Flow and Clogging in Continuous Casting Tundish Nozzles

Brian Thomas and Hua Bai

Continuous Casting Consortium

Clogging of tundish nozzles limits the productivity and adversely affects the quality of continuous cast steel. This project seeks to quantify the prediction and detection of clogs caused by air aspiration into low pressure regions on the nozzle. Mathematical models have been developed to predict flow and pressure in the nozzle, including the effects of argon bubble motion, and turbulence. The results have been validated and used to: characterize flow conditions at nozzle exit; to develop an index to detect clogging; and to optimize argon injection as a function of casting parameters.

Publications:

Bai, H. and B.G. Thomas, "Effect of Clogging, Argon Injection and Casting Conditions on Flow Rate and Air Aspiration in Submerged Entry Nozzles", 83rd Steelmaking Conference Proceedings, (Pittsburgh, PA, March 26-29, 2000), Vol. 83, Iron and Steel Society, Warrendale, PA, 2000, 183-197. Click here for a PDF version. (1.41 MB)


Bai, H., and B.G. Thomas, “Effects of Clogging, Argon Injection and Continuous Casting Conditions on Flow and Air Aspiration in Submerged Entry Nozzles”, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, Vol. 32B, No. 4, (August), 2001, pp. 707-722. Click here for a PDF version. (0.99 MB)


Thomas, B.G., and H. Bai, "Tundish Nozzle Clogging : Application of Computational Models”, 84th Steelmaking Conference Proceedings, (18th PTD Conf., Baltimore, MD, March 25-28, 2001), Vol. 84, Iron and Steel Society, Warrendale, PA, 2001, pp. 895-912. Click here for a PDF version. (1.51 MB)