noted
( 1677'5) (7.78) (0.;5) (0.(~44) that the " c o n s t a n t " a p p e a r i n g in the model for the t u r -
b u l e n t v i s c o s i t y w e r e deduced by Spalding f r o m m e a -

9.25 0.32 0.50 ,.62 \

(,,.~)7) (5.;,5) (0.;7) (0.b32) \
\
\
\
\
\
\
8.00 0.72 0.08 o.6, \
\
(4.49) (2.;.3) (0. L;.4 ) (0.;25)
\

\
\
\
\
1.62 0.02 0.25 0.08 \
\
(,~)0) (0;32) (0.0"94) (o&3) \
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\

0.08 0.32 0.06 0.03

10.56) (0.12) (0,021) (0.~)06)
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\\ \ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\ \

Fig. 9--Numerical comparison of the absolute values of the

measured and the computed turbulent kinetic energy (in
parentheses) at the various selected points in the system, Fig. 10--Computed mixing length pattern values in era).
Conditions correspond to those shown in Fig. 4 in (ergfg). Conditions correspond to those shown in Fig. 4.

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 7B, JUNE 1 9 7 6 - 2 9 3

s u r e m e n t s on the s p r e a d i n g of a plane jet. It is quite on a CDC 6400 d i g i t a l c o m p u t e r ) and would be b e s t u n -
p o s s i b l e , t h e r e f o r e , that d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s of t h e s e con- d e r t a k e n in c o n j u n c t i o n with m o r e a c c u r a t e v e l o c i t y
s t a n t s would be a p p r o p r i a t e for a s y s t e m agitated by a measurements.
r i s i n g s t r e a m of gas b u b b l e s , o r even an a l t e r n a t i v e In c o n c l u s i o n , it m a y be stated that e x p e r i m e n t a l
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the t u r b u l e n t v i s c o s i t y would be m e a s u r e m e n t s of the v e l o c i t y and t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y
preferable. fields in a s i m p l i f i e d w a t e r model of an a r g o n - s t i r r e d
ii) The a b s o l u t e v a l u e s of the fluid v e l o c i t i e s m e a - ladle could be p r e d i c t e d to within an o r d e r of m a g n i -
s u r e d in the s y s t e m w e r e quite low (often below 5 tude by s o l v i n g the t u r b u l e n t N a v i e r - S t o k e s equations,
c m / s ) and e x p e r i m e n t a l e r r o r s due to the l i m i t a t i o n s in c o n j u n c t i o n with a t w o - e q u a t i o n m o d e l for the t u r -
of the i n s t r u m e n t s is a p o s s i b i l i t y . A s i m i l a r c o m - b u l e n t v i s c o s i t y . M o r e o v e r , the m o d e l provided a
m e n t would be a p p r o p r i a t e to the t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y good q u a l i t a t i v e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of both the o v e r a l l flow
measurements. p a t t e r n and the g e n e r a l t r e n d s in the d i s t r i b u t i o n of
iii) The c o n d i t i o n s at the i n t e r f a c e b e t w e e n the r i s - the t u r b u l e n t v i s c o s i t y .
ing c o r e c o n t a i n i n g a l a r g e c o n c e n t r a t i o n of gas b u b - It follows that while the r e s u l t s of the p r e s e n t i n v e s -
b l e s and the bulk of the fluid w e r e not v e r y s a t i s f a c - t i g a t i o n do p r o v i d e f u r t h e r proof for the a p p r o p r i a t e -
t o r i l y defined and a r e l i k e l y to be the s o u r c e of a n e s s of t u r b u l e n t r e c i r c u l a t i n g flow m o d e l s as m e a n s
major error. of r e p r e s e n t i n g a r g o n - s t i r r e d s y s t e m s , a g r e a t deal
It is thought that f u r t h e r work that could be u s e f u l l y of f u r t h e r work n e e d s to be done b e f o r e the m o d e l i n g
u n d e r t a k e n could i n c l u d e m o r e p r e c i s e v e l o c i t y m e a - equations m a y be r e g a r d e d as fully q u a n t i t a t i v e .
surements, perhaps using Laser-Doppler anemometry,
in the v i c i n i t y of the r i s i n g c o r e and the r e s t of the
fluid so as to p r o v i d e a b e t t e r b a s i s for s t a t i n g the NOME NC LATURE
b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s in this r e g i o n . It would be d e s i r -
able also to c a r r y out a d e t a i l e d p a r a m e t r i c study with C 1, C 2,c o n s t a n t s of the k- W model of t u r b u l e n t v i s -
a view of d e f i n i n g the o p t i m a l v a l u e s of the " c o n s t a n t s '~ c3, Ca
cosity
that a p p e a r in the m o d e l i n g e q u a t i o n s for the t u r b u l e n t D n e g a t i v e g e n e r a t i o n r a t e of t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y
v i s c o s i t y . However, such a s t u d y would r e q u i r e e x c e s - p e r unit v o l u m e
sive c o m p u t e r t i m e (one s i n g l e r u n needed s o m e 500 s k k i n e t i c e n e r g y of t u r b u l e n c e
l m i x i n g length
r radial coordinate
Yc r a d i u s of c e n t r a l c o l u m n
s~ s o u r c e r a t e of t u r b u l e n c e k i n e t i c e n e r g y p e r
unit v o l u m e
Sw s o u r c e r a t e of t u r b u l e n c e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c W,
p e r unit v o l u m e
vr, yz m e a n v e l o c i t y c o m p o n e n t s in the r - and z -
direction respectively
Vz,o m e a s u r e d m e a n axial v e l o c i t y of liquid bath
at the g a s - l i q u i d i n t e r f a c e
W s t a t i s t i c a l p r o p e r t y of t u r b u l e n t motion
Z axial c o o r d i n a t e
~t molecular viscosity
lie effective v i s c o s i t y
~t turbulent viscosity
vorticity
P liquid d e n s i t y
(rk , <rw P r a n d t l and Schmidt n u m b e r , r e s p e c t i v e l y
(rw) liq liquid s h e a r s t r e s s
r s t r e a m function
~2 r a t e of g e n e r a t i o n of t u r b u l e n c e e n e r g y p e r
unit v o l u m e .

SUBSCRIPTS
k pertains to the turbulence kinetic energy, k
pertains to the r-coordinate
W pertains to the turbulence characteristic, W
Z pertains to the z-direction.

I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ X \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ N\ \NXXNNX\"
The a u t h o r s wish to thank the A m e r i c a n Iron and
Fig. ll--Cornputed effective viscosity pattern, values in Steel I n s t i t u t e for p a r t i a l s u p p o r t of this i n v e s t i g a t i o n
g / e r n s, c o n d i t i o n s c o r r e s p o n d to t h o s e s h o w n in F i g . 4. u n d e r G r a n t n u m b e r 35-313.

294 VOLUME 7B, JUNE 1976 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B

 REFERENCES
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METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B
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