Experimental and numerical modelling of the fluid flow in the continuous casting of steel

This article gives an overview of recent research activities with respect to the mold flow in the continuous casting of steel in presence of DC magnetic fields. The magnetic fields appear to be an attractive tool for controlling the melt flow in a contactless way. Various kinds of magnetic systems are already in operation in industrial steel casting, but the actual impact on the melt flow has not been sufficiently verified by experimental studies. The rapid development of innovative diagnostic techniques in low-melting liquid metals over the last two decades enables new possibilities for systematic flow measurements in liquid metal model experiments. A new research program was initiated at HZDR comprising three experimental facilities providing a LIquid Metal Model for continuous CASTing of steel (LIMMCAST). The facilities operate in a temperature range from room temperature up to 400^°C using the low-melting alloys GaInSn and SnBi, respectively. The experimental program is focused on quantitative flow measurements in the mold, the submerged entry nozzle and the tundish. Local potential probes, Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (UDV) and Contactless Inductive Flow Tomography (CIFT) are employed to measure the melt flow. The behavior of two-phase flows in case of argon injection is investigated by means of the Mutual Inductance Tomography (MIT) and X-ray radioscopy. The experimental results provide a substantial data basis for the validation of related numerical simulations. Numerical calculations were performed with the software package ANSYS-CFX with an implemented RANS-SST turbulence model. The non-isotropic nature of MHD turbulence was taken into account by specific modifications of the turbulence model. First results of the LIMMCAST program reveal important findings such as the peculiar, unexpected phenomenon that the application of a DC magnetic field may excite non-steady, non-isotropic large-scale flow oscillations in the mold. Another important result of our study is that electrical boundary conditions, namely the wall conductivity ratio, have a serious influence on the mold flow while it is exposed to an external magnetic field.