NUMERICAL STUDY OF COUPLED TURBULENT FLOW AND SOLIDIFICATION FOR STEEL SLAB CASTERS

Abstract

A two-dimensional numerical modeling study was undertaken to account for coupled turbulent flow and heat transfer with solidification in the mold and submold regions of a steel slab caster. Liquid steel is introduced into a water-cooled mold through a bifurcated submerged entry nozzle. Turbulence phenomena in the melt pool of the caster were accounted for, using a modified version of the low-Reynolds-number κ-ε turbulence model of Launder and Sharma. The mushy region solidification, in the presence of turbulence, was taken into account by modifying the standard enthalpy-porosity technique, which is presently popular for modeling solidification problems. Thermocapillary and buoyancy effects have been considered in this model to evaluate the influences of the liquid surface tension gradient at the meniscus surface, and natural convection on flow patterns in the liquid pool. Parametric studies were carried out to evaluate the effects of typical variables, such as inlet superheat and casting speed, an the fluid flow and heat transfer results. The numerical predictions were compared with available experimental data.