Abstract
Single-phase turbulent flow in a 0.4-scale water model of a continuous steel caster is investigated using large eddy simulations (LES) and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The computational domain includes the entire submerged entry nozzle (SEN) starting from the tundish exit and the complete mold region. The results show a large, elongated recirculation zone in the SEN below the slide gate. The simulation also shows that the flow exiting the nozzle ports has a complex time-evolving pattern with strong cross-stream velocities, which is also seen in the experiments. With a few exceptions, which are probably due to uncertainties in the measurements, the computed flow field agrees with the measurements. The instantaneous jet is seen to have two typical patterns: a wobbling "stair-step" downward jet and a jet that bends upward midway between the SEN and the narrow face. A 51-second time average suppressed the asymmetries between the two halves of the upper mold region. However, the instantaneous velocity fields can be very different in the two halves. Long-term flow asymmetry is observed in the lower region. Interactions between the two halves cause large velocity fluctuations near the top surface. The effects of simplifying the computational domain and approximating the inlet conditions are presented.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 967-982 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B: Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2004 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank the National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. DMI-98-00274 and DMI-01-15486), which made this research possible. The work is also supported by the member companies of the Continuous Casting Consortium, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC). Special thanks are extended to Drs. M.B. Assar and P. Dauby for sharing the PIV data and helpful suggestions, and to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at UIUC for computational facilities.