Particle image velocimetry in the physical modeling of the casting of steel and aluminum

摘要

Physical(water) modeling of metal flow is a useful adjunct to mathematical modeling in developing our understanding of continous casting of steel and DC (or EM) casting of aluminum.Results from physical models can,for example,be used to test mathematical models.The research described in this poster is a project where particle image velocimetry(PIV) is used to gather data on large water models of casters.PIV has proven to be an efficient tool in these applications; velocities can be measured simultaneously over a whole plane of the fluid.Ensemble averaging of the velocities yields time averaged velocities in the case of turbulent flow.Results include the significant effect of argon injection at the submerged entry model on flow in the mold region of the steel caster,the sensitivity of the flow in the sump of the aluminum caster to misplacement of the distributor bag or to partial blockage of the outflow "windows" of the bag,and the effect of nozzle mis-alignment.The physical modeling has been accompanied by mathematical modeling using FIDAP and there is reasonable agreement between the PIV measurement and predictions of FIDAP.Further information and results are available at