Investigation and Modeling of Splashing in the Peirce Smith Converter

To investigate the factors affecting splashing in Peirce-Smith copper converters of Sarcheshmeh copper complex, South-East Iran, a laboratory scale model with dimensions one eighth of the actual converter was designed and assembled. The model was filled with water. Air was impinged onto the water. The sequence of events was subsequently recorded using high speed cameras. Factors affecting splashing such as blowing angle, volumetric flow rate of air, and the distance of the blowers from water surface were studied. Using a value of 2.65x10(-11) for Morton dimensionless number, it was found that splashing may be reduced by 75% if the air speed in the tuyeres is reduced from 155 m/s to 30 m/s while the nozzle distance from the melt free surface is between 2 to 0.5 meters.