Laboratory Investigation of Tomography-Controlled Continuous Steel Casting.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Fluid Dynamics
• Process Control

Background:

• Continuous casting is crucial for global steel production (>96%).
• Flow conditions in the mold significantly impact steel product quality.
• Automated flow control during casting is essential for quality assurance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel controller using contactless inductive flow tomography (CIFT) for electromagnetic brake (EMBr) adjustment.
• To develop and test a system for real-time monitoring and control of fluid flow in continuous casting molds.
• To address challenges in steel quality caused by undesirable flow patterns, such as submerged entry nozzle (SEN) clogging.

Main Methods:

• Development of a CIFT-based sensor system for flow reconstruction.
• Implementation of a novel controller integrating CIFT data with an electromagnetic brake (EMBr).
• Utilizing the mini-LIMMCAST facility for experimental validation under simulated clogging conditions.

Main Results:

• CIFT successfully reconstructed flow patterns, identifying jet impingement positions.
• The controller detected simulated SEN clogging and adjusted the EMBr accordingly.
• Active EMBr intensified jet penetration during simulated clogging compared to inactive EMBr.

Conclusions:

• CIFT provides a viable method for real-time flow monitoring in continuous casting.
• The developed CIFT-based controller effectively manages EMBr to mitigate flow-related defects.
• This approach offers a pathway to automated quality control in steel production.