Numerical modelling of metal/flux interface in a continuous casting mould

Abstract

The behaviour of liquid slag in the mould is one of the key research areas of the continuous steel casting process. Numerical simulations of steel casting in the mould equipped with submerged entry nozzle, intended for slab casting, have been carried out within the study. For modelling the behaviour of the interfaces of the liquid steel - liquid slag - air system, the Vof method was employed. In the conducted simulations, seven different procedures for the discretization of the interface of individual phases were tested. The computation results have revealed that the "entrapment" of fine slag portions into liquid steel occurs in the system under investigation; the cause of this phenomenon is explicated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz theory.