Comparison of mathematical models for the turbulent fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification in the continuous casting process

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Comparison of mathematical models for the turbulent fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification in the continuous casting process

Rodrigo Ottoni Da Silva Pereira, Roberto Parreiras Tavares

Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7494/cmms.2007.3.0175

Abstract:

In the present work a mathematical model for the continuous casting process and its principal phenomena was developed. The model takes into account: heat transfer, fluid flow and mass transfer. The model allows the calculation of temperature, velocity, carbon concentration and turbulence variables profiles and the variation of the solidified shell thickness along the caster. The new features of the present model are the inclusion of the effects of nozzle port configuration on the fluid flow and the possibility to perform calculations for the entire casting length. The effect of fluid flow and segregation was evaluated and it was shown that the mathematical model should take the fluid flow into account and that segregation has a minor effect in the temperature and fluid flow profiles. The introduction of the effect of segregation in the model indicates that the carbon content is lower near the surface and higher in the center of the strand. The model also showed that the strand becomes completely solid at approximately 13m below the meniscus in the case studied. The fluid flow affects the process in the first 4 to 5 m of the strand, being important only in the first 2 m. Different nozzle port angles were simulated and it was shown that a port with a downward angle leads to lower turbulence at the meniscus level in the mould.

Cite as:

Pereira, R., & Tavares, R., (2007). Comparison of mathematical models for the turbulent fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification in the continuous casting process. Computer Methods in Materials Science, 7(3), 352 – 365. https://doi.org/10.7494/cmms.2007.3.0175

Article (PDF):

Keywords:

Continuous casting, Mathematical modelling, Fluid flow, Segregation, Turbulence

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