Ironmaking & Steelmaking

Processes, Products and Applications

ISSN: 0301-9233 (Print) 1743-2812 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yirs20

A water-model experimental study of vortex

characteristics due to nozzle clogging in slab
caster mould

P. S. Srinivas, A. Singh, J. M. Korath & Amiya K. Jana

To cite this article: P. S. Srinivas, A. Singh, J. M. Korath & Amiya K. Jana (2016): A water-model
experimental study of vortex characteristics due to nozzle clogging in slab caster mould,
Ironmaking & Steelmaking, DOI: 10.1080/03019233.2016.1215948

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03019233.2016.1215948

Published online: 05 Aug 2016.

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 A water-model experimental study of vortex
characteristics due to nozzle clogging in slab
caster mould
P. S. Srinivas∗ 1,2, A. Singh3, J. M. Korath1 and Amiya K. Jana2
Vortex formation in the continuous slab casting mould is a troublesome phenomenon that can pull
mould powder/slag deep down into the liquid core and potentially damage the product quality.
Submerged entry nozzle (SEN) clogging is one of the prime causes of vortex formation. This
work is designed to investigate and quantify the inter-related effects of nozzle clogging, casting
speed (CS) and SEN submergence depth on vortex frequency and penetration depth through
water-model experiments. It is observed that the increase in degree of clogging and CS has an
inter-related effect on flow asymmetry and impacted the vortex characteristics. At the
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combination of highest values of degree of clogging and CS, vortices formed are found to have
high values of top-diameter, rotational speed, penetration depth, frequency and life. On the
contrary, the SEN submergence depth has showed limited effect on these aspects except the
penetration depth. With the increase in SEN submergence depth values, it is found that
the number of vortices having depth greater than 80 mm is increased.
Keywords: Continuous slab casting, Water-model experiments, Surface flow, Vortex frequency and penetration depth

List of symbols Although numerous advancements have been made in

this technology, there are still many gaps, specifically in
L left side of the mould the area of defect formation mechanisms.
R right side of the mould
Fluid flow patterns inside the mould, particularly near
P port
U characteristic velocity, m min−1 the top surface, significantly influence the product quality.
Y characteristic length, m It is desirable to ensure a stable and comparatively quies-
Q volumetric flow rate, m3 min−1 cent meniscus in the continuous slab casting mould.2 This
g acceleration due to gravity, m s−2 is a big challenge because the flow inside the mould is
unstable, mostly asymmetric and oscillatory.3 Asym-
metric surface flow inside the mould is one pertinent
Subscripts phenomenon ascribed to mould powder entrainment,3–6
W water model which may cause – slivers – a defect in the rolled product.
A actual caster Various reasons causing flow asymmetry have been inves-
tigated and reported in the literature by previous research-
ers, which include turbulence,7 misalignment of slide-
Greek letters gates8/stopper rods,6 nozzle clogging9 and misaligned
λ scale down factor nozzles.3,5,10 Asymmetric flow would lead to flow-bias at
the both sides of submerged entry nozzle (SEN). This,
in turn, would generate transient fluctuations by aggravat-
Introduction ing turbulence, lead to varied surface velocities and most
Continuous casting process has been widely adopted importantly, cause vortex formation. In this paper, the
owing to its economic viability, high productivity and focus is on studying vortex formation due to the flow
operational flexibility. As a result, continuous casting is asymmetry caused by nozzle clogging.
employed to solidify over 95% of steel1 in the world. Nozzle clogging of the SEN happens primarily due to
the deposition of inclusions, particularly alumina already
1 present in the steel,11 which has high affinity towards the
Automation Division, Tata Steel, Jamshedpur 831001, India
2
Chemical Engineering Department, IIT Khargpur, Kharagpur 721302, hot refractory and second due to the influence of the sur-
India
3
face energy.12–14 As a result of this, the outports of the
Department of Metallurgical and Material Science, MNIT Jaipur, Jaipur
302017, India
SEN are partially blocked. In their plant experimental
∗
analysis, Rödl et al. 15 have noticed the tendency of
Corresponding author, email ps.srinivas@tatasteel.com, peris1976@
gmail.com
alumina particles to stick near the port exits than in the

