Biased flows in slab moulds induced by slide gates. Part I: experimental measurements and flow simulation

Abstract

The effects of the slide or valve gate opening on the fluid flow of liquid steel in a slab mould, using a pyramid-bottom nozzle, were studied using water model and computer fluid dynamic approaches. When the valve gate opening is oriented towards the front broad face of the mould, the discharging jets impact first the back broad face, reach the narrow faces surrounding the mould and flow along the frontal broad face, providing natural biased flows. The combination of LES–VOF models is capable of simulating the flow patterns of water in the mould model as well as the topography of the free bath surface.

Keywords:

• Continuous slab casting
• Slide gate
• CFD
• PIV
• Biased flows

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the institutions CONACYT and the programme IPN-BEIFI for granted scholarships to V.H.C., R.D.M. thanks IPN and SNI for their support to his Research Group.