Influence of the adjustable EMBr on the asymmetric flow in a thin slab caster with a misaligned SEN

Abstract

The thin slab casting (TSC) of steel is a type of the continuous casting (CC) with a narrow funnel-shaped mold, characterized by the rapid solidification and fast production rates. A highly turbulent flow impacts on a growing solid shell due to the constant feeding of the fresh hot melt. That strongly affects the solidification profiles and final quality of the TSC slabs. The presented work numerically investigates the solidification inside the TSC mold with the asymmetric flow pattern caused by the misalignment (tilting) of the submerged entry nozzle (SEN). These effects were considered with and without the applied electromagnetic brake (EMBr). The influence of the adjustable EMBr on the asymmetric flow and solidification profiles including turbulent and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects were studied. During consistent series of simulations, the EMBr was varied between the magnetic poles and the time-averaged velocity and temperature fields were collected. The results showed that symmetric EMBr of a local type could partially improve the asymmetry. An optimal braking scenario was found for the casing speed of 5.5 m/min and maximum EMBr value of 180 mT. The solidification and MHD models including turbulence were developed using OpenFOAM®.

Effects of the asymmetric and oscillating turbulent melt flow on the heat transfer and solidification inside the thin slab continuous casting (TSC) mold under the applied electromagnetic brake (EMBr)

“…When the EMBr is applied the flow becomes more symmetric with a slightly slower upper roll on the right in figure 2-b, and the temperature field is leveled as well (see in figure 2-d). Since the application of the symmetric magnetic field itself led to improvements, an adjustable EMBr was employed through the simulation series to find an optimal brake power, which was detailed in a recent study [27]. The influence of the applied magnetic field on the asymmetric flow inside a TSC mold due to the partial SEN blockage was recently presented by the authors including effects on the solidification profiles [33].…”

“…The alloy properties, listed in reference [27], are calculated in the thermodynamic software IDS [28].…”