FLOW PATTERNS AND MIXING IN A COLD MODEL OF THE INCO FLASH FURNACE

A 1/10 scale cold model of one of Inco's Copper Cliff smelter flash fu rnaces has been built and operated. Its purpose was to simulate flow a nd mixing in the slag layer. The oxygen/solid feed burners were simula ted by water jets. With four symmetrically-oriented water jets feeding the model, the flow pattern in the shallow bath of water consists of four lateral circulation loops. Circulation flows are driven by moment um transfer from the jets and are typically about 20 times the flow th rough the jets. Circulation with one or two loops can occur when the j ets are set at unequal angles. Circulation rates and mixing are improv ed by increasing the convergence angle between symmetrical pairs of je ts situated at opposite ends of the model. This is consistent with the improved flash furnace performance obtained by Inco when the converge nce angles of the burners were increased. Copyright (C) 1996 Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd