Abstract: 1︰4 water model has been established for 150 t RH refining unit in Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Co. based on analogy theory. The flow regime of molten steel and the effect of the diameter and the number of argon blowing holes were investigated by water model. The circulation parameters of different process conditions were also studied by orthogonal tests. The results show that there is little effect of the diameter of argon blowing holes on circulation parameters, while the mixing time reduces obviously as the number of argon blowing holes increase from 12 to 16. The optimal processes for mixing are the pressure less than 67 Pa, the argon flow rate 130 m³/h and the immersion depth of snorkel 650 mm.

Key words: mixing time, circulation flow rate, RH refining, water model