Modeling and computational simulation of fluid flow, heat transfer and inclusions trajectories in a tundish of a steel continuous casting machine

Currently, the continuous casting process is the main route used in the integrated steelmaking process. The tundish is an essential component of the caster machine and plays an important role in the control of inclusion in the production of the clean steels. Thus, viable methodologies and predictive models to evaluate this metallurgical reactor efficiency are important technological allies to improve the clean steel production. The main goal of the present study is to develop a computational tool to analyze the turbulent fluid flow, temperature distribution and inclusions removal during the continuous operation of the tundish of an industrial facility to improve its internal configuration. New configurations using weirs and dams are proposed which improve the steel quality. We used the Ansys CFX® software based on the element-based finite-volume method (EbFVM) to solve the coupled turbulent flow and heat transfer model equations in an Eulerian flame. A random nucleation mechanism for the inclusions generation and a modified Lagrangian model with a random walking model (RWM) to account for the effect of turbulence on the inclusions trajectories were proposed. The flow pattern was successfully validated with experimental data. The results were presented in terms of velocity and temperature fields and residence time distribution (RTD) curves. Then, the model was used to investigate new scenarios and enhanced geometry configurations.