Experimental Investigation of the Influence of a Centered Line Sparger on the Jet from the Shroud in a 1:3 Water Model of a Tundish

Abstract

In a continuous casting plant a tundish serves two main purposes. Firstly, it is a buffer vessel between the ladles and the mold and secondly, it is designed to remove non‐metallic particles from the melt. As the demands on the quality of the cast product have increased strongly, floatation (removal of particles using bubbles) of the particles becomes necessary. These bubbles alter the global flow field in the tundish. At large gas flow rates this influence needs to be considered in the positioning of mechanical flow control devices such as wears or impact pads. In this paper the influence of a line sparger on the global flow field is investigated using a 1:3 water model. A series of PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) measurements have been performed at a wide range of air and water flow rates showing the influence of the bubbles on the shape of the liquid jet from the shroud. In addition, a dimensionless number is derived, which can be used to scale the gas flow rate from different experiments. This number is shown to be valid within the range of the experiments presented in this paper.