DOI: 10.52150/2522-9117-2026-40-026
Т. S. Golub1,*, Ph. D. (Tech.), Senior Researcher, ORCID 0000-0001-9269-2953
O. M. Міnai1, Ph. D (Tech.), ORCID 0000-0002-4180-0149
1 Iron and Steel Institute of Z. I. Nekrasov NAS of Ukraine
* Corresponding author: isinasu.golubts@gmail.com
MODERN METHODS OF STUDYING THE DISTRIBUTION OF FLOWS AND THEIR VELOCITIES IN THE LIQUID PHASE WHEN BLOWING THROUGH A LAVAL NOZZLE
Abstract. The oxygen-converter process of steel production is constantly developing, and each improvement requires research and development of operating moments in laboratory conditions at low basic costs. In this regard, numerical simulation methods are actively developing, for the implementation of which the most relevant and time-tested and various studies is the ANSYS FLUENT application program. It has high performance and has wide capabilities for calculating hydro-gasdynamic phenomena. Using this program, a study was conducted on the formation and distribution of flows in the aqua environment and in molten hot metal under the action of a gas flow flowing from a Laval nozzle under conditions of blowing with a pressure twice the ambient pressure. A comprehensive validation of the results of numerical modeling was carried out with the involvement of physical low-temperature and high-temperature modeling, which showed a high degree of correspondence of the obtained results. According to the results of the calculation, it was found that the magnitude of the flow velocities in the liquid is an order of magnitude smaller than the initial magnitude of the gas flow velocity emerging from the Laval nozzle. The highest flow velocities in the liquid are concentrated in the central part of the bath under the crater, which is formed due to the action of the gas jet on the liquid surface. Under the conditions of water blowing, the depth of the crater and the area of distribution of the highest flow velocities were twice as large as under the conditions of cast iron blowing. It was noted that in the central part of the bath under the crater a flow was formed that counteracts the direction and influence of the gas flow, and under the conditions of the greatest immersion of the gas jet into the bath, several counter-directed vertical flows were formed, ending in vortex-like formations. Moreover, in a metal bath, the number of additional flows was greater. The obtained results of the numerical study, compared with the results of real physical modeling under similar conditions, have an important potential for replenishing the database on the features of the interaction of gas flows flowing out of the Laval nozzle at a blowing pressure twice the atmospheric pressure with an aqueous medium and liquid molten iron.
Key words: oxygen-converter process, top blowing, Laval nozzle, hydro-gasdynamic processes, numerical simulation.
For citation: Golub, Т. S., & Minai, O. M. (2026). Modern methods for studying the distribution of flows and their velocities in the liquid phase when blowing through a Laval nozzle. Fundamental and applied problems of ferrous metallurgy, 40, 433-453. https://doi.org/10.52150/2522-9117-2026-40-026
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Рукопис надійшов до редакції / Received 09.02.2026
Рекомендовано до друку / Accepted 28.05.2026
Опубліковано / Published 30.05.2026
