Influences of SEN structures on flow characters, temperature field and shell distribution in 420 mm continuous casting mould

Abstract Ultrathick continuous slab casting is a growing technology, especially in developing countries due to the vast market demand of thick rolled plate. The structure of the submerged entry nozzle is regarded as the crucial factor to determine flow related phenomena in the mould. This article conducts a 0·55 scale water model and a three-dimensional numerical model to investigate the influences of submerged entry nozzle on flow behaviour, temperature field and solidified shell distribution in a 420 mm ultrathick slab mould. Physical and numerical finite volume methods with K–ϵ turbulence model simulations verify that the flow pattern in ultrathick mould is similar with that in conventional slab mould. The diffuse type nozzle fails to increase the surface velocity while easily causing slag entrainment. The four-spout nozzle gives a detrimental effect on shell distribution. The tunnel bottom nozzle is optimal, because it shows a lively surface behaviour and a favourable heat transfer between mould flux and surface flow, and the shell thickness is uniform and thick enough at the mould exit to avoid breakout.

[1]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[2]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Finite element modelling of turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer in continuous casting , 1991 .

[3]  V. Voller,et al.  A fixed grid numerical modelling methodology for convection-diffusion mushy region phase-change problems , 1987 .

[4]  Jun Kubota,et al.  Influence of Casting Conditions on Molten Steel Flow in Continuous Casting Mold at High Speed Casting of Slabs , 1993 .

[5]  I. V. Samarasekera,et al.  Mold behavior and its influence on quality in the continuous casting of steel slabs: Part II. Mold heat transfer, mold flux behavior, formation of oscillation marks, longitudinal off-corner depressions, and subsurface cracks , 1991 .

[6]  C. W. Hirt,et al.  Volume of fluid (VOF) method for the dynamics of free boundaries , 1981 .

[7]  Osamu Kondo,et al.  H∞ control of molten steel level in continuous caster , 1998, IEEE Trans. Control. Syst. Technol..

[8]  Andreas Theodorakakos,et al.  Numerical investigation of the free surface in a continuous steel casting mold model , 1998 .

[9]  B. Launder,et al.  The numerical computation of turbulent flows , 1990 .

[10]  Nicholas Zabaras,et al.  The Adjoint Method for an Inverse Design Problem in the Directional Solidification of Binary Alloys , 1998 .

[11]  Mathematical simulation of surface wave created in a mold due to submerged entry nozzle , 2004 .

[12]  S. Kunstreich,et al.  Effect of liquid steel flow pattern on slab quality and the need for dynamic electromagnetic control in the mould , 2005 .

[13]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Effect of Stopper-Rod Misalignment on Fluid Flow in Continuous Casting of Steel , 2011 .

[14]  A. Lahiri,et al.  A water model study of the flow asymmetry inside a continuous slab casting mold , 1996 .

[15]  W. Marsden.  I and J , 2012 .

[16]  Quan Yuan,et al.  Computational and experimental study of turbulent flow in a 0.4-scale water model of a continuous steel caster , 2004 .

[17]  Dukman Lee,et al.  High performance hybrid mold level controller for thin slab caster , 2004 .

[18]  Fumitaka Tsukihashi,et al.  Vortexing flow patterns in a water model of slab continuous casting mold , 2005 .

[19]  H. Nassar,et al.  A study of shell growth irregularities in continuously cast 310S stainless steel , 2009 .

[20]  José de Jesús Barreto,et al.  Experimental and numerical analysis of the free surface in a water model of a slab continuous casting mold , 2005 .

[21]  Xiangjun Zuo,et al.  Flow Transport and Inclusion Motion in Steel Continuous-Casting Mold under Submerged Entry Nozzle Clogging Condition , 2008 .

[22]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Numerical study of steady turbulent flow through bifurcated nozzles in continuous casting , 1995 .

[23]  A. K. Das,et al.  Experimental Simulation and Mathematical Modeling of Air Bubble Movement in Slab Caster Mold , 2006 .

[24]  Andrew G. Glen,et al.  APPL , 2001 .

[25]  D. Zhang,et al.  Water model study on fluid flow in slab continuous casting mould with solidified shell , 2011 .

[26]  Herbert Pfeifer,et al.  Simulation of the submerged energy nozzle-mold water model system using laser-optical and computational fluid dynamics methods , 2002 .

[27]  Min Zhang,et al.  Effect of Bottom Structure of Submerged Entry Nozzle on Flow Field in Ultra-Thick Slab Continuous Casting Mold , 2010 .

[28]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Transient Mold Fluid Flow with Well- and Mountain-Bottom Nozzles in Continuous Casting of Steel , 2008 .

[29]  H. Dyja,et al.  Modelling of three-dimensional temperature field inside the mould during continuous casting of steel , 2004 .

[30]  B. Thomas,et al.  Continuous Casting , 2019, Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering.

[31]  J. Khodadadi,et al.  Fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification in the mold of continuous casters during ladle change , 2001 .

[32]  Man Y. Ha,et al.  Numerical simulation of three-dimensional flow, heat transfer, and solidification of steel in continuous casting mold with electromagnetic brake , 2003 .

[33]  Shu-sen Cheng,et al.  Characteristics of shell thickness in a slab continuous casting mold , 2009 .

[34]  Henryk Dyja,et al.  Two-dimensional thermomechanical analysis of continuous casting process , 2004 .

[35]  Miguel A. Barron,et al.  Transient Internal Flow Characterization of a Bifurcated Submerged Entry Nozzle , 2006 .

[36]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Comparison of Four Methods to Evaluate Fluid Velocities in a Continuous Slab Casting Mold , 2001 .

[37]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Turbulent flow through bifurcated nozzles , 1993 .

[38]  C. Szeles,et al.  Advances in the crystal growth and device fabrication technology of CdZnTe room temperature radiation detectors , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[39]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Mathematical Modeling of Fluid Flow in Continuous Casting , 2001 .