Abstract
This work evaluates the performance of a novel design for a bifurcated submerged entry nozzle (SEN) used for the continuous casting of steel slabs. The proposed design incorporates fluid flow conditioners attached on SEN external wall. The fluid flow conditioners impose a pseudosymmetric pattern in the upper zone of the mold by inhibiting the fluid exchange between the zones created by conditioners. The performance of the SEN with fluid flow conditioners is analyzed through numerical simulations using the CFD technique. Numerical results were validated by means of physical simulations conducted on a scaled cold water model. Numerical and physical simulations confirmed that the performance of the proposed SEN is superior to a traditional one. Fluid flow conditioners reduce the liquid free surface fluctuations and minimize the occurrence of vortexes at the free surface.
Highlights
Increasing cleanliness of the steel slabs produced in continuous casting machines remains one of the priorities of the steel industry [1,2,3]
The fluid flow pattern inside the mold in turn depends on several factors such as the configuration of the valve that connects the tundish with the submerged entry nozzle (SEN), the internal geometry of the SEN, the SEN submergence depth, the dimensions of the mold, and casting speed
The shape of the liquid free surface for the traditional SEN is similar to that obtained in physical simulations [20]
Summary
Increasing cleanliness of the steel slabs produced in continuous casting machines remains one of the priorities of the steel industry [1,2,3]. The design of the internal geometry of the SEN aims to induce a double roll fluid flow pattern inside the mold. Some characteristics of an unsteady flow pattern are high mold level fluctuations, uneven molten slag layer thickness, and vortexing [14]. All these features significantly degrade the quality of the solidified steel (for instance, mold powder-based slivers, uneven solidification shell, and longitudinal cracks). Following Kamal and Sahai, the present work proposes a new submerged entry nozzle design The hypothesis behind this device is that fluid flow conditioners attached to the SEN external wall reduce the oscillations of the liquid surface. This work shows that this novel design improves the performance of a traditional SEN
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