2009 Volume 49 Issue 10 Pages 1551-1560
The configuration of a tundish for a two-strand horizontal continuous caster was designed and optimized using water modeling, mathematical modeling and industrial trials. Five designs were studied: the original tundish without flow control devices, the tundish with a turbulence inhibitor at the bottom, the tundish with a deep inlet launder and a tilted dam at the end of the inlet launder, the tundish with two dams with holes, and the tundish with a shallow inlet launder and a high dam in the main chamber. Water modeling was used to measure residence time and investigate dead zone fractions and fluid flow patterns. In the mathematical modeling, fluid flow, heat transfer and inclusion motion and removal were calculated. In industrial trials, the total oxygen, nitrogen pick-up, and inclusions in steel samples taken from the tundish and the billets were analyzed. The results indicated that the tundish with an inlet launder and a dam either at the end of the chamber or in the main chamber was the best design.
