Interfacial phenomena between molten iron and molten slag–Effect of nitrogen on the Marangoni convection

In order to investigate the influence of the surface-active element on the interfacial phenomena between molten iron and molten Al2O3-CaO-SiO2 slag, a mildly surface-active element, nitrogen, was introduced, and the interfacial phenomena were directly observed using an X-ray sessile drop method. The multiphysics model was employed to calculate the velocity of the Marangoni convection caused by the surface/interfacial tension gradient along with the contour of the sessile drop. Movement of the sessile drop was observed in the experiment, and the driving force of the movement was discussed from the distribution of surface tension active element viewpoint. The calculated velocity of the Marangoni convection in the droplet was reasonably agreed with the literature data for the metal-gas system, and thus, the same model was applied for the metal-slag system. The velocity of the Marangoni convection for the metal-slag system becomes ten times lower compared to that of metal-gas system.