Numerical study of the turbulent two-phase flow in a steel mould

Magnetic fields are an attractive contactless possibility in order to influence the liquid steel flow in the mould of the continuous casting process. In slab casting, argon bubbles are commonly introduced through the submerged entry nozzle into the liquid steel in order to reduce nozzle clogging. However, argon gas bubbles are very influential on the upper recirculation zone. Argon gas bubbles give rise to the entrapment of mould flux while bursting out at the free surface between the molten steel and the mould flux. On the other hand, several reports show that argon gas bubbles ascend near the nozzle due to their buoyancy, and such ascending argon bubbles induce an upstream of the molten steel. Thus, argon gas bubbling is thought to be able to affect the flow pattern of molten steel and subsequently exert an influence on the initial solidification in the meniscus region. Therefore, it is essential not only to prevent the steel defects which are caused by both the entrainment of mould flux and the gas bubbles, but to control the two-roll flow pattern. In our presentation, a multi-phase model is adopted to simulate the effect of argon gas bubbles on the flow pattern in the slab mould compared with water model experiments. The calculations show that argon gas bubbling increases the probability of an asymmetric instability and even unbalances the two-roll flow pattern in the slab mould.