In order to study slag carryover during ladle teeming, the last stage of ladle draining is simulated by means of a 1:1 scale water model with reduced wall height. The flow phenomenon “drain sink” is found to be responsible for slag carryover. A drain sink occurs if the volume flow of the open channel at the ladle bottom becomes less than the corresponding outlet capacity. This explanation is confirmed quantitatively by experimental data and a simple hydraulic model as well as by steelmaking experiments. At present, a gravimetric method of slag flow detection is being tested in the continuous casting plant.

The control of the liquid metal flow and the damping of surface fluctuations are predominant objects connected with the operation of wide mould casters. Investigations on a full scale water model reveal that the casting speed, the immersion depth of the entry nozzle, and the lift gas injection rate have to be tuned carefully for the benefit of optimal flow conditions in the CC‐mould. When casting conditions are changed, it is necessary to adjust the free parameters correspondingly in order to maintain smooth casting operation and high ranking strand quality.

A numerical model for liquid steel flow and inclusion transport and separation in continuous casting moulds is presented, which covers several features simultaneously. The free surface at the meniscus is computed; the submerged entry nozzle is discretised in detail to resolve the outlet geometry; gas injection through the SEN and its effect on liquid steel flow are considered; capture of inclusions within gas bubbles is covered in a simplified approach; the solidifying shell and the process of inclusion entrapment by the growing shell are simulated. Computed flow profiles are compared to experimental results on water and to measurements on liquid steel in a slab caster. Predicted inclusion profiles in solid slabs are compared to empirical findings from literature. Results of the model for various cases will be presented in a subsequent publication.