Numerical model of a planar jet wiping system for continuous strip lines

The present study focuses on the numerical modelling of gas-jet wiping process. Many processes involving liquids are necessary during steel manufacturing, such as cooling, lubrication or cleaning. Satisfactory processes for removing the liquid are critical for the quality of the product obtained as well as for avoiding a product rejection in strip lines such as tandem mills and tinning lines. One the most widespread drying technology used is based on planar air-knives or nozzle rows which wipe the liquid out from the steel strip by creating an aerodynamic barrier. The objective of this paper is to analyze the performance of a simple air knife based on an inclined planar jet that is commonly used in many commercial or in-house built devices. A CFD model developed by using commercial software ANSYS FLUENT® was built in order to evaluate the wiping system depending on the type of feeding: central and lateral.