# Influence of Novel “Umbrella”-Type Ladle Shroud on Liquid Steel Flow in a Two-Strand Slab Tundish: Physical and Numerical Modelling

## TL;DR

This paper studies how a new 'umbrella' ladle shroud design affects the flow of liquid steel in a tundish, improving stability and reducing stress on the tundish lining.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel 'umbrella' ladle shroud design that enhances tundish hydrodynamics and lining protection.

## Key findings

- The 'umbrella' ladle shroud maintains stable hydrodynamics even with misalignment.
- It reduces the average velocity of liquid steel inside the tundish.
- It significantly lowers shear stresses and dynamic pressure on the tundish lining.

## Abstract

In this paper, the influence of the novel design of a ladle shroud (LS) on the liquid steel flow structure inside the working volume of a two-strand slab tundish was assessed, determining the best solutions for LS use to achieve the optimal level of active flow zones and protect the tundish lining. A 0.33 scale water model was used for physical experiments. Numerical simulations were carried out in the Ansys-Fluent 12.1 software for a 1:1 scale tundish. The effect of the influence of LS type, LS immersion depth, LS side ports position, LS misalignment and casting speed was examined. Finally, the use of the “umbrella” ladle shroud allows stable hydrodynamics to be maintained even with shroud misalignment. Moreover, the “umbrella” ladle shroud effectively decreases the average velocity of liquid steel inside the tundish and significantly decreases shear stresses and dynamic pressure at the tundish lining in the tundish pouring area.