Vortex Flow Pattern in a Slab Continuous Casting Mold with Argon Gas Injection

An Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model was developed to study the vortex flow inside a slab continuous casting mold with argon gas injection. Interfacial momentum transfer that accommodated various interfacial forces including drag force, lift force, virtual mass force, and turbulent dispersion force was considered. Predicted results agree well with experimental measurements of the water model in two-phase flow pattern and vortex flow structures. Three typical flow patterns with different argon steel ratios (ASRs) have been obtained: "double roll", "three roll", and "single roll". The flow pattern inside the mold alternates among the three types or it may attain some intermediate condition. With increasing ASR, the positions of vortices move from the submerged entry nozzle to the narrow face of the mold, and the sizes of vortices are reduced gradually. The rotating directions of vortices are all from high velocity area to low velocity area. Two mechanisms of vortex formation on the top surface have been suggested, i. e., congruous shear flow and incongruous shear flow.