An Analysis of Recirculatory Flow in Gas‐Stirred Ladles

Abstract The paper is concerned with the fluid mechanics characterizing the bulk flow region in a gas‐stirred ladle. A theoretical framework, previously derived for the analysis of the gas‐liquid plume region, is extended to include the bulk flow phenomena. In this study, the liquid recirculation and mixing have been quantified in terms of simple dimensionless parameters related to the ladle geometry and gas flow rate. A new correlation for mixing time, consistent with the proper form of the Froude similitude criterion, is presented. The work has implications for the fundamental as well as applied aspects of ladle processing.