Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide Valve
Slab molds receive liquid steel from the tundish through bifurcated submerged entry nozzles (SEN) using a slide valve as throughput control. Due to the off-centering position of the three plates’ orifices that conform to the valve to control the steel passage, the flow inside the nozzle and mold is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Crystals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/11/1035 |
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| author | Jafeth Rodríguez-Ávila Carlos Rodrigo Muñiz-Valdés Rodolfo Morales-Dávila Alfonso Nàjera-Bastida |
| author_facet | Jafeth Rodríguez-Ávila Carlos Rodrigo Muñiz-Valdés Rodolfo Morales-Dávila Alfonso Nàjera-Bastida |
| author_sort | Jafeth Rodríguez-Ávila |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Slab molds receive liquid steel from the tundish through bifurcated submerged entry nozzles (SEN) using a slide valve as throughput control. Due to the off-centering position of the three plates’ orifices that conform to the valve to control the steel passage, the flow inside the nozzle and mold is inherently biased toward the valve opening side. In the practical casting, a biased flow induces inhomogeneous heat fluxes through the mold copper plates. The nozzle design itself is also a challenge, and has direct consequences on the quality of the product. A diagnosis of the casting process regarding the internal and external flows, performed through experimental and mathematical simulation tools, made it possible to reach concrete results. The mathematical simulations predicted the flow dynamics, and the topography and levels variations of the meniscus characterized through a full-scale water model. The flows are biased, and the meniscus level fluctuations indicated that the current nozzle is not reliable to cast at the two extremes of the casting speeds of 0.9 m/min and 1.65 m/min, due to the danger of mold flux entrainment. A redesign of the nozzle is recommended, based on the experimental and mathematical results presented here. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:52:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-32ea91c23e6249009a7a4e60191940c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4352 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:52:39Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Crystals |
| spelling | doaj.art-32ea91c23e6249009a7a4e60191940c52023-11-20T20:49:50ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522020-11-011011103510.3390/cryst10111035Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide ValveJafeth Rodríguez-Ávila0Carlos Rodrigo Muñiz-Valdés1Rodolfo Morales-Dávila2Alfonso Nàjera-Bastida3Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. Fundidores Km 13, Ciudad Universitaria, Arteaga Coahuila 25350, MexicoFacultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Blvd. Fundidores Km 13, Ciudad Universitaria, Arteaga Coahuila 25350, MexicoDepartment of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, UPALM Zacatenco, CP 07738, MexicoInstituto Politécnico Nacional-UPIIZ, Metallurgical Engineering, Blvd. del Bote 202, Cerro del Gato 202, Zacatecas 98160, MexicoSlab molds receive liquid steel from the tundish through bifurcated submerged entry nozzles (SEN) using a slide valve as throughput control. Due to the off-centering position of the three plates’ orifices that conform to the valve to control the steel passage, the flow inside the nozzle and mold is inherently biased toward the valve opening side. In the practical casting, a biased flow induces inhomogeneous heat fluxes through the mold copper plates. The nozzle design itself is also a challenge, and has direct consequences on the quality of the product. A diagnosis of the casting process regarding the internal and external flows, performed through experimental and mathematical simulation tools, made it possible to reach concrete results. The mathematical simulations predicted the flow dynamics, and the topography and levels variations of the meniscus characterized through a full-scale water model. The flows are biased, and the meniscus level fluctuations indicated that the current nozzle is not reliable to cast at the two extremes of the casting speeds of 0.9 m/min and 1.65 m/min, due to the danger of mold flux entrainment. A redesign of the nozzle is recommended, based on the experimental and mathematical results presented here.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/11/1035slide valvemoldprocess diagnosisturbulence |
| spellingShingle | Jafeth Rodríguez-Ávila Carlos Rodrigo Muñiz-Valdés Rodolfo Morales-Dávila Alfonso Nàjera-Bastida Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide Valve Crystals slide valve mold process diagnosis turbulence |
| title | Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide Valve |
| title_full | Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide Valve |
| title_fullStr | Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide Valve |
| title_full_unstemmed | Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide Valve |
| title_short | Process Diagnosis of Liquid Steel Flow in a Slab Mold Operated with a Slide Valve |
| title_sort | process diagnosis of liquid steel flow in a slab mold operated with a slide valve |
| topic | slide valve mold process diagnosis turbulence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/11/1035 |
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