Growth of solidified shell in bloom continuous casting mold of hypo-peritectic steel based on a FeS tracer method

Solidification behavior in the mold region plays an important role in production efficiency and steel quality.To investigate shell growth within a mold,the sulfur prints of the entire shell thickness profile the meniscus to 100 mm below the mold were obtainedadding FeS tracer into molten steel during bloom continuous casting of hypo-peritectic steel.The law of shell thickness evolution along mold height and circumference was analyzed.The results show that there are three weak regions of solidification,which are in the mold upper part,in the mold lower part,and just below mold exit,possibly resulting periodic fluctuation of air gap between the shell and the mold,the impingement of melt jets on the solidification front,and the decreasing cooling intensity,respectively.Initial solidification point along casting direction appears at approximately 35 mm below the meniscus.Overall,the solidified shell thickness in the inner side of the mold is a little larger than that in the outer side,and the former and the latter reach 25.5 and 24.3 mm at the mold exit,respectively.The non-uniform shell growth in the inner side of the bloom is provided,while shell thicknesses in the narrow face and the outer side follow relatively regular growth.Out of the mold,the thinnest shells on the transverse section exist in the regions of 60–90 mm and 40–70 mm the corners of the inner and outer sides,respectively,i.e.,the of-corners.

Numerical Simulation on Inclusion and Bubble Entrapment in Solidified Shell in Model Experiment and in Mold of Continuous Caster With DC Magnetic Field

A model experiment investigating entrapment of inclusions and bubbles on the solidified shell was performed using molten steel,and the conditions for inclusion and bubble entrapment and mechanism of entrapment were studied. The results were applied to the flow behavior in the casting mold of a continuous caster.At the solid-liquid interface, entrapment of inclusions is greatly reduced by the existence of a low velocity flow,e.g.,0.05m/s.The above-mentioned interfacial flow velocity dependency of inclusion entrapment is considered to be largely influenced by changes in the thickness of the concentration boundary layer,which depend on the interfacial flow velocity.Specifically,bubbles and inclusions which enter the concentration boundary layer are drawn to the solid-liquid interface by a suction force which is several orders larger than the Saffman's force.In addition to the above-mentioned suction force,the so-called cleaning effect is determined by fluid-dynamic forces such as drag force,etc.which act on particles,and furthermore,by resident time of particles at the solid-liquid interface,which depends on the solidification rate.In a FC mold with a 2-stage electromagnetic brake,flotation of bubbles entrained in the jet flow from the nozzle is accelerated with the large DC magnetic field.This is attributed to the braking effect of the DC field on the nozzle jet and the upward flow by the buoyancy of the bubbles.As a result,the interfacial flow velocity can be normalized by increasing the strength of the magnetic field,and entrapment of large bubbles and inclusions can be reduced.

Mathematical modeling of flow field in slab continuous casting mold considering mold powder and solidified shell with high temperature quantitative measurement

Optimization of mathematical model of flow field in slab continuous casting mold was performed by means of industrial measurement and mathematical modeling.The rod deflection method was used to quantitatively measure the velocities near the mold surface at high temperature.The measurement results were compared with the simulation results of three mathematical models at different argon gas flow rates of 6,10 and 14 L min^(−1).The model 1 neglects the mold powder layer,thermal effect and solidified shell.The model 2 only considers the influence of mold powder layer.The model 3 considers the influence of mold powder layer,thermal effect and solidified shell on the flow field.In all three models,the diameter of argon bubbles obeys Rosin-Rammler distribution fitted according to the experimental data of others’previous work.With increasing the argon gas flow rate,the velocity of liquid steel near the mold surface decreases.The model 1 seriously underestimates the shear stress of liquid steel near the mold surface,and its calculation results show higher velocity near the mold surface,lower turbulent kinetic energy and wider distribution of argon gas bubbles in the mold.The simulation results of model 2 only considering the viscous resistance of the mold powder layer to liquid steel makes the velocity near the surface lower than the measurement results obviously.The calculated velocities near the mold surface with model 3 are in best agreement with the measured results,showing the reasonable spatial distribution range of argon bubbles in the mold and the moderate turbulent kinetic energy.In the present conditions,the best argon gas flow rate is 10 L min^(−1) due to the moderate velocity near the mold surface,the appropriate distribution of argon gas bubbles in the mold and the smallest fluctuation amplitude on the mold surface.

Mathematical model of solidification for round CC billets

A coupled mathematical model was established to simulate the whole solidification process of round billet continuous casting for wheel steel using piecewise linear functions of heat flux density in the mold, the secondary cooling zone and the with- drawing-straightening zone. The calculated results were consistent with the measured data showing that the model accords with the practice. The surface temperature and the solidified shell thickness of round billets are more strongly influenced by casting speed than by casting temperature. The holding zones have effect on surface temperature, which is more obvious for the 450 mm round billet. The relation between casting temperature/speed and solidification end is expressed as a linear function. The solidification end is located after straightening machine.

Numerical simulation of EMS position on flow, solidification and inclusion capture in slab continuous casting

Electromagnetic stirring(EMS)is a well-known and widely used technology for controlling the fluid flow in continuous casting mold,and therein the selection of stirrer position is closely related to final product.To investigate the effect of stirrer position on initial solidification and inclusion capturing,a mathematical model coupling with electromagnetic field,turbulence flow,solidification,and inclusion movement was constructed.Through comparing the magnetic flux density,flow field and solidified shell thickness with measured data,the reliability of the mathematical model was proved.The uniform index has been introduced to judge the uniformity of solidified shell,and the washing effects of EMS on the numbers and distribution of captured inclusions were discussed.The results show that a diagonal jet flow toward the mold wide face has generated when EMS is applied,and upper EMS position can effectively improve the uniformity of temperature and the solidified shell within the mold.Meanwhile,due to the washing effect of EMS,the number of inclusions inside the solidified shell decreases,and the distribution of captured inclusions along the mold width changes evenly.Decreasing the stirrer position,the uniform index decreases firstly and then increases,and the probability of inclusion capture by solidified shell increases.Thus,the upper stirrer position is suggested,with which the uniformity of solidified shell and cleanliness of slab are rational.