Cold Model Experiments on the Application of Gas Lift Pump to the Transportation of Molten Metal

Application of a gas lift pump to a molten metal system was evaluated by determining the effects of liquid properties on the pump's transportation characteristics using a water bath, a glycerol solution bath, and a Wood's metal bath. The flow in the gas lift pipe was in a “slug flow” regime when the pump was working. The critical gas flow rate, which is defined as the lowest gas flow rate required to transport the liquid, decreased with increase in the submergence and with decrease in pipe diameter in all systems. The density of the liquid strongly affected the lifted liquid volume whereas the viscosity had little influence on it. The empirical equation to predict the transportation of molten metal was derived using the slug flow model based on the corrected Nicklin's equation. The model was able to reproduce the critical gas flow rates obtained by the experiment.