© 2016 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Received 20 May 2016; accepted 19 July 2016
DOI 10.1080/03019233.2016.1215948 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016 1
 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics
1 Schematic representation of flow asymmetry and powder
entrainment due to vortex18 a Flow asymmetry b Powder
entrainment due ot vortex
bore. Clogging at the outports leads disproportionate out-
flow. When the asymmetrical surface flow streams reach
the SEN, they would pass through the narrow gap
between the SEN and mould walls and would shear
each other and create a rotational flow. When this
rotational flow exceeds a critical value, vortices would
form vortex that can potentially entrain mould powder
into the liquid steel pool16–18 (see Fig. 1.18).
Water-model experiments have been used by previous
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researchers to gain profound understanding of the causa-
tive physics and the attributes of vortex formation. He16
had conducted water-model experiments to investigate
the vortex position near the SEN as a function of slab
width and SEN submergence depth. The effect of uneven
port clogging and off-centre positioning of SEN on vortex
2 Schematic illustration of water-model experiment apparatus (dimensions are in mm)
2 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016
formation was studied and reported by Herbertson
et al. 19 Kasai and Iguchi20 focused on the frequency
values of vortex occurrence, mould powder entrapment
and vortex penetration depth. Vortices generated due to
off-centre placement of SEN were recorded and analysed
by Li and Tsukihashi. 21 Chaudhary et al. 6 performed
water-model experiments with the intention of quantify-
ing the effect of stopper rod misalignment on nozzle
flow, mould flow and vortex formation. By clogging one
of the nozzle ports, Cho et al. 9 generated flow bias and
examined vortex attributes.
As discussed thus far, a good number of studies con-
cerning flow asymmetry and its influence on vortex for-
mation have been conducted. Although a couple of
research groups studied the effect of SEN clogging, still
certain research gaps prevail. To the best of authors’
knowledge, there is no work addressed the combinatorial
effect of parameters including casting speed (CS), SEN
submergence depth, degree of clogging and air flow on
vortex formation and their attributes such as frequency,
position, rotational direction and depth. In all the pre-
vious experiments, a wide range of operating parameters
is not covered.
To bridge this gap concerning vortex formation, this
work aims at quantifying the inter-related effects of clog-
ging, CS, SEN submergence depth and air flow on surface
flow asymmetry and vortex formation. This paper, Part 1
of three-part article, describes observations of water-
model experimentation conducted with single-phase
 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics

only. In Part 2, the influence of air along with the other actual moulds should have equal Reynolds and Froude
operating parameters on vortex characteristics will be numbers. This can be achieved only with a full-scale
described. In the last paper, the effect of all the three water model. However, this condition can be relaxed for
phases, water, air, oils will be explained. turbulent flow conditions as the effect of Reynolds num-
ber is less significant.22 This is to say that by invoking
Froude similarity, which ensures equal ratios of the
Water-model experiments momentum and buoyancy forces in the water model
Apparatus (W) and actual steel caster (A), the water volumetric
flow rates can be evaluated. Accordingly,
The apparatus employed for water-model experiments is
schematically illustrated in Fig. 2. This ‘water caster’, FrW = FrA (1)
made up of Perspex, a transparent plastic material, rep-
resents the actual slab casters of Tata Steel, Jamshedpur Expanding equation (1), we get
at a 0.4 scale. It consists of a tundish, stopper rod, SEN UW2
U2
and mould. A porous plug is placed within the stopper = A (2)
gYW gYA
rod to closely represent the actual operating conditions.
Length of the mould is 2 m, designed to simulate recircu- Where U is the characteristic velocity and Y the charac-
lation flows and nullify the exit flow disturbances. SEN teristic length. For the current set-up the scale down fac-
has bifurcated ports with 15° downward angle and a tor, λ is defined as:
recess bottom. Details of actual and model dimensions
YW
are mentioned in Table 1. l= = 0.4 (3)
During experimentation, water flows in a circuit. From YA
the water storage bath, water is pumped into the tundish Substituting equation (3) into equation (2), we get
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through a flow metre. From tundish, water flows to SEN

