Title: Validation of SPH predictions of oxide generated during Al melt transfer

Authors: Mahesh Prakash, Gerald G. Pereira, Paul W. Cleary, Patrick Rohan, John A. Taylor

Addresses: CAST Cooperative Research Centre (CAST CRC) and CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics, Private Bag 33, Clayton South, Victoria 3169, Australia. ' CAST Cooperative Research Centre (CAST CRC) and CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics, Private Bag 33, Clayton South, Victoria 3169, Australia. ' CAST Cooperative Research Centre (CAST CRC) and CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics, Private Bag 33, Clayton South, Victoria 3169, Australia. ' CAST Cooperative Research Centre (CAST CRC) and CSIRO Process Science and Engineering, P.O. Box 312, Clayton South, Victoria 3169, Australia. ' CAST Cooperative Research Centre (CAST CRC) and School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4074, Australia

Abstract: Aluminium melt transfer operations lead to dross formation via splashing/turbulence. Optimisation may be achieved by employing computational modelling to explore the effects of various process parameters. Existing mesh-based modelling techniques are limited due to their inability to carry history information such as accumulated oxide mass per-node. Instead, the grid-free Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method with its Lagrangian framework is used to predict the oxide mass generated during a melt transfer from a tilting furnace into a sow mould. An oxidation model based on laboratory-scale skimming trials is used. Favourable comparisons with experimentally measured oxide levels are obtained for various transfer rates.

Keywords: smoothed particle hydrodynamics; SPH; modelling; aluminium melt transfer; oxide formation; history-dependent properties; dross formation; tilting furnaces; sow moulds; CFD; computational fluid dynamics.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2010.035365

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2010 Vol.10 No.5/6, pp.319 - 326

Published online: 26 Sep 2010 *

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