Determination of cavity dimensions induced by impingement of gas jets onto a liquid bath

This paper presents an experimental and theoretical study on the cavity profile induced by the impingement of top-blown multiple gas jets onto a water or oil/water bath. The depth and diameter of the cavity were measured with respect to the lance height, gas flow rate, jets inclination angle, and oil volume. The experimental results show that the cavity depth increases with the increase of gas flow rate or oil thickness but the decrease of lance height or jets inclination angle. The cavity diameter is much less affected by gas flow rate compared to other variables. Then, the importance of the surface tension in the modeling of the cavity was theoretically identified. It was found that in the cratering process, the effect of the liquid surface tension on the cavity depth could be remarkably significant for a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) cold model but negligible for a real BOF steelmaking system. An improved theoretical model was hence proposed and validated using the experimental data obtained from both the single- or two-layer liquid baths. The new model includes not only the explicit consideration of the liquid surface tension but also that of the energy utilization efficiency of the jets impinging kinetic energy contributed to the cratering process.