Numeric simulation of the liquid steel flow in the secondary cooling zone of a slab caster induced by in roll stirrers

Description

In the continuous casting of steel, the usage of electromagnetic actuators is on a steady rise, due to its possibilities for a contactless modification of the liquid steel flow. The complexity of the casting process and the ever-increasing quality demands require a well-founded knowledge of the interaction between the electromagnetic actuators and the liquid steel flow. Only a deep insight into this coupling makes it possible to improve/optimize the continuous casting process in combination with electromagnetic stirring. In the present work, the liquid steel flow in a slab caster, especially in the secondary cooling zone, influenced by in-roll stirrers is investigated numerically. A finite element model of a section of the strand is used together with the in-roll stirrers to calculate the distribution of the time-averaged electromagnetic forces. For this calculation, the liquid steel is assumed at rest. The resulting electromagnetic forces are then imported into the computational fluid dynamics model of the strand. For the actual simulation, they are scaled with the local velocity difference between the liquid steel flow and the electromagnetic traveling field in order to account for the movement of the liquid steel in relation to the magnetic field. With this hybrid approach different stirring setups (stirring modes, stirring strengths, …) are compared to one another in order to find an optimum in terms of the incited fluid flow. These simulations can indicate new settings for the stirrers, which can then be tested and evaluated on a real caster.

Period	01 Sept 2021
Event title	5th ESTAD 2021
Event type	Conference
Location	AustriaShow on map