Analysis of Fluid Flow of Liquid Steel through Clogged Nozzles: Thermodynamic Analysis and Flow Simulations
María Guadalupe González-Solórzano, Rodolfo Dávila Morales, E Gutiérrez, Javier Guarneros, Kinnor Chattopadhyay
Abstract
Selected raw materials, surface treatment, and control of the internal flow fundamentals are applied to manufacture an anticlogging nozzle. This nozzle is compared with another one manufactured with a conventional alumina–graphite (AG) composite in a plant trial. The two nozzles, with and without clogging, are replicated with plastic and rubber materials and the flows, under unclogged and clogged conditions, are characterized using water modelling and mathematical simulations. The new nozzle material yields considerably less clogging than the nozzle with the conventional AG after casting four heats, yet, there is still clogging. Flow patterns, because of clogging, change radically and represent serious conditions for slab integrity and the productivity of the caster.