via gravity through the stopper head region. Flowing UW
= (0.4)0.5 = 0.632 (4)
through the SEN bore, water enters mould cavity through UA
the outlet ports of SEN. Water leaves the mould through Now, the ratios of flow rates between water model and the
six outlet holes and accumulates in water storage tank, actual can be obtained from
thus completing the circulatory motion. Water level in
the mould is adjusted through the outlet valves of the 2
QW UW YW
mould, whereas the level in the tundish is controlled by = (5)
QA UA YA2
the stopper rod.
Using equations (3) and (4), one obtains the values of
the said ratio (QW/QA) from equation (5) as 0.101. With
Similarity criterion this, required water flow rates (WFRs) (L min−1) for the
In the present exercise, single-phase flow is adopted. To corresponding CSs varying from 0.8 to 1.6 m min−1 are
achieve identical flow conditions between the model and calculated and documented in Table 2.
actual, similitude analysis is performed. Since the flow is
single phase and comprises an open surface, the relevant
dominating forces including inertial, gravitational, vis- Experimentation
cous are considered. The flow in the water mould should
Combinatorial effects of the three operating parameters,
be turbulent because the flow in the real caster is fully tur-
WFRs, SEN submergence depth (the distance from the
bulent. This necessitates for Reynolds and Froude simi-
meniscus to the top of SEN outports) and degree of clog-
larities simultaneously, implying that both water and
ging (in terms of percentage of the total port open area)
on surface flow and vortex formation are investigated.
Table 1 Actual and model dimensions For each parameter, three values are considered, thus
making the number of combinations equal to 33 = 27.
Parameter Unit Actual Model Selected values of WFRs and SEN submergence depth
are in tune with that of practical casting process. Details
Scale down – 1 0.4
Mould width mm 1500 600 of these parameters and their ranges are mentioned in
Mould thickness mm 210 84 Table 3. The three different clogging conditions are illus-
Mould length mm 900 2000 trated in Fig. 3. Clogging is always introduced in the left
SEN bore size mm 75 30 (inner), 50 (outer) port only. From Fig. 3a–c, it is evident that the available
SEN port size mm 100 × 55 40 × 22
Port type (well bottom) – 150 down 150 down
Table 3 Variables and their ranges considered for the
experimentation

Total no of
Table 2 Flow rates required for water modelling Variable name Values cases

Casting speed Corresponding water flow rate WFRs (L min−1) for velocity 25, 38, 50 3
(m min−1) (L min−1) measurement
WFRs (L min−1) for vortex 25, 38, 45, 50 4
0.8 25 measurement
1.2 38 SEN immersion depth (SD) (mm) 40, 60, 80 3
1.6 50 Left port (only) clogging (%) 0, 33, 66 3

Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016 3

 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics

3 Diagrammatic representation of nozzle clogging, (a) zero clog case, (b) 33% clog case and (c) 67% clog case. (dimensions are
in mm)

cross-sectional areas of the left port are 100, 67 and 33%,
respectively.
With the adjustment of stopper rod position, mould out-
let valves and flow control metre, the entire water circula-
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mould and tundish are stabilised. With the help of impeller
velocity probe, in each experiment, instantaneous flow
velocities at six locations are measured. The data polling
frequency is 1 Hz. As shown in Fig. 4, the probe is

tion is brought to steady state and water levels in the 100-mm-long and has an open-ended tube (22-mm inner

4 Picture of impeller velocity probe (a) side view and (b) front view (dimensions are in mm)

4 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016

 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics

5 Schematic representation of mould along with the points of velocity measurement

and 28-mm outer diameter) having a small propeller that
rotates in accordance with water flow speed. Its response
time is around 10 s (i.e. 0.1 Hz) which includes both electri-
cal response time (takes ∼0.4 s to reach 63% of final value)
and mechanical response time (for the blades to respond to
flow fluctuations). The probe functions accurately over the
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condition (left port only). To elaborate, average velocities
at positions L150 and R150 at SEN submergence depth
40 mm are shown in plots 6a, 6b and 6c having the left
port clogging values 0, 33 and 66%, respectively. Simi-
larly, plots 6d to 6f indicate data measured at positions

