Flow of Steel in Mold Region During Continuous Casting

The particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique was used to study the fluid flow phenomena that occurred during continuous casting, using a water model with dimensions of 1 840 mm × 280 mm. Two types of solidified shells, i. e., the smooth type and the coarse type, were used to characterize the dendrite in order to simulate different liquid-solid interfacial conditions. The influence of the nozzle angle and the immersion depth of nozzle, as well as the casting speed on the flow behavior was investigated quantitatively. The results were as follows: (1) There are two large recirculations above and below the fluid jet in the mold, respectively, under the smooth interface condition. However, in the case of the dendrite solidified shell, it was found that the flow velocity of the fluid decreased and more smaller vortices appeared in the upper region of the mold. (2) The angle and the immersion depth of nozzle are two important factors affecting the flow pattern, and they are also capable of bringing about the change in the flow direction. (3) The higher the casting speed, the higher are the jet stream and the impacting point on the narrow face. However, the high casting speed causes serious fluctuation of the meniscus, and correspondingly leads to various defects.