A 3-D model of mechanical agitator was established and the flow fields were investigated under different anchor agitators

melting temperatures

agitator rotational speeds and the position of the agitator by using Fluent in ANSYS software combining with MRF model. The results present that through changing the anchor agitator shapes

little effect on flow field in the mixing process can be observed. With the increase of the melting temperature

the range of the melting flow is enlarged and the optimized temperature to setting the anchor agitator is more than 1 100 ℃. The maximum flow velocity of melting with 100 r/min agitator rotational speed is 1.47 m/s

which is twice as that of 50 r/min. When the distance between the agitator and the bottom of crucible is a quarter of the height

the range of the melting stirred is large

however

when the distance of that is one-eighth of the height

the melting under the agitator is stirred adequately. Mechanical stirring can improve effectively the melt flow rate and flow range.