(L250, R250). And, plots 6g to 6i display data measured

velocity range of 0.02 to around 5 m s−1. Figure 5 shows at positions (PL, PR). Legends shown in each plot indicate
the four points (R150, R250, L150, L250) where the sub the operating conditions clearly. The reader should notice
meniscus velocities and two points (PR and PL) where that the scales of y axis are chosen differently for positions
port exit velocities are measured. Here, ‘R’ and ‘L’ indicate 150, 250 and port exit in order to portray data in the best
right and left regions of SEN. Port exit velocities at ‘PR’ possible manner.
and ‘PL’ are measured at a point which is horizontally In Fig. 8, variation of mean flow velocities against
250 mm away from narrow plate and vertically 45 mm degree of clogging is demonstrated. Similar to Fig. 7,
further below the SEN submergence depth. In each run,
instantaneous velocities (y-directed, see Fig. 5) are
recorded for 3-min duration with a polling rate of 1 s.
From the instantaneous velocities, mean values are calcu-
lated. To facilitate visualisation of vortex formation,
sesame seeds are added to the water meniscus as tracer par-
ticles. A typical vortex is schematically represented in Fig.
6. Top-diameter of the vortex is shown as d1 and the pen-
etration depth is denoted as d2. Vortexing is recorded
with a high-speed camera. The duration of video coverage
for each experiment is 5 min. Vortices are witnessed at two
regions on the both sides of SEN. From each video record-
ing, the number along with the location of all vortices last-
ing over two rotations and having a minimum penetration
depth of 30 mm is counted. This number is divided by total
recording duration (5 min) to evaluate the local ‘frequency’
of vortex formation.

Experimental results and discussion

Flow asymmetry
Effect of WFR and clogging
It is known theoretically that flow asymmetry is induced
by partial nozzle clogging. In this work, the focus is to
study this phenomenon quantitatively and realise its influ-
ence on vortex formation. In this section, the integrative
effect of clogging and WFR on flow asymmetry is dis-
cussed. Figure 7 depicts variation of average values of
flow velocities at locations (L150, R150), (L250, R250) and
(PL, PR) (see Fig. 5) against the three selected water volu-
metric flow rates (see Table 3). There are total nine plots
shown in the figure, named as a to i. Each plot showcases
mean velocity values against WFRs at a SEN submerg-
ence depth value of 40 mm and at a given partial clogging 6 Schematic illustration of a typical vortex

Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016 5

 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics
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7 Variation of average flow velocities at positions (L150, R150), (L250, R250) and (PL, PR) against water flow rates and at SEN depth
40 mm

8 Variation of average flow velocities at positions (L150, R150), (L250, R250) and (PL, PR) against degree of clogging and at SEN
depth 60 mm

