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Computational Fluid Dynamics Study on a Top-Blown Smelting Process with Lance Failure in an Isa Furnace

  • Computational Approaches for Energy Materials and Processes
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Abstract

The Isa/Ausmelt smelting technology with a top submerged lance (TSL) has been extensively used in copper smelting processes. However, the TSL is extremely vulnerable to damage and failure because of bending and tip burning. Frequent lance replacement is time-consuming and limits the copper production capacity. Here, a numerical simulation method is used to study the influence of lance failure on the flow field, splashing of slag, and wall shear of the lance as well as furnace body for exploring the factors that limit the service life of the lance. The simulation results reveal that the fluid flow is weak on the reverse bending side, which is is not conducive to mixing of raw materials when the lance is bent, resulting in a significant amount of slag splashing. After the lance tip is burned out, the utilization of agitation energy decreases because of an increase in the lance outlet area, resulting in poor stirring of the molten bath and a considerable loss of heat. In addition, this study shows that the lance wall shear varies because of slag splashing, implying that the wall shear can be reduced by reducing slag splashing.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support of this research work by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51504018) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (FRF-TP-17-038A2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Hongliang Zhao, Tingting Lu, Fengqin Liu, Pan Yin & Sen Wang

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Recycling and Extraction of Metal, Beijing, 100083, China

    Hongliang Zhao & Fengqin Liu

  3. Chambishi Copper Smelter LTD, Beijing Representative Office, Beijing, 100029, China

    Sen Wang

Authors
  1. Hongliang Zhao
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  2. Tingting Lu
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  3. Fengqin Liu
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  4. Pan Yin
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  5. Sen Wang
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Correspondence to Fengqin Liu.

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Zhao, H., Lu, T., Liu, F. et al. Computational Fluid Dynamics Study on a Top-Blown Smelting Process with Lance Failure in an Isa Furnace. JOM 71, 1643–1649 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-019-03389-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-019-03389-9

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