In recent years, major advances have taken place in our understanding of welding processes and welded materials Because of the complexity of fusion welding processes, solution of many important contemporary problems in fusion welding requires an interdisciplinary approach Current problems and issues in fusion welding are reviewed Solution of these problems, apart from being a contribution to the advancement of science, is also necessary for science-based tailoring of composition, structure, and properties of the welded materials

Physical processes in fusion welding

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Crystallization and Oxidation of Kilauea Basalt Glass: Processes during Reheating Experiments

A simple algorithm incorporating the equivalent heat capacity model is described for the finite-difference heat transfer analysis involving melting and solidification. The latent heat of fusion is ...

An efficient algorithm for finite difference analyses of heat transfer with melting and solidification

Recent advances in the mathematical modeling of fundamental phenomena in welds are summarized. State of the art mathematical models, advances in computational techniques, emerging high-performance computers, and experimental validation techniques have provided significant insight into the fundamental factors that control the development of the weldment. The current status and scientific issues in the areas of heat and fluid flow in welds, heat source-metal interaction, solidification microstructure, and phase transformations are assessed. Future research areas of major importance for understanding the fundamental phenomena in weld behaviour are identified.

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Modeling of fundamental phenomena in welds

The viscosity of a 19 wt% CaO–81 FeO x melt containing Fe 3 O 4 particles up to a volume fraction of 0.1 was measured and compared with a previous study of the viscosity of 10 wt% Al 2 O 3 –28 CaO-10 MgO–42 SiO 2 slag containing up to 0.2 volume fraction of MgAl 2 O 4 . The viscosity of both the alumino-silicate slag/spinel and the calcium ferrite/magnetite mixtures increased as the volume fractions of particles increased. The mixtures all showed apparent `Bingham' dependence. The results are discussed in terms of predicting two-phase liquid properties.

Viscosities of calcium ferrite slags and calcium alumino-silicate slags containing spinel particles

A study involving industrial measurements and mathematical modeling has been conducted to eluci-date kinetic phenomena in the zinc slag fuming process. In the first part of this three-part paper, the results of industrial measurements and observations are presented. In Part II a mathematical model of the process is developed, and finally in Part III the implications of a kinetic conception of the process for process improvement are explored. The industrial work consisted primarily of slag sampling through the fuming cycles of five different fuming operations. In addition, tuyere back-pressure mea-surements, tuyere photography using a tuyerescope, and sampling of the fume product were under-taken at one operation. Analysis of the slag samples has shown that, in general, the zinc elimination curve is linear with time and that a portion of the injected coal entrains in the slag. Analysis of tuyere back-pressure fluctuations and movie photographs of the tuyere tip indicate that the coal-air mixture enters the slag in the form of discrete bubbles. From these results it can be deduced that the fuming furnace consists of two reaction zones which are created by the division of coal between the slag and the tuyere gas stream. The coal entrained in the slag reduces ZnO and Fe3O4 in a “reduction zone” which is responsible for fuming. The coal remaining in the tuyere gas stream combusts in an “oxidation zone” although a fraction passes through the bath unconsumed and reports to the solid products. The oxidation zone supplies heat to the endothermic reduction reactions and heat losses.

Kinetics of the zinc slag-Fuming process: Part i. industrial measurements

A mathematical model of the nickel converter has been developed. The primary assumption of the model is that the three phases in the converter are in thermal and chemical equilibrium. All matte, slag, and gas in the converter is brought to equilibrium at the end of each of a series of short time steps throughout an entire charge. An empirical model of both the matte and slag is used to characterize the activity coefficients in each phase. Two nickel sulfide species were used to allow for the modeling of sulfur-deficient mattes. A heat balance is carried out over each time step, considering the major heat flows in the converter. The model was validated by a detailed comparison with measured data from six industrial charges. The overall predicted mass balance was shown to be close to that seen in actual practice, and the heat balance gave a good fit of converter temperature up to the last two or three blows of a charge. At this point, reactions in the converter begin to deviate strongly from “equilibrium,” probably due to the converter reactions coming under liquid-phase mass-transfer control. While the equilibrium assumption does work, it is not strictly valid, and the majority of the charge is probably under gas-phase mass-transfer control.

