Tundish Open Eye Formation: A Trivial Event with Dire Consequences

Abstract

Inert gas shrouding is a traditional practice in tundish metallurgy and has several benefits such as, protecting the melt stream from air aspirations, aiding inclusion flotation with argon bubbles, and also possible thermal and chemical homogenization. On the down side, it displaces the protective slag layer on the top of the melt, and exposes the steel to the ambient atmosphere. This region is often referred to as the slag eye or open eye. This exposed area leads to higher radiative heat losses, reoxidation of the liquid steel, nitrogen pickup, and subsequent inclusion formation. Although perceived as a trivial event by many, Tundish Open Eye (TOE) has dire consequences. In the present work, TOE formation and its consequences have been investigated. The mathematical modeling of this turbulent multiphase system is performed using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method, and discrete phase method (DPM), coupled with the standard k‐ϵ turbulence model. The mathematical model is compared with the water model results and plant trials. The main objective is to ensure that the steelmaking tundish acts as a refiner and not as a contaminator.