The Importance of Viscous and Interfacial Forces in the Hydrodynamics of the Top-Submerged-Lance Furnace

The hydrodynamics of a Top-Submerged-Lance (TSL) smelting furnace are critical for improving reaction rates and process efficiency. This study aims to investigate the influence of liquid properties and operational parameters on TSL processes, particularly focusing on splashing, mixing, mass transfer area, and bubble development. To achieve this, an extensive parametric study was conducted using computational fluid dynamics, emphasizing cold and non-reactive flow scenarios. The analysis involved fluid dynamic properties such as liquid density, viscosity, and surface tension alongside operational variables, including gas volume flow and lance immersion depth. The coupled Level Set—Volume of Fluid model, implemented in ANSYS Fluent, was employed to accurately resolve the gas-liquid interface in the multiphase flow environment. The findings reveal a significant role of viscous and interfacial forces on gas injection into smelting slags. Moreover, the research highlights the inadequacy of relying solely on the modified Froude number as a descriptor for such flows, thereby contributing a deeper understanding of the factors affecting TSL furnace operations.