Optimal control of casting conditions by the heat and fluid flow model for the continuous casting process of 6XXX series Al alloy round billet

摘要

A finite volume model was developed for theanalysis of fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena in the roundbillet, that consists of a molten metal pool, a mushy zone, and asolidified region, in the continuous casting process of 6Xxx seriesAl alloys. This developed model included the evaluation of latentheat of fusion in a fixed grid, treated whole computational domainas a single phase using an effective viscosity, and optimized heattransfer coefficients at each cooling region. The positions ofmushy zone and crater end at the center and surface of billets werequantitatively analyzed to find optimum process parameters, suchas casting temperature and speed. The investigation for the effectsof casting conditions on the flow and solidification pattern duringcasting was correlated with the quality of billet, and applied topredict the mechanism on the formation of some typical castingdefects, so called cooking ring and cold lap. The model could beused to optimize the set of flow and thermal parameters accordingto the change of alloy and size of billet, leading to the minimumformation of casting defects.