Evolution of the Numerical Model Describing the Distribution of Non-Metallic Inclusions in the Tundish

Tomasz Merder,Artur Hutny,Marek Warzecha,Piotr Warzecha,Jacek Pieprzyca

doi:10.3390/ma14092229

Tomasz Merder, Artur Hutny + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092229

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Abstract

Continuous casting is one of the steel production stages, during which the improvement in the metallurgical purity of steel can be additionally affected by removing nonmetallic inclusions (NMIs). This can be achieved by means of various types of flow controllers, installed in the working space of the tundish. The change in the steel flow structure, caused by those flow controllers, should lead to an intensification of NMIs removal from the liquid metal to the slag. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the behavior of nonmetallic inclusions during the flow of liquid steel through the tundish, and particularly during their distribution. The presented paper reports the results of the modeling studies of NMI distribution in liquid steel, flowing through the tundish. CFD modeling methods—using different models and computation variants—were employed in the study. The obtained CFD results were compared with the results of laboratory tests (using a tundish water model). The results of the performed investigations allow us to compare both methods of modeling; the investigated phenomena were microparticle distribution and mass microparticle concentration in the model fluid. The validation of the CFD results verified the analyzed computation variants. The aim of the research was to determine which numerical model is the best for describing the studied phenomenon. This will be used as the first phase of a larger research program which will provide for a comprehensive study of the distribution of NMIs flowing through tundish steel.

Highlights

The continuous steel casting method is currently one of the most advanced metallurgical technologies, which, is still being developed and upgraded
The analysis of the contour maps represents the distribution of microparticles of a size of about size 20 μm (Figure 4) and shows that the pattern of flow of microparticles for Volume of Fluid (VOF) models differs from the remaining models
Methods that enable obtaining results similar to those obtained in industrial conditions are numerical simulations carried out using specialized CFD software and laboratory tests done on water models

Summary

Introduction

The continuous steel casting method is currently one of the most advanced metallurgical technologies, which, is still being developed and upgraded. The aim of those activities, in addition to assuring the safety of the process, is to enhance the quality of the continuous castings process. A criterion commonly used for the quality assessment of continuous castings is the nature of their primary structure and their metallurgical purity defined mainly by the quantity, size, and distribution of nonmetallic inclusions (NMIs). The tundish is one of the final elements of the technological line, in which appropriate conditions prevail for refining steel to clear it of inclusions. The main equations used for describing the flow of liquid steel and are the Navier–Stokes equations and the Newtonian stream continuity equations

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