High Temperature Zinc Vapor Confinement in Snout by Using Wind Curtain

In a hot-dip galvanizing production line for high-aluminum zinc-aluminum-magnesium steel strip, the temperature of zinc pot may reach 600°C. The continuous zinc evaporation may cause serious pollution of zinc ash to the steel strip. In this paper, the confinement of zinc vapor by using a wind curtain is explored, in an attempt of preventing the zinc vapor flowing upward into the furnace. Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the velocity, concentration, and temperature of zinc vapor in the snout of the hot-dip galvanizing production line. The impacts of the inflow velocity, position, and temperature of the curtain on the concentration of zinc vapor are also paid attention. The results show that the wind curtain can effectively prevent the upward flow of zinc vapor. Furthermore, the concentration of zinc vapor in above of the snout decreases with the increases of the inflow velocity and the height of the wind curtain, but it increases when the temperature of the wind curtain's inflow is raised. The position of the wind curtain significantly influences the concentration of zinc vapor above the snout, which is the critical factor of confining the zinc vapor by using the wind curtain.