Effects of Salt Tracer Volume and Concentration on Residence Time Distribution Curves for Characterization of Liquid Steel Behavior in Metallurgical Tundish

The residence time distribution (RTD) curve is widely applied to describe the fluid flow in a tundish, different tracer mass concentrations and different tracer volumes give different residence time distribution curves for the same flow field. Thus, it is necessary to have a deep insight into the effects of the mass concentration and the volume of tracer solution on the residence time distribution curve. In order to describe the interaction between the tracer and the fluid, solute buoyancy is considered in the Navier–Stokes equation. Numerical results show that, with the increase of the mass concentration and the volume of the tracer, the shape of the residence time distribution curve changes from single flat peak to single sharp peak and then to double peaks. This change comes from the stratified flow of the tracer. Furthermore, the velocity difference number is introduced to demonstrate the importance of the density difference between the tracer and the fluid.