6 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016


total nine plots are shown in this figure and each plot dis-
plays mean velocity values against degree of clogging at a
submergence depth value of 60 mm and at a given WFRs.
Legends shown in the plots explain the casting conditions.
The observations from both Figs. 6 and 7 are summarised
below:
. At zero clogging conditions, the mean velocities at the
left and right sides are almost the same, indicating flow
symmetry. This is evident from first column of plots
6a, 6d and 6g.
. Introduction of partial nozzle clogging breaks this
symmetry. Because, from the non-clogged port
(right), a stronger jet with high momentum would
emerge as compared to its counterpart. This leads to
variation in the mean velocities at left and right
locations, and the difference between them increases
with the increase in degree of clogging. This can be
noticed from plots 6b, 6e and 6h and also from plots
6c, 6f and 6i.
. Variation of means velocities under clogging con-
ditions is depicted in different manner in Fig. 8. The
mean velocities measured at the left side of the SEN
decrease with increase in degree of clogging. Contrary
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to this, the mean flows in the corresponding right-
hand side plots show an increasing trend with the
degree of clogging. Examine left and right mean vel-
ocities from plots 7g, 7h and 7i. At clogging 66%,
mean velocities at PL and PR are (0.4, 0.75), (0.61,
1.13) and (0.76, 1.30), respectively, indicating that
the values at PR are 1.87, 1.85 and 1.71 times higher
than the values at PL.
9 Instantaneous velocities at L250 and R250, casting speed (CS) 50 l/min and SEN depth (SD) 60 mm. (a) Left clogging 66%,
(b) Left clogging 33% and (c) Left clogging 0%
Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics
. This flow asymmetry induced by partial clogging is
sustained even after splitting into two rolls upon the
impingement at the narrow face. This sustenance of
this flow disparity is observed at L150 and R150
locations. This can be illustrated with the help of
data shown in plot 7c. Data (L150 and R150) at clog-
ging 33% and 66% are (0.098, 0.29) and (0.13,
0.223) respectively, indicating that values at l R150
are 2.95 and 1.67 times higher than the values noticed
at L150. From this, it can be said that the partial clog-
ging has induced flow asymmetry in the mould and
the degree of flow asymmetry is increased with the
degree of clogging.
. The degree of flow disparity at L250 and R250 is rela-
tively lower than that noticed at port exit and location
150. From plot 7f, at WFR 50 L min−1, the mean vel-
ocities at left and right locations are (0.089,
0.103 m s−1) at 33% clogging and (0.091,
0.124 m s−1) at 66% clogging, respectively. Here,
mean velocities at R250 are 1.16 and 1.36 times higher
than the ones at L250. These ratios are lower than the
corresponding ratios between R150 and L150, which are
1.67 and 2.95, respectively.
. The above observation throws a question that how the
high mean velocity noticed at R150 is slowed down.
There are multiple answers to this. First, the surface
flow streams after reaching and hitting the SEN
would turn away and assume the opposite direction.
At that time, they interact with the subsequent flow
streams approaching the SEN and retard their vel-
ocities. Second, the flow turbulence is intrinsically
Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016 7
 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics
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10 Variation of average values of flow velocities at the points L150 and R150 against water flow rates for all SEN depths

fluctuating. Third, the fasting moving flows emerged mould wall and finally reach the right side of the
from non-clogged port would travel through narrow SEN. This phenomenon is observed through the
gap between SEN and mould plate and reach the movement of black sesame seeds, the tracer particles.
opposite side. They shear and retard the slow moving
streams approaching from the other side.
. All the three phenomena explained above become
Effect of SEN submergence depth
intense at high casting and high clogging conditions. The effect of variation of SEN submergence depth on
This can be better illustrated with the help of Fig. 9, mean flow velocity and flow asymmetry is analysed in
wherein the instantaneous velocity histories measured this section. In Fig. 10, the variations of average values
at positions L250 and R250, speed 50 L min−1 and SEN
submergence depth 60 mm are depicted. In graphs 8
(a), (b) and (c), the clogging conditions were 66, 33 Table 4 Variation of vortex frequency with WFR at SEN
and 0%, respectively. From these graphs, it is evident submergence depth 40 mm
that the instantaneous velocities at R250 are heavily
Vortex frequency (#/min)
fluctuating for 33 and 66% clogging conditions than
at zero clogging condition. This can also be asserted
Water flow rate (L min−1) Clog 0% Clog 33% Clog 66%
with the help of standard deviation values of instan-
taneous data. From both graphs 8a and 8b, the stan- 24 0 0.2 1.6
dard deviation values at R250 are roughly three times 38 3 4.2 5.8
higher than their counter part, i.e. at L250. 45 4.2 7.2 7.9
. Under partial clogging conditions, flow streams ema- 50 5.2 8 9.4
nated from the unclogged right port, would quickly
reach the meniscus as compared to the flow streams
emanated from left port. At meniscus, they move Table 5 Variation of vortex depth with WFR at SEN
towards the SEN and flow through the narrow gap submergence depth 80 mm
and reach the left side and retard flow streams Number of vortices at
approaching SEN from left. This is noticed in the
experiment. Interestingly, it is also noticed that the Water flow rate Vortex Clog Clog Clog
flow streams from left-hand side are not completely (L min−1) depth (mm) (0%) (33%) (66%)
suppressed by the streams of right side. Sometimes,
flow streams at the left-hand side would sustain the 38 >80 1 2 4
opposing force of the streams from the right, would 45 >80 2 3 5
move through the narrow gaps between SEN and 50 >80 3 4 6

