Continuous Casting Mold Flow With Gas Injection: Comparison of Physical and Mathematical Simulations

The injection of inert gas in the inflow region of the continuous casting mold is a common measure in continuous casting to reduce clogging. Depending on the gas injection rate, the resulting gas bubbles can significantly influence the turbulent mold flow because of their buoyancy forces. The mold flow pattern can change from double to single roll because of high gas injection rates and can therefore influence the steel product quality. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the gas bubbles in numerical simulations of the mold flow. Comparisons of physical and mathematical model results show that enhanced models are required to consider the complex interaction of flow, turbulence and gas bubbles. Therefore, reliable physical models are necessary to provide accurate validation data for numerical simulations. Measured results from a 1:1 scaled mold water model are compared with simulation results.