A mathematical model of the nickel converter: Part I. Model development and verification

A mathematical model of zinc slag fuming has been formulated based on the kinetic conception of the process developed in Part I of this paper. Each of the major reaction zones in the furnace — the slag bath where reduction of zinc oxide and ferric oxide takes place and the tuyere gas column where oxidation of coal and ferrous oxide occurs — have been characterized mathematically. The two zones and the water-jacketed furnace wall have been linked by overall heat and mass balances. Insufficient information is available, however, to characterize quantitatively two of the important kinetic processes occurring in the furnace: the division of coal between entrainment in the slag, combustion in the tuyere gas column and bypass; and oxygen utilization. To overcome this problem the model has been fitted to the data from eleven industrial fuming cycles. Consistent values have been obtained for these kinetic parameters over five different fuming operations indicating that the kinetic conception of the process is sound. The results indicate that about 33 pct of the injected coal is entrained in the slag, 55 pet combusts in the tuyere gas column, and 12 pct bypasses the bath completely. Oxygen utilization has been found to be high and can be correlated to bath depth.

Kinetics of the zinc slag-Fuming Process: part II. mathematical model

Injection phenomena in a Peirce-Smith copper converter and a slag fuming furnace have been investigated during blowing. A tuyerescope attached to the back of a given tuyere has been employed to observe the build-up, and to obtain samples, of accretions while a piezoelectric transducer has been used to measure pressure fluctuations in the tuyere. It has been found that in both processes the accretions grow upward by a freezing mechanism from the bottom of the horizontal tuyere. Probing the shape of an accretion in the fuming furnace, without coal injection, showed that the accretion grew into the bath 30 to 40 mm from the tuyere tip. A study of the shape and frequency of the pressure pulses as well as the duration of intervals of low pressure in the tuyere has revealed that the closely spaced tuyeres may operate independently or may interact. Tuyeres in a full slag fuming furnace act independently of one another, and the air discharges in the classical bubbling regime at 5 to 6 bubbles per second. In the copper converter there is more tuyere interaction as bubbles growing at adjacent tuyeres coalesce to form a horizontal unstable gas envelope. In both processes if the tuyeres are shallowly submerged the gas may channel directly to the surface without forming bubbles. The influence of bath viscosity, the extent of wall erosion at the tuyere line, and tuyere submergence on these injection phenomena have been elucidated qualitatively.

Injection phenomena in nonferrous processes

In the zinc slag-fuming process, zinc is removed from lead blast furnace slag by reduction with a coal-air mixture injected into the slag through submerged tuyeres. The furnace is constructed of water-cooled jackets which freeze a slag layer and contain the bath. This greatly reduces vessel wear caused by the violently agitated and corrosive bath. The jackets, however, fail due to the formation of cracks which grow from the slag face through the working face of the jacket to the water channel. In this study, in-plant measurements and mathematical modeling of heat transfer in the jackets have been combined to elucidate the mechanism of failure. The working face of a water jacket was instrumented with thermocouples and installed in a fuming furnace at the Trail smelter of Cominco Ltd., Trail, BC. Measurements revealed the presence of large thermal transients or temperature “spikes” in the panel in the region immediately above the tuyeres. These were generally observed during charging and tapping of the furnace and are likely associated with disturbances on the surface of the bath or gas injection effects when the liquid level is low. Temperatures at the midthickness were seen to rise by as much as 180 °C above the steady-state level. Under these conditions, low-cycle fatigue may lead to crack formation and propagation. A mathematical modeling analysis of the transient freezing phenomena indicates that the temperature spikes are associated with sudden slag falloff and direct contact of molten slag on the jacket. In order to reduce slag falloff, an increased number of anchoring fins should be used in critical areas.

G. G. Richards

Papers

Kinetics of the zinc slag-Fuming process: Part i. industrial measurements

A mathematical model of the nickel converter: Part I. Model development and verification

Kinetics of the zinc slag-Fuming Process: part II. mathematical model

Injection phenomena in nonferrous processes

Heat-transfer phenomena in water-cooled zinc-fuming furnace jackets