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Pickling Tank Process: Influence of Flow Turbulence

Conference Paper · June 2015

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Pickling Tank Process: Influence of Flow Turbulence
Mirko Javurek, Johannes Kepler University Linz; Florian Lengwin, voestalpine Linz
Contact data
Mirko Javurek, Johannes Kepler University, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria, +43 732 2468 6466,
mirko.javurek@jku.at
Summary
The influence of the acid flow on the progress of the pickling process is analysed by theoretical and experimental
investigations.
Key Words
hot rolled steel sheet, descaling, pickling tank, acid, flow, turbulence, hydrodynamics
Introduction
During the production of hot rolled steel sheet a thin
layer of scale is formed which needs to be removed
to allow further processing of the steel sheet. The
most common procedure for descaling is acid pickling
which can be performed continuously or semi-
continuously. In industrial application of the pickling
process a compromise between a completely
descaled surface of high quality and high
performance of the pickling plant has to be achieved.
Besides chemical, electrochemical and thermal
parameters flow characteristics of the acid in the
pickling tank influences the whole process as well. In
this contribution the influence of flow and turbulence
on the pickling process are considered by
experimental and theoretical modelling.
The oxide scale of hot rolled steel consists of several
layers (Fig. 1). The outer Fe2O3 layer is known to
dissolve only slowly in acid, while the lower FeO and
Fe3O4 layers are dissolved faster in comparison.
Besides mechanical removal of scale by evolved
hydrogen the common belief is that acid reaches and
finally dissolves the lower oxides layers through small
cracks of the oxide layer [1]. For the latter chemical
and electrochemical process, fresh acid has to be
transported from the acid pool to the reaction and
dissolved oxide from the reaction to the acid pool.
Figure 1: Oxide layers in the scale of hot rolled steel
after [1]: Fe2O3 (A), Fe3O4 (B) and FeO (C)
From the literature it is known that the flow has a
significant influence on corrosive processes such as
the dissolution of metal oxides [1]. There are a lot of
publications investigating the flow influence on
corrosive surface reactions of metal surfaces (e.g.
[2][3]). In contrast to the scale pickling of hot rolled
steel the direct surface reaction is the main chemical
process in all these publications. For the scale
pickling of hot rolled steel the models that can be
found in the literature only consider the influence of
temperature and acid concentration on the descaling
time, but not the flow conditions [5][6]. For the
electrolytic pickling of steel a hydrodynamic model
was developed by [7] but cannot be applied for
conventional pickling because of severe differences
of the process chemistry and hydrodynamics.
Thus it is necessary to develop more sophisticated
models for the scale pickling of hot rolled steel.
These models have to be verified by appropriate
measurements.
Hydrodynamic Parameters
Industrial pickling facilities usually consist of a series
of tanks with a tank length of 15 to 30 m. The hot
rolled strip is transported through these tanks with
velocities of 3 to 7 m/s. According to the theory for
the plane plate in a longitudinal flow [4], the boundary
layer becomes fully turbulent after about 50 to
100 mm after the band comes in contact with the
acid. Thus the boundary layer around the band has to
be expected to be turbulent in the whole tank.
Turbulence positively influences the pickling process
because it intensifies the species transport through
the boundary layer [1].
Experimental Setup: Pickling Cell
A laboratory pickling testing facility is available at
voestalpine Linz. Specimens of hot rolled steel sheet
can be mounted above an acid-channel so that the
acid flows along the specimen during the pickling
process with velocities up to 2.87 m/s (figure 2). In
contrast to the industrial pickling tanks, the flow is
expected to be partially laminar and partially in the
transition region between laminar and turbulent.
Transitional flows are known to be very unstable: the
flow regime can suddenly change from laminar to
turbulent (and vice versa) and is very sensitive to
small changes in the boundary conditions.
Figure 2: experimental setup: Laboratory pickling cell
(unproportional sketch)
With a macro camera the surface of the specimen is
observed during the experiment and the time of
descaling can be determined from the observable
change of the surface structure and colour.
Two evaluation methods were used to obtain the
pickling time which indicates the state of complete
descaling of a specimen. The first and most simple is
based on a visual inspection of the camera pictures
by the operator. The second method is an automated
evaluation of the colour information of the camera
pictures. Figure 3 shows the deviation of the red,
green and blue (abbr. RGB) components from the
mean colour intensity value of the camera pictures
taken of the specimen’s surface during a pickling
experiment. While the values stay around zero for the
first ten seconds due to nearly colourless grey
images, red and green increase while blue decreases
because the images become yellow afterwards. This
corresponds to the beginning removal of scale
pieces. About ten seconds later, the RGB values
reach again constant values, indicating the end of the
descaling process.
Figure 3: deviation from the RGB mean value for the
red, green and blue intensity values of the camera
picture colours taken during a pickling experiment as
a function of the process time (example)
A dimensionless variable for the pickling progress
𝜑 = 0. .1 is introduced that is calculated from the
RGB values by 𝜑 = (𝐼𝑅 + 𝐼𝐺 − 2𝐼𝐵 )/𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 , where 𝐼𝑅 is
the intensity of the red, 𝐼𝐺 of the green, 𝐼𝐵 of the blue
component of the camera image and 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
max⁡(𝐼𝑅 + 𝐼𝐺 − 2𝐼𝐵 ).
