Mathematical and physical modeling studies of molten aluminum flow in a tundish
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I.
INTRODUCTION
AN in-depth understanding of the transport processes encountered in tundishes, which are an integral component of any continuous casting operation, has received great attention in recent years (McLean,ill Schade,t~l Szekely et al. ,t3] and Szekely and Ilegbusi[4]). A tundish is a vessel placed between the ladle and the mold for the purpose of properly controlling the molten metal before it is introduced in the mold; it acts as a distributor of the molten metal. In addition, removal of nonmetallic inclusions is a major objective in design of tundishes. The flow fields encountered in tundishes are always threedimensional (3-D), turbulent, and extremely difficult to analyze by simple engineering tools. As a complement to the ongoing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies at the Alcoa Technical Center, an experimental investigation that was directed at the physical modeling of the molten aluminum flow in a tundish was conducted. At the present stage, the results of this project are primarily used for validation of the CFD studies. It is envisioned that the interaction of the computational and experimental approaches will ultimately lead to process and tundish design improvements in aluminum plants. II.
LITERATURE SURVEY
In order to improve fluid flow and heat transfer in steel plants, Sucker and Boenecketsl reported on the general use of physical modeling techniques, e . g . , surface particle visualization, light scattering, and colored jets. Tundish flow modifications were particularly emphasized. Computation of the 3-D liquid steel flow in a rectangular tundish with two outlets was reported by Lai F. SHEN and X.K. LAN, Graduate Assistants, and J.M. Associate Professor, a.re with the Mechanical Engineering Department, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 368495341. S.J. PIEN, Staff Engineer, is with the Aluminum Company of America, ALCOA Technical Center, Alcoa Center, PA 15069. Manuscript submitted December 27, 1993.
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METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B
et a l . , t61 who used a high-Reynolds-number k-e turbu-
lence model. Qualitative flow behavior was studied using dye tracing and tuft flow visualization, whereas limited velocity and turbulence measurements were obtained using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) in a 1/6scale water model, but the emphasis remained on the mathematical modeling. The strong three-dimensionality of the flow field was estabhshed, and qualitative features of the experimental data compared well to the computational results. He and SahaiiTl reported the development of a 3-D mathematical model to predict the turbulent flow field in a tundish with a rectangular cross section. The model was then extended to typical industrial tundishes with inclined walls, and the results were verified by a 1/3-scale water model. The results suggested that the tundish with inclined walls provides greater opportunity for the floatation of inclusions within the molten steel. Sahai iS1 extended the previous study of He and Sahai tTJto the case of steel tundishes with baffles wit
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