Bulge Deformation in the Narrow Side of the Slab During Continuous Casting

Abstract

Bulge deformation is one of the key factors that affect the slab quality in continuous casting involving heat transfer, phase transition and thermo-mechanical coupling problem. A systematical investigation into the bulge deformation rules of the narrow side was provided in the present study by using ABAQUS; And a three-dimensional thermo-mechanical coupling model has been established with taking into account the dynamic contact between slab and rolls. The result reveals that the cumulative bulge deformation without the constraint from the roller supporting is greater than the recovery count which compensates deformation in the wide side. The influences of various casting process parameters on bulge deformation of the slab have been also investigated in this paper. The consequence has been obtained that bulge deformation in the narrow side increases with the increase of casting speed and roll pitch; And the method of fixes-gap and variable-diameter was suggested to reduce the bulge deformation for manufacturing.