Unsteady Non-Uniform Flow of Molten Metals in Rectangular Open Channels

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In the metallurgical industries, it is very important to characterize the flow of molten metals in open channels given that they are transported through these devices to different plant sections. However, unlike the flow of water which has been studied since ancient times, the flow of molten metals in open channels has received little attention. The unsteady non-uniform flow of blast furnace molten pig iron in a rectangular open channel is analyzed in this work by numerical solution of the Saint-Venant equations. The influence of mesh size on the convergence of molten metal height is studied to determine the proper mesh and time step sizes. A sinusoidal inflow pulse is imposed at the entrance of the channel in order to analyze the propagation of the resulting wave. The influence of the angle of inclination of the channel and the roughness coefficient of the walls on the amplitude and the dynamic behavior of the height of the molten metal are analyzed. Phase portraits of the channel state variables are constructed and interpreted. Numerical simulations show that as the angle of inclination of the channel increases, the amplitude of the formed wave decreases. From 10 degrees onwards, the peak of the wave descends even below the initial height. On the other hand, the roughness coefficient affects the molten pig iron height profiles in an inverse way than the angle of inclination. The amplitude of the formed wave increases as the roughness coefficient increases.