New design solution for porous plug in the argon steel purging process

The process of blowing liquid steel with an inert gas plays a key role in secondary metallurgy. The required mechanism of forming a gas column can be obtained by using gas-permeable elements with an appropriate design and properties. The article presents a proposal to replace the previously used design solution-a slot plug with a new design device, i.e. a gas-permeable slot-type module with an increased active surface equipped with a specified number of slots. The article presents the results of comparative tests of four design variants of these modules differing in the number and width of slots, carried out in terms of their suitability for industrial conditions. A series of tests were carried out using a water physical model of a ladle (scale 1:3.4) equipped with module models, which were supplemented with the results of CFD numerical simulations. The simulations were carried out for the hot metal-argon system (scale 1:1). Both research methods were mutually verified, achieving satisfactory compliance. Analysis of the test results allowed for the selection of the most advantageous variant, which was then tested in industrial conditions. The use of the module in industrial conditions allows for the reduction of argon consumption by approximately 12%, and the processing time at the ladle furnace station can be shortened by approximately 10%.