8 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016

 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics

Table 6 Variation of vortex frequency with degree of clogging at SEN submergence depth 60 mm

Vortex frequency (#/min)

Degree of clogging Water flow rate 24 Water flow rate 38 Water flow rate 45 Water flow rate 50
(%) (L min−1) (L min−1) (L min−1) (L min−1)

24 0 3.2 4 5
38 0.2 5.2 7 8.4
45 1.4 6.6 8.2 9.2

Table 7 Variation of vortex frequency with SEN depth

Operating conditions Vortex frequency (#/min)

water flow rate (L min−1)
SEN submergence depth Clog Clog Clog
(mm) 0% 33% 66%

45 L min−1, 40 mm 4.6 7.2 7.9

45 L min−1, 60 mm 5.2 7 8.2
45 L min−1, 80 mm 5 7.1 7.9
50 L min−1, 40 mm 7 8 9.4
50 L min−1, 60 mm 7.1 8.4 9.2
50 L min−1, 80 mm 7.2 8.2 9
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of flow velocities obtained at the location L150 and R150

against WFRs are shown. Plots in the left column indicate
data measured at L150 and in the right column depict data
measured at R150. Data at 0, 33 and 66% clogging con-
ditions are shown in plots (9a, 9b), (9c, 9d) and (9e, 9f),
respectively. Each plot of Fig. 10 displays nine data
points; each data measured at a given WFR and given
SEN submergence depth.
Here, the most important observation is that the vari-
ation of average flow velocity with SEN submergence
depth is marginal. For example, from plot 9f, at WFR
50 L min−1, the mean velocities at SEN submergence
depth values 40, 60 and 80 mm can be noticed as 0.29,
0.28 and 0.31, respectively. The same phenomenon was
observed even with mean velocities extracted at locations
(L250, R250) and (PL, PR). With this, it can be concluded
that the variation of SEN submergence depth has limited
effect on flow asymmetry.

Vortex frequency 11 Photographs of vortex diameters at SEN depth 40 mm

Effect of WFR
Vortex frequency variation against WFRs is tabulated in
Table 4 for all clogging conditions at SEN submergence
depth 40 mm. The figure reveals that the vortex frequency
is increasing with WFRs. For example, at clogging 66%,
the frequency values are 1.2, 6.4, 7.9 and 9, respectively,
against WFRs values 24, 38, 45 and 50 L min−1. At
WFR 24 L min−1, no vortices are observed under 0 and
and casting speed 50 l/min and at (a) clogging 0%,
(b) clogging 33% and (c) clogging 66%
33% clogging conditions, indicating that surface velocity
at these conditions is smaller than the required critical
surface velocity20 for vortex formation. However, when
degree of clogging is increased to 66%, vortex frequency

Table 8 Variation of vortex depth with SEN depth at WFR 50 L min−1

Number of vortices at

Clog Vortex depth SEN submergence depth SEN submergence depth SEN submergence depth
(%) (mm) 40 mm 60 mm 80 mm

0 >80 0 0 3
33 >80 0 3 4
66 >80 0 5 6

Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016 9

 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics

12 Schematic representation of the influence of down ward velocity on vortex depth

has reached to 1.6. The reason for this is that, as explained

in the previous sections, partial clogging has caused high
surface velocity at one side of the SEN which could be
higher than the required critical surface velocity. And,
as a result, vortex formation has occurred. This implies
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that the even at relatively smaller velocities, high degree

of clogging can lead to vortex formation.
Another observation is that the depth of the vortex
increased with the increase in WFR. The reason for this
is that the downward velocity that pushes the vortex
deep into the liquid core increases with the WFR.20,23
Table 5 presents the number of vortices having depth
greater than 80 mm at SEN submergence depth 80 mm.
For instance, at clogging 66%, the number of vortices dee-
per than 80 mm is 4, 5 and 6 against WFRs 38, 45 and
50 L min−1, respectively.

