CFD simulation and water model experiments with overflow-type supergravity reactor set up for continuously removing inclusions from aluminum melt

Abstract

In this work, an overflow-type supergravity reactor has been tested for removal of inclusions from aluminum melt. A combination of numerical and physical simulations was employed to investigate the continuous separation process of recycled aluminum melt and inclusions, with a focus on evaluating the effects of reactor structures, process parameters, and inclusion characteristics on the inclusion separation efficiency. The results of numerical simulation indicate that the inclusion separation efficiency is positively related to overflow pipe length (L), overflow pipe installation height (H), gravity coefficient (G), inclusion density (ρ) and inclusion diameter (d), and negatively related to overflow pipe diameter (Φ) and melt inflow rate (Q). The overflow-type supergravity reactor exhibited excellent performance in separating inclusions from recycled aluminum melt. Under the conditions of L = 40 mm, H = 108 mm, Φ = 10 mm, G = 500, and Q = 0.5 kg/s, the separation efficiency of 18 μm Al2O3 inclusions reached nearly 100 %. The high consistency between the results of numerical and physical simulations provided full verification of the reliability and accuracy of the numerical simulation.