Reduction in skull loss in billet caster tundish through water modelling studies

Abstract

ABSTRACT During continuous casting, some amount of metal is left in the tundish at the end of the casting sequence to avoid slag entrapment into continuous casting mould. This tundish loss often called as skull loss. It reduces the caster yield and is directly related to the size of the tundish. JSW Steel operates with 44 T, 8 strand billet caster tundish which had ~7T tundish loss under previous operational practice. Water modelling studies were carried out using a 0.25 scale model to design a new tundish bottom to reduce tundish skull loss. Three different tundish bottom configurations were studied and the corresponding effect on tundish flow profile and vortex formation was also investigated. Based on water modelling results, the optimized tundish design was used for plant trials. A 47% reduction in skull loss was obtained with no adverse effect on steel cleanliness from different strands.