Abstract
Cooling heat flux effect in both primary and secondary cooling zone has been studied in semi-continuous casting of copper billet. Sufficient cooling is essential to reduce casting defects and to get high productivity, however low rate of solidification is aimed in order to get coarser grain size and softer metal for less losses in extrusion. A three-dimensional numerical model has been developed including solidification behavior of copper through mushy zone. At steady state and constant casting speed, solid shell thickness is monitored during the reduction of cooling rate at mould region to avoid breaking out. Heat flux intensity at mould plays important role not only in the formation of solid shell thickness. But, pool length and mushy zone thickness can be significantly increased by decreasing primary cooling intensity. Increase intensity of secondary cooling zone for two particular cases of primary cooling is tested. First case is tested at mould inlet water temperature of 38°C, and second case at water temperature of 63°C. Results showed that the combination of increasing secondary cooling intensity and reduction of primary cooling intensity can increase pool length and mushy zone thickness. Also, it is shown that, secondary cooling intensity can be magnified by up to 1.5 times for cooling water temperature of 63°C to get pool length close to that of water temperature of 38°C.
Highlights
Cooling heat flux effect in both primary and secondary cooling zone has been studied in semi-continuous casting of copper billet
Adequate cooling is required for casting process to accelerate casting process, extreme and rapid cooling may increase the strength of the billet and in turn increase the energy of extrusion and increase the quantity of discards in extrusion process
Liquid fraction throughout a section at the mould exit is considered to predict the thickness of solid shell at mould exit section and mushy zone thickness at the same section
Summary
The quality of the extruded rods and tubs depends on the processing factors of casting, extrusion, and drawing. Energy consumption and waste metal discarded during extrusion process depends on each of the processing parameters for all production processes. The product quality, microstructure, and reduction of casting defects depend essentially on cooling process during casting process. Adequate cooling is required for casting process to accelerate casting process, extreme and rapid cooling may increase the strength of the billet and in turn increase the energy of extrusion and increase the quantity of discards in extrusion process. As much as grain size is small, the energy consuming will be greater in the following extrusion process, which is not preferable for the manufacturer
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