The <i>“Volume Effect”</i> of Salt Solution Tracer on the Flow Field within a Single‐Strand Bare Tundish

This study investigates the transport behavior of saturated KCl solution tracer with varying dosages in a single‐strand bare tundish using a water modeling approach. Flow visualization, residence time distribution (RTD) curves, and outflow percentage curves are employed to evaluate the “volume effect” induced by salt solution on the flow field. Results identify a critical threshold at Dta (the ratio of tracer volume to experimental water volume) = 0.375 × 10 −3 . When the Dta is less than this value, the RTD and outflow percentage curves of the salt solution closely resemble those of the ideal tracer. Beyond this threshold, the “volume effect” of the salt solution undergoes substantial enhancement. The findings show that there are significant sink flow and short‐circuit flow in the tundish, along with backflow, where the backflow distance extends with increasing dosage. In conclusion, employing a saturated KCl solution with Dta values maintain between 0.107 × 10 −3 and 0.268 × 10 −3 in water model experiments effectively minimizes experimental errors and provides a more accurate representation of the flow characteristics within the tundish.