LARGE EDDY SIMULATION FOR UNSTEADY TURBULENT FLOW IN THIN SLAB CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLD

Abstract

The unsteady turbulent flow during the continuous casting of steel is important, because it influences critical phenomena that affect steel quality. Unsteady three-dimensional flow in the mold region of the liquid pool during continuous casting of steel slabs has been computed using realistic geometries starting from the submerged inlet nozzle to the mold. The cassette filter function was used to deal with unsteady Navier-Stokes equation, and then the turbulent flow in the thin slab CCM was simulated with the large eddy simulation method combined with the Smagorinsky sub-grid scale model in this paper. And the model was verified by the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experimental results which was got from a relate scientific literature. In this thesis, by means of LES, the flow characteristics in the thin slab CCM were acquired, such as the vortex distribution, the formation of the large eddy coherent structures, development, shedding and fracture process. In the same time, the turbulent asymmetric distribution was revealed even the nozzle in the centre position. Interactions between the two halves cause large velocity fluctuations near the meniscus. And the vortex is located at the low velocity side adjacent to the SEN. Along with the unsteady time development, the unsteady turbulent large vortex structures of the liquid steel in the CCM presented periodic bias flow distribution, and the period is about 20 seconds.