VELOCITY MEASUREMENT OF SIMULATED CONTINUOUS CASTING MOULD BY LORENTZ FORCE VELOCIMETRY

Abstract

The real-time monitoring of the molten steel flow in a mould during continuous casting holds significant importance in enhancing a product`s quality. The variation in the meniscus velocity of molten steel during actual production directly correlates with numerous critical defects in continuous casting products. Consequently, monitoring the speed, flow direction, and meniscus velocity variation becomes crucial to adjusting the process parameters and ensuring product quality control. This study utilises the open flow test section of a liquid metal loop platform to simulate the flow field of a mould`s liquid level. The investigation focuses on assessing the accuracy and reliability of Lorentz force velocimetry (LFV) to measure the liquid metal velocity. The electromagnetic sensitive area of LFV is explored through numerical simulation, and multiple sets of measurement experiments are conducted under various flow conditions. The study examines the influence of the measurement position and flow structure on the magnetic field action area and measurement results of LFV. To validate the velocity measurements obtained in this area, Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (UDV) is employed for comparison and verification. The results demonstrate that LFV can accurately measure the horizontal velocity component within a depth range of 0 to 4 mm near the surface of the open flow. The relative error compared to UDV remains below 8%, and the fixed-point measurement can be sustained for over 20 minutes. These findings affirm the reliability and industrial applicability of LFV in measuring the horizontal velocity component near the surface of molten metal.

Keywords

• molten metal
• continuous casting
• flow measurement
• electromagnetic induction
• lorentz force velocimetry
• ultrasonic doppler velocimetry