Mathematical Modelling of Heat Transfer Phenomena in Continuous Casting of Steel

A steady-state three-dimensional heat flow model based on the concept of artificial effective thermal conductivity has been developed. On the basis of available literature information, boundary conditions to the governing heat flow equation have been applied, and the equation was solved via the control-volume based finite difference procedure. The model is sufficiently general and can be applied to various geometrical shapes of relevance to continuous casting of steel. Sensitivity of the predicted results to various numerical approximation including grid configurations, as well as to other modelling parameters such as axial conduction, mushy zone modelling procedure, choice of value of Keff have been extensively studied. It has been shown that assumptions and numerical procedures influence the computed results significantly. Finally, numerical predictions have been compared with three sets of experimental measurements reported in literature on shell thickness in industrial casters. In contrast to some earlier claims, these indicated only poor to moderate agreement between model predictions and experimental results.