Water and impact distribution
It is the spray nozzle manufactures task to design nozzles providing the desired water distribution over the entire turn down ratio. In a slab caster the uniformity of the water distribution across the entire strand surface is essential for good quality slab. In billet- and bloom casters over spraying and hence overcooling of corners is to be avoided. The standard method to measure the water distribution especially if it comes to multi nozzle arrangements, is the patternator which measures the water density.
There are also other factors than the water density which can influence the cooling which are the air-water ratio, the turn down ratio and the pattern of the spray foot print of the air-mist nozzles.
The spray patterns can be measured more accurately with a new impact measurement device. This allows measuring the spray thickness and width simultaneously with an impact sensor which scans through the entire spray.
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