Single strand continuous caster tundish furniture comparison for optimal performance

Analysis of a single strand 36 t thin slab caster tundish has been conducted with different sets of furniture using a three-dimensional computation fluid dynamics model taking heat losses into account. Five distinct and optimised cases and a base case were used for simulation. The cases were built considering tundish furniture that is readily and economically available and provides ease of maintenance, thus targeting an optimal set of furniture. The performance of different sets of furniture was assessed based on residence time parameters like plug volume fraction, mixed volume fraction, dead volume fraction, etc. Other performance indicators used in the analysis were temperature distribution, observing cold spot, surface velocity and nature of flow in the tundish. Insight from the base case reveals the desired flow characteristics that help to achieve the target performance. Inferred results suggested the use of a turbulence inhibitor in combination with a dam as the optimal set of furniture. Use of a non-isothermal model is important, as it was found that even a small change in temperature (2·3°C) plays a vital role in the fluid flow inside the tundish.