Recent activities for experimental modelling and investigation of the steel flow within the limmcast program at HZDR

Model experiments with low melting point liquid metals are an important tool to investigate the flow structure and related transport processes in melt flows relevant for metallurgical applications. We present the experimental facility LIMMCAST for modelling the continuous casting process of steel using the alloy SnBi at temperatures of 200-400°C. The parameters of the facility and the dimensions of the test sections will be given, and the possibilities for flow investigations in tundish, submerged entry nozzle and mould will be discussed. In addition, the smaller set-ups mini-LIMMCAST and X-LIMMCAST will be presented, which work with the room-temperature liquid alloy GaInSn. The main value of cold metal laboratory experiments consists in the capabilities to obtain quantitative flow measurements with a reasonable spatial and temporal resolution. New ultrasonic and electromagnetic techniques for measuring the velocity in liquid metal flows came up during the last decade allowing for a satisfying characterisation of flow quantities in the considered temperature range up to 400°C. A selection of results will be presented in this paper covering various phenomena occurring in single-phase and two-phase flows.