Control of optimum argon shrouding practice – a water model study

Argon shrouding has proven to be an effective method to prevent air ingression at the slide gate in continuous casting and entrainment. On one hand, if sufficient argon is not supplied, the air ingression cannot be fully arrested thus promoting the chance of entrainment and re-oxidation. On the other hand, supply of excessive argon can result in larger eye opening at the tundish surface which again is counter-productive, leading to re-oxidation. In this work, a simple physical model has been setup to arrive at optimum argon flow rate that would just arrest the air ingression and entrainment. Further a control strategy for Argon shrouding has been proposed that could minimize re-oxidation in the tundish.