The Behavior of Argon Gas Bubbles at Meniscus in Continuous Casting Mold

Abstract

The behavior of argon gas bubbles at meniscus in the continuous casting mold was studied using a Wood's metal model. Argon gas was injected into Wood's metal flow through a porous plate or an orifice set in the immersion nozzle. Both the diameter and the number of argon gas bubbles generated at meniscus regions were measured with a color high-speed video camera. Generation rate of argon gas at each region of meniscus was measured with a mass flow meter. The distribution of argon gas bubbles at meniscus was dependent on the flow rate of argon gas injected into the immersion nozzle, but was independent on the flow velocity of Wood's metal in the nozzle. The number of argon gas bubbles at meniscus was dependent on the diameter of bubble. The ratio of the number of argon gas bubbles at meniscus in a unit time was estimated as the following function of bubble diameter.
n=Ωd^-5.5
where n is the ratio of the number of argon gas bubbles at meniscus in a unit time, Ω is the constant and d is the diameter of argon gas bubble.
The flow velocity of Wood's metal at meniscus in mold was influenced by the injection rate of argon gas into the immersion nozzle.