Combined Electromagnetic Tomography for Determining Two-phase Flow Characteristics in the Submerged Entry Nozzle and in the Mold of a Continuous Casting Model

This article describes experiments on the combined determination of the distribution of liquid metal and argon in the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) and of the flow in the mold of a small-scale physical model of a continuous slab caster. For visualizing the metal distribution in the SEN, mutual inductance tomography (MIT) is applied, while the flow in the mold is determined by contactless inductive flow tomography (CIFT). The results of the latter are validated in part by ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry (UDV). Accompanying measurements provide information about the levels in the tundish and in the mold, as well as on the pressure in the SEN. Depending on the gas flow rate, various flow regimes are identified, among them pressure and mold level oscillations, transitions between double and single vortex flows, and transient single port ejections.