Hydrodynamic effects created by argon stirring liquid steel in a one-strand tundish

Abstract

Continuous casting of steel ensures the flexible production of different grades of slabs intended for the Rolling Mill departments. Therefore, it seems justifiable to search new solutions for tundish metallurgy. This study puts forward a new gas-permeable barrier’s design solution with two circular porous plugs, whose purpose is to punctually agitate the liquid steel in tundish. Two argon injection system locations were tested. The results for the hydrodynamic pattern of liquid steel and bubbles’ behaviour in the tundish were obtained from laboratory experiments with water glass model and computer simulations. Within the framework of the investigation, three argon flow rates, i.e. 5, 10 and 15 NL min⁻¹, were considered. The designed gas-permeable barriers effectively stimulate active flow in the tundish for isothermal and non-isothermal conditions, while reducing the stagnant flow share and the transient zone extent.