Swirling flow control in immersion nozzle for Continuous Casting process

Abstract

It has been acknowledged that swirling motion in the immersion nozzle is very effective to control the bulk mold flow. From the practical viewpoint, it is very reasonable for a swirling strength in the immersion nozzle to be as weak as possible while controlling the bulk mold flow. Here, a gradually diverging immersion nozzle is proposed and its characteristics and its effectiveness on controlling a bulk mold flow are investigated, using a water mold model.
Using even considerably weak swirling velocity (0.24 m/s) in an immersion nozzle, maximum velocity at the outlet of the nozzle, surface flow on the meniscus and upward velocity near the narrow face were reduced. However a variation of velocity in those cases was observed.