Modeling of Inclusion Capture in a Steel Slab Caster with Vertical Section and Bending

Particles in molten steel, including argon-gas bubbles, slag droplets, and non-metallic inclusions, are removed into the surface-slag layer or captured by solidifying steel-shell during continuous steel casting. Captured particles often become serious defects final product, so understanding particle-capture mechanisms is important for quality. Slab casters have a straight mold upper-strand prior to curved lower-strand. The present work investigates particle capture such caster using computational modeling with standard k-ε model molten-steel flow, discrete phase inclusion transport, an advanced criterion entrapment engulfment shell. A new postprocessing methodology presented applied predict inclusion-capture rates commercial cast product. locations size distributions of shell, actual quantified. predictions validated ultrasonic-test plant measurements large slab. results reveal how large-inclusion accumulates beginning strand, leading band slab inside radius. Finally, fractions due all compared different sizes, implications discussed.