ISIJ International,

34 (1994), No.

Vol.

581~592

7, pp.

Mathematical Modelling of Transport Phenomenain Continuous

Casting of Steel

S. K.

and D. MAZUMDAR1)
CHOUDHARY

Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, 208016, India.
1 NowVisiting Professor at the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, McGill University, 3450 University
Street, Montreal, Canada.

(ReQeived on February

8.

7994; accepted in final form on Arpil l5. l994)

Asteady state, two dimensional mathematical model for continuous casting of stee[ has been developed.
Towards this, governing partial differentia[ equations of fluid flow and thermal energy transport together
with the appropriate set of boundary conditions were derived and a procedure for their non-dimensional
representation outlined. The modelling of (1 turbulence, (2) flows and energy transport within the mushy
region, and (3) bulk motion of the descending strand on liquid steel flow and heat transfer phenomena
were also discussed. The governing p.d.e's and the associated boundary conditions were solved numerically
via a control volume based finite difference procedure. To this end, incorporating the SIMPLE
algorithm, a

77. Finally, three different industrial

computational procedure wasdeveloped in double precision, FORTRAN
billet casting operations reported in the literature
were mathematically modelled and direct comparison were
made between predicted and experimental solidified shell thickness. Such comparisons demonstrated
reasonable to excellent agreement between the two. Present estimates were also comparedwith our earlier
predictions derived via an effective thermal conductivity based model. This indicated that for mathematical
modelling of transport phenomenain continuous casting of steel, a "conjugate heat and fluid flow model"
is the
most appropriate.

continuous
KEYWORDS:

1.

casting of steel; fluid

flow; heat transfer;

surements reported in the

In an earlier publication,1) mathematical modelling of

continuous casting of steel via the effective thermal
conductivity approach2~4) was reported by the present
authors. There,i) a set of three different industrial billet
casting operations reported in the literature
were
mathematically modelled and it was observedl) that
shell thickness were
numerical estimates of solidified
considerably different from the corresponding measurements. An extensive computational analysis was carried
out to propose two possible reasons (viz., error in the
experimental measurements and inadequacy of the
effective thermal conductivity based heat flow model) for
such discrepancy between theory and experiments.
To investigate these further, in continuation of our
earlier work, an alternative,
relatively
more rigorous

Theoretical

2.
2. l.

literature.

Considerations

Assumptions in Modelling

In the present study, fluid flow and heat transfer

equations applicable to continuous billet casting operations were derived incorporating the following key

assumptions:

steady state, two dimensional momentum

and
heat transfer phenomena
was considered.
(2)
Computations in the cartesian co-ordinate system
(e.g., for
square or rectangular cross sectioned billets)
carried
out ignoring any variations of temperature
were
and velocity fields along one of the two transverse
directions. Consequently, for such geometries, transport
phenomenaalong the central vertical plane were simulated mathematically. Similarly,
for cyclindrical
shaped
(1)

modelling approach5~7) was adopted and a mathematical model based on the concept of conjugate heat, fluid
flow and solidification
phenomena
wasdeveloped by the
sections, assumpauthors.
the
subsequent
In
present
tions in modelling, development of the mathematical
model as well as numerical procedures are presented.
Furthermore, to demonstrate the present approach,
numerical predictions have been comparedwith equivalent results derived earlier via the effective thermal con-

C 1994 ISiJ

mathematical modelling.

model1) and corresponding experimental mea-

ductivity

Introduction

solidification,

axial

billets,

variations

counted

symmetry was assumed and

of flow and heat along the

direction

therefore,

wasdis-

Solidification

front was assumedto be planner

with respect to the adjacent liquid.
(4)
Flow in the liquid pool wasassumedto be induced
primarily by the momentum
of the pouring stream and
(3)

584

ISIJ International,

Vol.

34

(1

994), No.

