Water model experiments of multiphase mixing in the top-blown smelting process of copper concentrate

We constructed a 1:10 cold water experimental model by geometrically scaling down an Isa smelting furnace. The mixing processes at different liquid heights, lance diameters, lance submersion depths, and gas flow rates were subsequently measured using the conductivity method. A new criterion was proposed to determine the mixing time. On this basis, the quasi-equations of the mixing time as a function of different parameters were established. The parameters of the top-blown smelting process were optimized using high-speed photography. An excessively high gas flow rate or excessively low liquid height would enhance the fluctuation and splashing of liquid in the bath, which is unfavorable for material mixing. Simultaneously increasing the lance diameter and the lance submersion depth would promote the mixing in the bath, thereby improving the smelting efficiency.