Abstract: In the present paper, water modeling was used to study the flow field of a 78 t large double strand symmetrical tundish in a steel plant with different flow control devices.In the 1∶4 scale water model, the particle image velocimetry (PIV), flow field tracer and RTD curve were exploited to study the influence of dam holes, the distance between dam and ladle shroud, the distance between weir and ladle shroud, the height of turbulence inhibitor, the distance between weir and bottom of tundish and the height of dam on the molten steel flow field in tundish from different methods. The results show that with increasing the height of turbulence inhibitor, and decreasing the distance between weir and the bottom of tundish, the average residence times of molten steel in tundish increase obviously, and the volume fractions of dead zone decrease significantly. In addition, the dam without holes can effectively inhibit the development of short-circuit flow, extend the flow distance of molten steel and increase the average residence time. When the distance between the dam and the ladle shroud is increased, the average residence time increases first and then decreases. With increasing the distance between weir and ladle shroud, the short-circuit flow to steel outlet through dam holes is developed, and the average residence time decreases.

Key words: tundish, water modeling, flow control device, PIV speed measurement, flow field tracer