Abstract: Based on the prototype, a 380 mm×280 mm bloom mold in a steel plant, the 1∶1 water model was established to study the flow field and phenomena in mold. According to the prediction results, the optimization parameters of casting speed were finally determined. The findings can be summarized as follows. In the mold, an asymmetric flow field was observed. Compared with increasing the casting speed, the increase of the impact depth of jet flow is greater with increasing the immersion depth of SEN. The level fluctuation in mold is larger near the narrow face, the corner and the SEN, while it is smaller near the wide face. With the increase of casting speed, the slag layer fluctuates more violently and the minimum thickness is reduced. With increasing the immersion depth of SEN, the fluctuation of slag layer is weakened and the minimum thickness increases. When the casting speed is set at 0.67 m/min, the recommended immersion depth of SEN is 135－150 mm.

Key words: bloom mold, flow field, level fluctuations, mold slag, water model