Fluid flow control in a billet tundish during steel filling operations

The startup of casting sequences in continuous casting of steel using three different turbulence inhibitors were modeled and simulated through the multiphase volume of fluid model (VOF) in a four-strand tundish. In the actual caster, one of the inhibitors released the liquid steel with a superheat high enough to avoid freezing problems in the outer strands. A second inhibitor improved the flow, yet it yielded steel freezing in these strands. A two-phase air–water system was used to model the liquid steel–air system and the interfaces were tracked by a donor–acceptor principle applied in the computational mesh. These activities led to the design of a third inhibitor. Experimental outcomes and the mathematical simulations agreed remarkably well regarding the velocity of the stream front in the tundish floor and the mass of steel reaching the outer strands. A larger steel mass and a faster stream front helped to completely prevent the steel from freezing in the outer strands. Finally, flow fields during the filling of the tundish using two of these inhibitors were simulated and the results explain the different performances observed experimentally.