Effect of clogging
Table 6 presents the variation of vortex frequencies with
degree of clogging at SEN submergence depth 60 mm.
For a given WFR, vortex frequency is increasing with
the increase in degree of clogging. It can be well explained
by considering a data instance from the graph. At WFR
50 L min−1, against the three clogging conditions (0, 33
and 66%), the values of vortex frequencies are 7.1, 8.4
and 9.2, respectively.
Another interesting observation that can be deduced
from this figure is that when degree of clogging is doubled
from 33 to 66%, the vortex frequency is not increased in
the similar proportion. The reason for this, as explained
by Gebhard et al.,23 is that the vortex stability would
come down when the turbulence and surface velocity
oscillations become very high. In this experiment, it is
found that the turbulence at the meniscus and surface
velocity fluctuations at 66% clogging conditions are the
severest.

Effect of SEN submergence depth

Variation of vortex frequency with SEN submergence
depth is presented in Table 7. From the data, it is evident
that there is little variation of vortex frequency with SEN
submergence depth. Here, data are shown for two WFRs
(45 and 50 L min−1) only. But, the observation holds true
for the other two WFRs (24 and 38 L min−1) as well.
Although vortex frequencies are not varying much, 13 Vortex depth at (a) Clog 0, (b) Clog 33 and (c) Clog 66.
vortex depth is found to vary with SEN submergence (The scale shown in figures is in mm)

10 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016


depth. These data are tabulated in Table 8. This aspect is
elaborated in section ‘Vortex diameter and depth’.
Vortex characteristics
Vortex diameter and depth
In this section, salient characteristics of vortices are dis-
cussed. It is observed that, for a given CS, values of vortex
diameter (see Fig. 6) d1 increase with the degree of clog-
ging. This is reflected in Fig. 11, wherein d1 values are
found to increase from Fig. 11a–c along with the degree
of clogging. As is well known, clogging increases flow
asymmetry and thus the severity of shearing effect. This
leads to the formation of vortices with the larger top-
diameter (d1) values.
Vortex depth d2 is proportional to downward velocity23
at the location of vortex formation. This is schematically
illustrated in Fig. 12. In this experimentation, it is
observed that d2 values are found to increase with
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14 Locations of vortex formation at both sides of the mould at (a) clogging 0%, (b) clogging 33% and (c) clogging 66%
Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics
WFR, degree of clogging and SEN submergence depth.
Figure 13 portrays vortex depth at three clogging con-
ditions. Other process parameters are WFR 50 L min−1
and SEN submergence depth 80 mm. The scale shown
in the figures is in mm. It can be observed from Fig. 13c
the concurrent formation of two vortices on the same
side of the SEN. The depth of vortex in Fig. 13a–c
approximately is 80, 90 and 100 mm, respectively.
Turbulence and surface oscillations have an adverse
effect on both d1 and d2 values of vortices. Comparatively,
d2 is more influenced by surface oscillations. This is
noticed in this experimentation and the results are
reflected in the depth of vortices. For a given WFR and
degree of clogging, vortices of high depth are found to
occur in larger proportion at deepest SEN submergence
depth, i.e. 80 mm. These data are tabulated in Table 6.
For instance, at WFR 50 L min−1 and degree of clogging
33%, the vortices having depth greater 80 mm are 0, 3 and
5 against SEN submergence depths 40, 60 and 80 mm,
Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016 11
 Srinivas et al. A water-model experimental study of vortex characteristics
15 Schematic illustration of vortex movement
respectively, showing an increasing trend. There could be
two reasons for this. First, for a given WFR and clogging
conditions, the meniscus turbulence is relatively high for
shallow submergence, which may suppress vortex propa-
gation. Second, vortex during its elongation may interact
with the emerging jets from the out ports and break.
Hence, chances of vortex breaking at shallow SEN sub-
mergence depth 40 mm are relatively higher than the dee-
per SEN submergence depth.
Vortices during propagation/elongation show a bend
towards SEN and move close to the adjacent SEN out-
port. This can be seen in all the three instances shown
in Fig. 13. There are two reasons for this. First, the
double-rolled flow streams approaching the SEN push
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the vortices towards the SEN. Second, low pressure
zone, formed just above the SEN out ports owing to the
speedy emergence flow jet, sucks the vortex close to the
top edge of out port.
Vortex positions, rotational direction and motion
Vortices are found to occur in four regions as shown in
Fig. 14a. The regions are marked as A, B, C and
D. Normally, vortices are found to occur within 50 mm
distance from the centre of the mould, shown in Fig. 14.
However, at high clogging and high WFR combination,
vortices are observed to move away from SEN owing to
high turbulence and varying surface velocities. As
16 Schematic illustration of fluid flow patterns in the mould (a) top view and (b) front view
12 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2016
depicted in Fig. 14a, the direction of rotation of vortices
is clockwise in the regions B and C and anti-clockwise
in the regions A and D. This observation is matching
with that presented by Cho et al.9
While examining the video recordings of camera focus-
ing the top surface/meniscus, the findings are that at clog-
ging 66%, vortices are generated almost continuously,
with negligible time gap. And their location is the left
side of SEN, shown as A and B in Fig. 14c. Also, the
rotational speed is also observed or be very high. Vortices
are uninterrupted for significantly longer duration, indi-
cating longer vortex life. However, when the surface fluc-
tuations become high (at high casting) vortex formation is
interrupted. Despite this, vortex frequency is highest at
high clogging and casting combination.
In this paragraph, vortex motion is described. Assume,
a vortex that is formed at location A1 shown in Fig. 15.
The sesame seeds in that vicinity get trapped and rotate.
When the rotational energy is gradually diffused, vortex
will die down. Then the flow (and also the sesame
seeds) will move from A1 to either B1 or C1 and depending
upon the local surface velocity direction. At high clogging
and WFR combinations, these movements are so quick
and appear as if two vortices are merged and resulted
into another vortex.
So far, flow asymmetry, vortex frequency and vortex
characteristics observed under partial nozzle clogging
conditions in the water-model experiments have been

