Steam cavity and explosion intensity of molten copper column interaction with water

Abstract

The steam explosion is one of the most serious accidents in the metallurgical industry. In this paper, an experimental study on the interaction of molten copper column with cooling water was carried out using high-speed camera and transient pressure measurement system. The effects of temperature, falling height, diameter and mass of molten copper column on the interaction were investigated. The steam cavity phenomenon was observed in the interaction and the percentage of steam cavity volume affects the probability of fragmentation of molten copper column. The maximum percentage of steam cavity volume increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of temperature and falling height. It increases with the increase of diameter of molten copper column, but the mass has a weak effect. The pressure wave generated by the interaction of molten copper column with cooling water gradually increases with an increase in the temperature of molten copper column. The energy conversion rate in the interaction of molten copper column with cooling water was calculated. The rate of energy conversion from the thermal energy of molten copper column to the energy of pressure wave is low because most of the thermal energy is dissipated into the cooling water by heat transfer.