Criteria for water modeling of melt flow and inclusion removal in continuous casting tundishes

Abstract

Water modeling of tundish melt flows offers useful insight into the underlying flow phenomena occurring in the tundish. Most of the water modeling studies have been carried out under isothermal conditions with water at room temperature, and have employed full as well as reduced scale models. In water modeling, a reduced scale model can not simultaneously satisfy the Reynolds as well as Froude similarity criteria. Many industrial modeling studies have employed full scale models while many university researchers have used small scale models based on the Froude similarity criterion. This paper discusses the importance and validity of these criteria. For simulation of inclusion flotation in water models, gravitational force becomes important. The choice of model inclusion to water density and the model inclusion size needed for proper simulation of a given inclusion size in molten steel are discussed. A criterion for quantitative determination of inclusion agglomeration in the water model is also suggested. Thus, a procedure and appropriate criteria for water modeling of flow and inclusion flotation and removal are outlined.