Secondary Cooling With Pulsed Sprays: Enhanced Cooling Range And Lower Operating Costs

In continuous casting secondary cooling the cooling intensity has to be accurately adjusted in order to achieve the desired strand surface temperature. The cooling intensity can be varied by changing the water flow rate through the nozzle. For a homogeneous cooling effect the nozzle flow rate must not drop beyond a nozzle-specific minimum value. In many cases lower cooling rates are required, which can be realized by a pulsed spray water supply. Heat transfer simulations of the strand shell temperatures during pulsed spray cooling in comparison to continuous spray cooling show that the pulsed spray cooling can effectively extend the nozzle's cooling intensity range towards lower values without any drawbacks. A further benefit is the reduced air consumption in comparison to air mist nozzles.