Fluid flow characteristics of molten bath with bottom-blowing in EAF steelmaking

Bottom-blowing technology is widely adopted in electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking to promote the molten bath fluid flow, accelerate the metallurgical reaction and improve the quality of molten steel.In this study, a water model experiment and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model were established to investigate the fluid flow characteristics of molten bath with bottom-blowing in EAF steelmaking process and the effects of bottom-blowing gas on the fluid flow were analyzed.Meanwhile, based on industrial application research, the heat transfer in the molten bath with bottom-blowing was analyzed.Compared with traditional smelting conditions without bottom-blowing, bottom-blowing technology can strengthen the stirring of the molten bath, promote the heating rate and the temperature homogeneity of the molten bath.Hence, bottom-blowing technology greatly improves the efficiency of energy utility in EAF steelmaking.