Tundish Open Eye Formation in Inert Gas-Shrouded Tundishes: A Macroscopic Model from First Principles

Open eye formation in tundishes can result in reoxidation of liquid steel leading to the formation of harmful inclusions. Moreover, it is also a site for heat loss, gas absorption, and slag emulsification. All these factors make it necessary to understand the fundamentals of open eye formation, which in turn will allow us to prevent or control its harmful effects. In the present study, the bubble plume regions in a ladle and tundish were compared, and it was observed that there are significant differences between the two. Moreover, a simplistic model for predicting the open eye area in tundishes for ‘thin slag’ practices was derived using the principles of conservation of mass and momentum. The proposed model was able to predict open eye areas in tundish reasonably well and was compared with other models, and experimental results.