Simulation of direct chill casting under the influence of a low-frequency electromagnetic field

Abstract

A comprehensive, multiphysics, meshless, numerical model is developed for the simulation of direct chill casting under the influence of a low-frequency electromagnetic field. The model uses mixture-continuum-mass, momentum and energy-conservation equations to simulate the solidification of axisymmetric aluminium-alloy billets. The electromagnetic-induction equation is coupled with the fluid flow and used to calculate the Lorentz force. The involved partial-differential equations are solved with the meshless-diffuse-approximate method by employing second-order polynomial shape functions and a 13-noded local support. An explicit time-stepping scheme is used. The boundary conditions for the heat transfer involve the effects of hot-top, mould chill and direct chill. The use of a meshless method and the automatic node-arrangement generation made it possible to investigate the complicated flow structures in geometrically complex inflow conditions, including sharp and curved edges, in a straightforward way. A time-dependent adaptive computational node arrangement is used to decrease the calculation time. The model is demonstrated by casting an Al-5.25wt%Cu aluminium alloy billet with a radius of 120 mm. Results on simplified and realistic inflow geometry are considered and compared. The effect of the low-frequency electromagnetic force on the temperature, liquid fraction and fluid flow are investigated under different current densities and frequencies.