Visualization of the flow in a mold of continuous casting by contactless inductive flow tomography and mutual inductance tomography

The flow structure in the mold of a continuous caster has a great influence on the quality of the produced steel. Conventional flow measurement techniques are prevented by the high temperature of the liquid steel. For a physical model of the continuous casting process using a low-melting point liquid metal, we present combined measurements of the flow in the mold by Contactless Inductive Flow Tomography (CIFT), and of the conductivity distribution in the submerged entry nozzle by Mutual Inductance Tomography (MIT). In addition, we summarize experiments with a magnetic stirrer around the submerged entry nozzle and its effects on the flow in the mold. Some new developments towards a robust implementation of CIFT at a real caster, including the use of pickup coils and gradiometric probes, are also discussed.