A model test for emulsion in gas-stirred ladles

At high gas-stirring rates of liquid metals in ladles covered with slag emulsification of slag droplets into the metal melt occurs. Emulsification intensifies the rate of slag-metal extracting reactions. A theoretical model of the emulsification process was developed. The equilibrium between buoyancy, surface, and inertial force at the location where the slag droplets are formed determines the critical liquid metal velocity for drop formation. The amount of droplets formed per time depends on the flow of kinetic energy in the thin slag layer accelerated by momentum transfer from metal to slag. Experiments on a water model were carried out to determine the drop sizes, the number of droplets formed per time and the drop flow paths. Consequences for the amount of emulsification in steel melts are drawn.