7
coordinate axes (i.e.,

by thermal buoyancy

radial/transverse

nomena)forces.

more, when was set equal

(e.g.,
natural convection phePossible influences of other secondary
factors such as, bulging, suction due to solidification
shrinkage etc. on liquid steel fiow were ignored.
(5)
Only a perfectly vertical section of the casting
strand was considered and hence the influence of strand
bending and curvature effects were neglected.
(6)
Effect of mould oscillation,
segregation and melt
in the mould were ignored. Furtherlevel fluctuations
more, the melt free surface was assumedto be covered
with a protective slag layer, through which negligible

Governing Equations of Fluid

The effective
(3),

Further-

viscosity,

defined as:

is

appearing in Eqs.
Similarly, in Eq.

u.,

=,lL+,lT.

,l.

(2)

and

(4),

the

Fe' is defined as: Fe=

thermal conductivity,
kT/cFt' together with turbulent
Prandtl number, at'
k+
taken to be equal to 0.7 for liquid steel system.s) Also,
from turbulence theory, one can readily correlate ,l* and
r* and thus, estimate the value of turbulent thermal
conductivity
from an appropriate turbulence model
effective

(e.g.,

kT=,tTatC)

(see also later).

The equation of motion

in the axial

direction

em-

of thermal free convection phesteel flows and

liquid
was represented mathnomenaon
ematically according to Boussenisque's approximation
as: pgAp(T- T~)' In the preceding expression, T*, is a
reference temperature and was considered equivalent to
(T0+ Tsol)/2. Furthermore, within the solidified region,
the fluid velocity components, u and v, were zero (and
r* = k) and therefore, a pure conduction like equation is
obtained from Eq. (4) with additional contributions from
the descending motion of the casting strand. Consequently, the energy balance equation in its present form
is applicable to each
zone of the solidifying casting (viz.,
bodies the infiuence

Flow and Heat

Transfer

Thegoverning equations of fluid flow and heat transfer

(cartesian or axisymmetric),
following partial differential
via
the
expressed
then
be
can
equations :
Equation of continuity:

for

= r = x).

to zero.

heat was assumedto be lost and finally,

(7)
The induced fluid motion within the solidifying
casting was Newtonian, incompressible and turbulent.
In addition to these, invariant thermophysical propsolidification
erties and equilibrium
of steel were assumed. Also, heat release effects (e.g., associated with
solid state phase transformation reactions (viz.,
~~y
etc.)),
other than latent heat evolution, were neglected.
2.2.

ce

to unity (e.g., for computations in cartesian co-ordinate system), the last term
on the right hand side of Eq. (3) [e.g., 2p.v/oe2] was set
c(

two dimensional flows

mushyzone and the solid regions respectively).

Except for the mushy region (Tsol~T~Tnq), the de-

liquid,

e (Pu)+7I a (ocpv) O
ex

..........(1)

a (Puu) I a (ocpuv)

+oc

ax

I a

+ 2 ez ~

az

az

carbon

T ex

ax

oe

"""""'(2)

a (puv)+-I a (pocvv)=-ap + 2 e (ocp

ax
az
ex
ax
oc

+ ez

;;)+aaz
//

au
,l

ax

~
)_

2v/1
oc

effective

a (pCU.T)
=

e (puCT)

+ az

In Eq.

ex

(=0.012) and

az

in which,

ez

J ax

ays

....

a dimensionless empirical constant

mass flow rate of liquid steel,

th is the

...(3)

th=(1~r~)pUi2.

aT
ax

..........(7)
........

Equation (6), also knownas the Pun-Spalding formula,

is
based on the Prandtl's mixing length model of
turbulence and was developed for computations of
fired
inertial
force dominated flows in a centrally
combustion chamber. Relevant details are available
elsewhere8) and therefore, not re-iterated here. In con-

(oc

S pUAH
'
f 'az

K is

.(6)
.....

estimated from:
e

oc

oer

(6),

,1., Fe etc.)
were evaluated via a btilk
model,8) represented according to:

KD~66L~o 33p o 66(rhUi.)0.33

av

+-leax pvCT)

eT)+1 a
a (e
F

(viz.,

viscosity
,l

Equation of thermal energy balance:

az

solidification.

