Numerical modelling of recirculated liquid metal flows in induction furnaces with the cold crucible

A. Umbraško¹ - E. Baake¹ - B. Nacke¹ - A. Jakoviċs²

¹ Institute for Electrothermal Processes, University of Hannover Wilhelm-Busch Str. 4 D-30167 Hannover, Germany
² Laboratory for Mathematical Modeling of Environmental and Technological Processes, University of Latvia, 8 Zellu str., LV-1002 Riga, Latvia

Abstract
Experimental and numerical investigations of the turbulent melt flow are carried out in various laboratory and industrial-sized induction furnaces like an induction crucible furnace and an induction furnace with a cold crucible (IFCC). The results of the transient 3D LES simulation of the turbulent melt flow reveal large scale periodic flow instabilities and the temperature distribution in the melt, which both are in good agreement with the expectations based on the experimental data. The studies presented in this paper contain a numerical simulation of the turbulent melt flow of an experimental and an industrial-sized IFCC and demonstrate the possibility to use the three-dimensional transient LES approach for successful simulation of the heat and mass transfer processes in metallurgical applications. Tables 1, Figs 9, Refs 5.