Mathematical Simulation of Liquid Steel Temperature and Velocity Fields during Ladle Emptying

A mathematical model has been developed to simulate the effect of cooling rates and stand times on the development of stratification and teeming temperatures for ladles holding molten steel. The results show that stratification proceeds at a faster rate than the overall cooling rate, and that at the teeming stage, fluid is initially drawn from the cooler layers situated at the bottom of the ladle before the warmer fluid from the bulk. It is shown that in order to reduce the stratification effect, it is better to fill an empty tundish as quickly as possible before throttling back.