FLUID FLOW AND INCLUSION BEHAVIOR IN A CONTINUOUS BILLET CASTING TUNDISH

The fluid flow and inclusion behaviour in a continuous billet casting tundish was studied by water-oil modeling. Oil content and droplet size distribution were measured at tundish outlets under various casting conditions, using high speed videoing technology in conjunction with a flow-through optical cell. The focus of this study was placed on the behavior of macro size inclusions, which are detrimental to the mechanical properties of steel. It was found that inclusion removal efficiency was affected by a number of factors, such as ladle stream condition, casting rate, tundish depth, ladle change practice, flow control device and shroud type etc. There is a critical tundish depth, beyond which further increase in tundish bath depth would have minimal effect on inclusion removal.