Influence of non-iso-velocity casting on flow-field index of a 41-ton six-strand tundish by physical and numerical modeling

The flow-field index in a 41-ton six-strand tundish is considered through adjusting the ratio of the casting velocity between the strands to eliminate the negative impact of iso-velocity casting in multi-strand tundish on the consistency of each strand due to the large ratio of length to width with narrow shape structure, resulting in poor consistency of each strand. In particular, the response time of strand-1 and strand-6 is relatively long, which affects the uniformity of the temperature field and flow field of the entire tundish. On the basis of verifying that the error between the numerical simulations and hydraulic experiments is less than 6%, six cases with the casting velocity ratio changing from 0.8 to 1.3 (with an interval of 0.1) are considered by calculation of numerical models. It is concluded that the consistency of each flow can be obviously improved by increasing the casting velocity ratio between side-strand and middle-strand. With increasing the casting velocity ratio, the flow field in the tundish became much active, the temperature field presented well uniformity, and the tracer concentration distribution in local dead zones was improved.