Transient Thermo-fluid Model of Meniscus Behavior and Slag Consumption in Steel Continuous Casting

The behavior of the slag layer between the oscillating mold wall, the slag rim, the slag/liquid steel interface, and the solidifying steel shell, is of immense importance for the surface quality of continuous-cast steel. A computational model of the meniscus region has been developed, that includes transient heat transfer, multi-phase fluid flow, solidification of the slag, and movement of the mold during an oscillation cycle. First, the model is applied to a lab experiment done with a “mold simulator” to verify the transient temperature-field predictions. Next, the model is verified by matching with available literature and plant measurements of slag consumption. A reasonable agreement has been observed for both temperature and flow-field. The predictions show that transient temperature behavior depends on the location of the thermocouple during the oscillation relative to the meniscus. During an oscillation cycle, heat transfer variations in a laboratory frame of reference are more severe than experienced by the moving mold thermocouples, and the local heat transfer rate is increased greatly when steel overflows the meniscus. Finally, the model is applied to conduct a parametric study on the effect of casting speed, stroke, frequency, and modification ratio on slag consumption. Slag consumption per unit area increases with increase of stroke and modification ratio, and decreases with increase of casting speed while the relation with frequency is not straightforward. The match between model predictions and literature trends suggests that this methodology can be used for further investigations.