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Fragmentation and solidification of fuel–coolant interaction of columnar molten iron and water

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Abstract

The fuel–coolant interaction process is a common accident in metal smelting industry. The interaction of columnar molten iron with water was experimentally investigated with the influence of mass (100–600 g) and dropping height (20–150 cm) of columnar molten iron, and depth of cooling water (2–14 cm). Results show that a steam cavity incorporating a mixture of water vapor, cooling water, air and molten iron is formed during the interaction. The solidified products are divided into three patterns: non-fragmentation, partial fragmentation and complete fragmentation, and the formation mechanisms of solidified products are analyzed. The behaviors of steam explosion and fragmentation of molten column are affected by the continuity of columnar molten iron in the falling. The pressure peak value and mass percentage of granular products increase initially and decrease afterward with the critical dropping height of 80 cm. The degree of fragmentation of molten iron is decreased by the water depth. The fragmentation behavior and percentage of solidified product are interpreted according to the thermal effect and dynamic effect involving the molten iron–water interaction process. The findings and conclusions provide guiding information for accident prevention and safety evaluation in metal smelting industry.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFC0805100).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Manhou Li, Long Chen, Zijian Liu, Zhihe Shen & Changjian Wang

  2. Anhui International Joint Research Center on Hydrogen Safety, Hefei, 230009, China

    Manhou Li, Long Chen, Zijian Liu, Zhihe Shen & Changjian Wang

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  1. Manhou Li
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ML: writing—original draft, conceptualization, project administration. LC: methodology, data curation. ZL: methodology, data curation. ZS: funding acquisition. CW: funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Manhou Li or Changjian Wang.

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Li, M., Chen, L., Liu, Z. et al. Fragmentation and solidification of fuel–coolant interaction of columnar molten iron and water. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 10897–10906 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12419-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12419-3

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