CFD modeling of gas−liquid flow phenomenon in lead smelting oxygen-enriched side-blown furnace

A validated numerical model was established to simulate gas−liquid flow behaviors in the oxygen-enriched side-blown bath furnace. This model included the slip velocity between phases and the gas thermal expansion effect. Its modeling results were verified with theoretical correlations and experiments, and the nozzle-eroded states in practice were also involved in the analysis. Through comparison, it is confirmed that the thermal expansion effect influences the flow pattern significantly, which may lead to the backward motion of airflow and create a potential risk to production safety. Consequently, the influences of air injection velocity and furnace width on airflow behavior were investigated to provide operating and design guidance. It is found that the thin layer melt, which avoids high-rate oxygen airflow eroding nozzles, shrinks as the injection velocity increases, but safety can be guaranteed when the velocity ranges from 175 to 275 m/s. Moreover, the isoline patterns and heights of thin layers change slightly when the furnace width increases from 2.2 to 2.8 m, indicating that the furnace width shows a limited influence on production safety.