Physical Modeling and Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow and
Solidification Behavior in a Slab Caster Mold using Hexa-furcated Nozzle
Abstract
Slag entrapment from metal-slag interface during continuous casting
operation has been a major area of concern for steelmakers globally. The
presence of inactive regions in the upper region of the mold poses
another challenge. Proper flow behavior of the molten metal coming out
of the nozzle in the mold is required to overcome these challenges.
Nozzle design greatly affects the flow pattern of the molten steel
inside the mold. The present investigation is an attempt to study the
flow and solidification behavior in a slab caster mold with the use of a
novel designed hexa-furcated nozzle (HFN) using numerical investigation
results. The casting speed and submerged entry nozzle (SEN) depth are
varied to study the effect of these parameters on minimizing the
inactive zones in the mold and the steel/slag interface fluctuations.
The results show that the interface fluctuation increases at higher
casting speed and lower SEN depth. The RTD analysis is also performed
for different cases to investigate the flow behavior. The validation of
the fluid flow and RTD curve inside the computational domain is carried
out with the use of physical modeling.