Effect of Height and Position of Dams on Inclusion Removal in a Six Strand Tundish

The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations have been numerically solved to obtain a steady, three-dimensional velocity field inside the six-strand billet caster tundish using the standard k–ε model of turbulence. These steady flow fields so obtained are then used to predict the removal of inclusions from molten steel by solving the inclusion transport equation with the help of a commercial CFD software Fluent 6.1.22. The effects of height and position of dams in the tundish and size of the inclusion particles on percentage inclusion removal were studied. To simulate the chaotic effect of the turbulent eddies on the particle paths; a discrete random walk model was applied during inclusion trajectory calculations. The computational model was first validated with the results reported in the literature a good match was found between the two. It was found that with the increase in the height of the dams, the inclusion removal tendency increased whereas the shifting of the dams towards the outlets decreases the inclusion removal. An increase in the inclusion removal was found with an increase in the inclusion particle size.