Physical and Mathematical Simulation of the Influence of Ruhrstahl–Heraeus Process Parameters on Mixing Effect

The influence of parameters, including gas flow rate, vacuum‐chamber liquid‐level height, and the number of nozzle, on the mixing process in a 120 t Ruhrstahl–Heraeus (RH) refining furnace is investigated using both physical and mathematical models. The numerical simulation results exhibit strong agreement with the experimental findings from the physical model. The findings suggest that increasing the gas flow rate and the liquid level in the vacuum chamber enhances the mixing process in RH refining. These adjustments shorten the mixing time, increase the circulating flow rate, accelerate bubble diffusion toward the center, and reduce the regions of low flow velocity. As the number of nozzles increases, the mixing time initially decreases and then increases, the circulating flow rate first increases and then decreases. A similar trend is observed in the diffusion speed of bubbles toward the center. Additionally, the bubble distribution gradually shifts toward unblown regions, and the distribution in the low flow rate area first decreases and then increases, the optimal mixing performance is achieved when the number of nozzles is 20. Based on these findings, the optimal process parameters for the 120 t RH furnace are determined, providing a theoretical foundation for developing reasonable process parameters for industrial production.