Numerical and Physical Modeling of Steel Flow in a Two-Strand Tundish for Different Casting Conditions

Abstract

This article presents computational and water model studies of the three-dimensional turbulent fluid flow in a two-strand tundish for steady-state and transient casting conditions. First, it presents the flow field measurements obtained at a 1:3-scale water model of the tundish with the particle-image velocimetry (PIV) method during steady-state casting. The PIV measurements were performed using the Reynolds-similarity criterion. Thereafter, numerical simulation is carried out with the computational fluid dynamic software, FLUENT, using the realizable k-e turbulence model. The numerical model is validated using the measurement results obtained with the water model. The results of the numerical calculations are in good agreement with the PIV measurements. On this basis, the validated numerical model is adapted to simulate the 1:1-scale steel flow with boundary conditions that are derived from the real casting process. The nonisothermal, unsteady numerical calculations concerning the cooling process of steel melt inside the tundish are done for a 1:1-scale industrial facility-a 69-t two-strand tundish with a 380-t ladle. The influence of transient boundary conditions at the outlet of the tundish (one blocked strand) on the flow structure and mixing process of fluid during the casting process are investigated. The evaluation of the flow structure is performed using a zonal method, which relates the fluid flow with the mixing processes.

Numerical Modelling of Non-metallic Inclusion Separation in a Continuous Casting Tundish

“…Present state of the CFD techniques allow to calculate the fluid flow in tundish with the satisfying accuracy. This is confirmed by a good agreement in flow fields predicted mathematically and measured by laser-optical method using water models (Braun et al, 2010). For turbulence modelling, the standard or realizable k-ε models are mostly used, rather than Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) or Large-Eddy Simulations (LES).…”

“…However some investigations (Solorio-Diaz et al, 2004;Hou & Zou, 2005) demonstrate that this model does not give sufficient results for all cases. Investigations with water model (Braun et al, 2010) has shown that the overall flow phenomena in the tundish is well described by steady-state numerical simulations using RANS equations combined with the realizable k-ε model from Shih et al (Shih et al, 1995). This model is a good compromise between accuracy and simulation time.…”

Flow Characteristics for Two-Strand Tundish in Continuous Slab Casting Using PIV

“…Physical modeling has played a key role in tundish research [4][5][6]. In physical modeling, a low temperature aqueous analog, generally water, is used to represent molten metal in a tundish.…”

Control and Design of the Steel Continuous Casting Process Based on Advanced Numerical Models

“…The authors of papers [10,24,25,[49][50][51][52] apply average values of specific heat in modelling the continuous casting process. It seems to be a good trade-off when no experimental data is available.…”