Abstract
The flow structure in the mold of a continuous steel caster has a significant impact on the quality of the final product. Conventional sensors used in industry are limited to measuring single variables such as the mold level. These measurements give very indirect information about the flow structure. For this reason, designing control loops to optimize the flow is a huge challenge. A solution for this is to apply non-invasive sensors such as tomographic sensors that are able to visualize the flow structure in the opaque liquid metal and obtain information about the flow structure in the mold. In this paper, ultrasound Doppler velocimetry (UDV) is used to obtain key features of the flow. The preprocessing of the UDV data and feature extraction techniques are described in detail. The extracted flow features are used as the basis for real time feedback control. The model predictive control (MPC) technique is applied, and the results show that the controller is able to achieve optimum flow structures in the mold. The two main actuators that are used by the controller are the electromagnetic brake and the stopper rod. The experiments included in this study were obtained from a laboratory model of a continuous caster located at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR).
Highlights
The majority of the world’s steel production uses continuous casting to produce solid steel. the process has been around for many decades, the complex flow phenomena especially in the mold of a continuous caster are still being investigated and modelled
The continuous casting process is shown in Figure 1; liquid steel is first poured from a ladle into a tundish, it flows into the mold through a submerged entry nozzle (SEN)
The step is to extract the necessary features from the velocity profile including adapted to contactless inductive flow tomography (CIFT), which has the potential to be applied the jet impingement and jet velocity
Summary
The majority of the world’s steel production uses continuous casting to produce solid steel. The continuous casting process is shown in Figure 1; liquid steel is first poured from a ladle into a tundish, it flows into the mold through a submerged entry nozzle (SEN). Turbulent flow, and slag entrapment are heavily studied in the industry due to their detrimental effects on the quality of the steel [2]. Many of these quality issues originate from the flow structure of the liquid steel in the mold. The visualization of the flow in this area is very difficult due to limitations of sensors This limitation presents a challenge for controller designs that could potentially improve the quality issues in the mold.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