In order to investigate the influence of the flow on the
pickling time, experiments with four different acid flow
velocities were performed as shown in the following
table:
Setup 1 2 3 4
Flow velocity in m/s 1.24 2.09 2.48 2.87
Reynolds number /
28 57 95 130
1000
The experiments for each flow velocity were repeated
3 to 4 times. Figure 4 shows the resulting progress
variables for all experiments. The resulting progress
curves for the same flow velocity differ up to about 5
seconds in time. Different specimen properties may
be the reason for the differences. It is noticeable that
there is very little difference of the progress curves
for the two middle velocities (dark blue and green
curves) and that there is a very distinct increase of
the process time for the lowest velocity (green and
red curves).
Figure 4: experimental results: pickling progress 𝜑
calculated from the colour values of the surface
camera images for 4 different acid flow velocities
For the determination of the total pickling time from
the progress curves a fitting function for the pickling
process variable
1 𝑡 − 𝑇𝑎 (1)
𝜑(𝑡) = (1 + erf⁡ )
2 𝑇𝑏
is introduced where 𝑡 is the process time (the pickling
process starts at 𝑡 = 0), erf is the error function, 𝑇𝑎 is
the time when 𝜑 = 0.5 and 𝑇𝑏 determines the slope of
the fitting function. For each experiment the function
parameters 𝑇𝑎 and 𝑇𝑏 are numerically determined so
that the fitting function optimally fits the measured
pickling process variable derived from the picture
colour values shown in figure 4. A comparison of the
manually observed pickling times with the fitting
parameters yields a good agreement if the total
pickling time is chosen to be 𝑇 = 𝑇𝑎 + 2.6 ∙ 𝑇𝑏 which
corresponds to 𝜑(𝑇) = (1 + erf⁡2.6)/2 = 0.99988
(figure 5).
Figure 5: comparison of observed and fitted pickling
times
Mathematical Reaction Model
A mathematical model for the dissolution rate of the
oxide layer was developed based on the common
theory for the descaling process as described above.
The model is based on the following assumptions
(figure 6):
1. The dissolution reaction is a diffusion-controlled
surface reaction, which means that the chemical
reaction at the interface of acid and oxide is fast in
comparison to the diffusive species transport of
the reactants through the acid.
2. For the diffusive species transport, only the
transport through the boundary layer and through
the “channels” formed by the cracks of the oxide
layer are relevant. The thickness of the oxide
layer is considered negligibly small in comparison
to the crack distance (2𝑦0 in figure 6).
3. The theoretical results for the diffusive species
transport through a boundary layer of a plane
plate in a longitudinal flow are applied [4]. The
deflections and cross section changes in the
inflow geometry of the laboratory cell may cause a
non-uniform inflow condition and an earlier
transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Due to
the limited height of the laboratory cell the
boundary layers from the oxide wall and from the
opposite flow channel wall can overlap resulting in
a Poiseuille-type flow (refer figure 2).
The diffusive mass flux through a boundary layer is
𝑗 = 𝛽⁡∆𝑐 (2)
where 𝛽 is the mass transfer coefficient, ∆𝑐 is the
concentration difference across the boundary layer.
The mass transfer coefficient for a plane plate in a
longitudinal flow is
𝑆ℎ⁡𝐷 (3)
𝛽 =⁡
𝑥 for the mass flow through the serial combination of
where 𝑆ℎ is the Sherwood number, 𝐷 is the diffusion
constant of the species and 𝑥 is the upstream
distance along the plate.
Figure 6: mathematical reaction model for the pickling
process (unproportional sketch), different dissolution
states from t = 0 (begin of descaling process) to t = T
(scale removed)
For a laminar boundary layer the Sherwood number
𝑆ℎlam = 0.331𝑅𝑒 1/2 𝑆𝑐1/3 (4)
where 𝑅𝑒 is the Reynolds number 𝑅𝑒 = 𝑢𝑥/𝜈, 𝑥 is the
distance from the begin of the plate, 𝑢 is the
undisturbed velocity outside of the boundary layer, 𝑆𝑐
is the Schmidt-Number defined by 𝑆𝑐 = 𝜈 ⁄𝐷 with the
kinematic viscosity 𝜈 [4].
For a turbulent boundary layer the Sherwood number
0.037𝑅𝑒 0.8 𝑆𝑐 (5)
𝑆ℎturb = .
1 + 2.443𝑅𝑒 −0.1 (𝑆𝑐 2/3 − 1)
according to [4]. No values for 𝐷 for the governing
pickling acid solutions could be found in the literature,
but for liquids the value is generally in the range of
10−10 to 10−9 m²/s [4].