discussed both qualitatively and quantitatively. In the
series of research activities planned by the authors to
explore the fluid flow and vortex features under clogging
conditions, the current experimentation with single-
phase flow is the first step. The benefits from the analysis
and the interpretation of the experimental results are as
follows. First, they present qualitative view of the flow
phenomenon occurring in the actual slab casting con-
ditions. Second, the velocity measurements from this
experiment can be used as inputs for the validation of
numerical models. Third, the experience and the results
of this exercise will offer the theoretical and practical
base for the next step, i.e. water-model study with dual
phase flow (water + air).
Conclusions
In this article, the inter-connected effects of partial clog-
ging of the SEN outports, WFR and SEN submergence
depth on the flow asymmetry and vortex formation have
been investigated experimentally through a water model
of continuous casting of steel. Prime findings obtained
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in this study are summarised below:
(i) Flow asymmetry induced by partial nozzle clog-
ging is studied and analysed with the help of vel-
ocity measurements. High flow asymmetry is
observed at the combination of high clogging and
high WFR. An illustrative representation of the
fluid flow pattern is shown in Fig. 16. Owing to
clogging, the double roll at the left side is relatively
smaller than that observed in the right side.
(ii) Vortex frequency is observed to vary with flow
asymmetry. Highest vortex frequency is observed
at the combination of highest values of clogging
and WFR.
(iii) Vortex life and rotational speed are high at the com-
bination of high values of clogging and WFR.
(iv) SEN submergence depth is found to have limited
effect on mean surface flows, vortex frequency, vor-
tex locations and rotational speed. However, num-
ber of vortices with penetration depth greater than
80 mm is found to be the highest at deepest SEN
submergence depth.
Acknowledgements
The authors take this opportunity to express their heart-
felt thanks to Dr S. K. Ajmani and Mr Vikas Singh,
R&D division of Tata Steel for their guidance and valu-
able inputs. Also, special thanks go to Mr Lokesh Achar-
aya for his assistance.
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