Macrosegregation is one of the major defects in continuously cast products and can severely affect the final properties of the material. The numerical modelling can help to predict and better understand the segregation and flow patterns inside the mould. The process is approximated with a physical model described by a set of conservation equations describing the turbulent fluid flow, heat transfer, solidification and segregation. The incompressible turbulent flow is described by a two-equation low-Re k-epsilon model and Abe-Kondoh-Nagano closures. The Boussinesq approximation is applied to account for the thermo-solutal buoyancy effects, and the Darcy approximation is used to describe the flow through the porous mushy zone. On a microscale, a lever rule solidification model is used to couple liquid fraction, temperature and concentration. The three-dimensional model is solved with the local meshless method, based on collocation with multiquadrics radial basis functions on seven-nodded subdomains. This paper aims to explore the three-dimensional macrosegregation patterns in the solidified shell of the steel in the mould.

Moderated by: Brian Thomas / Laurentiue Nastac