According to Fick’s first law the diffusive mass flow
through a channel formed by a crack of the oxide
layer is
∆𝑐 (6)
𝑗=𝐷
𝑦
where ∆𝑐 is the concentration difference across the
channel length and 𝑦 is the actual length of the
channel, increasing during the descaling process.
Combining equation 2 and 6 yields
∆𝑐 (7)
𝑗=𝐷
𝛿𝑐 + 𝑦
the boundary layer and the crack channel, where ∆𝑐
is the concentration difference between the reaction
front in the channel and the acid outside of the
boundary layer and 𝛿𝑐 = 𝑥/𝑆ℎ is the effective
concentration boundary layer thickness.
The diffusive mass flow rate corresponds to an oxide
dissolution mass rate. The relation between these
two species rates is given by the reaction equation.
The advancing velocity of the reaction front can be
determined from
𝑑𝑦 (8)
𝑗 = 𝛼𝜌𝑜
𝑑𝑡
where 𝛼 is the relation between the diffusive reactant
mass flux and the oxide dissolution rate, given by the
governing reaction equation, 𝜌𝑜 is the oxide density
and 𝑑𝑦⁄𝑑𝑡 is the velocity of the reaction front in the
crack channel. Combining equation 7 and 8 and
solving the resulting differential equation yields
𝛿𝑐 (9)
𝑇 = 𝑇0 (1 + 2 )
𝑦0
where 𝑇 is the time for the total oxide layer descaling,
𝑇0 is the descaling time for the limit case of a zero
thickness boundary layer
𝛼⁡𝜌𝑜 ⁡ 𝑦02 (10)
𝑇0 =
𝐷⁡∆𝑐 2
and 2𝑦0 is the maximum distance between two
neighboured oxide cracks.
Figure 7: Comparison of pickling reactivity as a function of the Reynolds number from laboratory measurements
and from the mathematical model for two parameter setups (A and B).
Results
The measured descaling time was determined for
four different flow velocities with 3 to 4
measurements for each velocity value (figure 4 and
5). Figure 7 shows the resulting reactivity values
(reactivity 𝑅 = 1/𝑇, where 𝑇 is the descaling time as
described above) for both observed and fitted
descaling times in comparison to the results of the
mathematical model (equation 9) with a kinematic
viscosity of 6.52·10−7m²/s (experimentally determined
for the governing acid solution) for laminar and
turbulent flow (using equation 4 and 5 for 𝛿𝑐 = 𝑥/𝑆ℎ;
the laminar, transitional and turbulent regimes are
indicated in figure 7 for a plane plate [4]) for two
different parameter setups as shown in the following
table:
parameter setup A B
𝑦0 in µm 500 19
𝑇0 in s 20 10
𝐷 in 10-9 m²/s
385 1.11
The three parameters are linked by equation 10. The
corresponding values for the experimental setup can
be found in the following table:
 parameter material value
𝛼 (dimensionless) FeO + HCl 1.0
𝜌𝑜 in kg/m³ FeO 5 740
∆𝑐 in kg/m³ HCl 85
The two parameter setups are limit values: setup A
with a high oxide crack distance and a high diffusivity,
setup B with a low oxide crack distance and a low
diffusivity. None of the two parameter setups in
combination with the laminar reaction model perfectly
fits the measured values for lower Reynolds
numbers. Nevertheless it is remarkable that the
model results are that close to the measured values
with reasonable parameter values. Unfortunately, the
range of possible flow velocities that can be achieved
in the current laboratory cell are too low in order to be
able to check the validity of the mathematical model
over a larger range of Reynolds numbers. Probably
the measurements were performed in the laminar
and the transitional range, below the fully turbulent
range. According to equation 9 the reactivity should
approach a limit value between 0.05 and 0.1 s,
depending on the parameter setup (A or B). If the
mathematical model is true, a limit value is reached
at a Reynolds numbers of about 106. This means
that as long as the flow is fully turbulent, the pickling
time is almost constant. Only if the flow regime
changes into a transitional or laminar regime, the
pickling time increases significantly. In further
investigations it will be tried to extend the
measurement range towards higher Reynolds
numbers and to characterise the flow regime by CTA
measurements. A higher number of experiments
could clear if the observed differences are due to
varying properties of the samples or if the
mathematical model has to be enhanced in order to
consider more relevant effects.
Conclusion
The influence of the flow velocity under laminar and
turbulent conditions on the pickling time has been
investigated by theoretical considerations and
laboratory experiments. Within the measured range
the mathematical model fits the measured data with
reasonable parameter settings. Since the velocity
range in the experiments is too low to reach a fully
developed turbulent flow, further measurements are
necessary in order to enable a profound validation
and model parameter identification.
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Abbreviations
RGB red green blue
CTA constant temperature anemometry
Acknowledgments
This work has been carried out at LCM GmbH as part
of a K2 project. K2 projects are financed using
funding from the Austrian COMET-K2 programme.
The COMET K2 projects at LCM are supported by
the Austrian federal government, the federal state of
Upper Austria, the Johannes Kepler University and all
of the scientific partners which form part of the K2-
COMET Consortium.
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