Effect of nozzle swirl blade on flow pattern in runner during uphill teeming

Recent research has found a swirling flow induced by a twist-tape swirl blade inserted in the submerged entry nozzle of both slab and billet continuous casting molds to be remarkably effective for controlling the fluid-flow pattern in mold filling. The objective of the work reported on in this paper was to investigate usage of the swirl blade in the filling of molds in uphill teeming. Both mathematical and physical modeling were employed. Resulting velocity predictions and measurements corresponding to different positions in the water model were compared. Specific focus was on manipulation of the flow pattern by the swirl blade and its affect on flow unevenness, i.e. tangential and axial velocities. Good agreement was observed between the calculated and experimental results. The study's findings strongly suggest that equipping the entry nozzle of the uphill-teeming mold with a swirl blade would be a highly effective means of reducing flow unevenness during filling.