Abstract
Continuous casting of steel involving different grades in the same casting sequence remains a challenge to billet caster operators. The intermixed composition obtained during the grade change does not meet the specification of either grade and must be downgraded. Incorrect identification of this intermixed region may result in non-conforming products reaching the customer. In this study, a numerical model based on CFD (computational fluid dynamics approach) has been developed which predicts the start and end of the intermixed composition and the tonnage to be downgraded under different casting conditions. This model was validated and the results were in good agreement with the actual plant data for a 6-strand billet caster at LD-1 of TATA Steel, India. This model is used to calculate transition tonnage for different scenarios, e.g. when one of the outermost strands is not functional or some combinations are not functional and varying casting speed during operation. Furthermore, impact of different design of baffles on performance of Tundish has been evaluated to find a way to reduce transition or intermixed composition.
Highlights
Continuous casting of steel involving different grades in the same casting sequence remains a challenge to billet caster operators
A numerical model based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been developed which predicts the start and end of the intermixed composition and the tonnage to be downgraded under different casting conditions
Continuous casting of steel involves liquid steel to be transferred from ladle to Tundish and to mould
Summary
Continuous casting of steel involves liquid steel to be transferred from ladle to Tundish and to mould. When two heats of different composition are cast in a continuous sequence without replacing the Tundish produces intermixed products or grade transition. Third case of semi-empirical model is based on experiment on real plant conditions where billet/slab composition is tracked with time to predict transition tonnage. In the present work, a three-dimensional numerical model has been developed based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for the prediction of transition tonnage for 6 strands billet caster of Tata Steel India. The model is first validated with the available plant data and after the successful validation, the model is used to predict the transition tonnage under different plant conditions when one or more strand is non-functional or to find the effect of different casting speeds. Two designs of baffles have been analysed to find the efficiency regarding intermixed quantity
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