The Tubulence Model

direction:

in the transverse/radial

assuming equlibrium

steel)

pool region

oe

latent

In the present study, turbulence properties in the liquid

ax

-pgAp(T-TGo) """""""""""""
Equation of motion

2.3.

av
au)+ I a (oc~ az)

(oc,l

8y*/az

latter

ap

=-

eu

rivative,

Equation of motion in the axial direction:

az

and hence the

is
heat source,
quantity,
as mentioned
zero every where. This
already, was estimated from the relevant equilibrium
phase diagram (viz., the Fe-C phase diagram for plain

az

+S

(4)

tinuous

casting

operations,

discharge of liquid

steel

through the pouring nozzle into the mouldis conceptually analogous to flow through sudden expansion geometries, such as the one, considered by Pun and Spalding

..........(5)

in formulating

Eq. (6).
In the present study, typical Reynolds numberat the
inlet
= pUi.(2r.)/uL) wasestimated to be of the order of
104-l05. This consequently implied that flow in the
mould regions was dominated by the inertial forces and

is
oc, appearing in Eqs. (1) through (4),
applied.
This
assumed
co-ordinate
systems
an index of the
a value of unity for computations in cartesian co-ordinate
s~stem. Similarly, for computations in cylindrical polar
co-ordinate system, oc wasconsidered synonymousto the

The parameter,

585

C 1994 ISIJ

ISIJ International,

Vol.

34

thus, turbulent.
In addition, previous experimental as
well as theoretical studies on aqueous models of continuous casting indicate that while flow in the upper

pool region

(viz.,

say, within

mould)

is

eu/az=0

wall as well as within the

mushyzone necessitates several

approximations and idealisations
and these can be
altogether avoided by incorporating
a bulk effective
viscosity model into the computational procedure. In
addition to these, a bulk effective viscosity model has the
potential to reduce computational time and
memory
requirements significantly.

= O.......(9)
boundary (z L and O~ x ~ R)
=

symmetry (x=

au/ax=0

...,.(lO)

Oand O~z~L)

v=0 and aTlax=0

at the side/mould wall (x

(4)

x ~ R)

av/az=0 and aTlez=0

at the axis of

(3)

(r.

..,............(8)

avlaz= O and aTl8z

at the exit or outflow

(2)

Fromsuch view points, the simplified bulk effective

viscosity model offers distinct advantages. Furthermore,
modelling of turbulence transport adjacent to the solid

............(11)

= R)
v=0

.........................(12)
O~z~L u= U. and
O~z~Lm qs=q~=[2.67-0.33f7V!] 106

L~

qs=h*(T*-T~)

L.

q.= a8(O~- et)

and

....(13)

(14)

.....................

(15)

.............,.......

schematic diagram of the calculation domain together with the boundary conditions applied is shown
in Fig. 1. In this, pouring through
a vertical, single bore
nozzle was considered and liquid steel velocity through
the pouring nozzle, Ui*, was estimated assuming
mass
fiows at the inlet and outlet planes to be equivalent. At
the meniscus and the axis of symmetry, no normal
velocity componentsexist and therefore, these
were set
to zero (Eqs. (9) and (11)). The meniscus, outside the

x
the

MushyZone

Numerical computations of velocity fields within the

mushy zone is not straight forward, as mushy zone
involves flows through complex interdendritic
channels.
Furthermore, flows in the mushyregion are also induced
by the suction caused by solidification
shrinkage. In
addition to these, rejection of solute elements by the

POURING
~l~~~~:

MENtSCUS

ENTRANCEl~r,
u

Ujn

TI

To

dendrites into inner dendritic spaces (i.e.,

micro-segregation phenomena)pose further complications. To mathematically model the influences of these
factors on the overall fluid flow and heat transfer
phenomena,two procedures have so far been applied.
In one of the two calculation procedures, mushyzone
was treated like a porous medial2,13) while in the other
approach, the enhanced resistance offered by the
dendrites was taken into account by increasing the
viscosity of liquid steel in the mushyregion.5) Owingto
its relative
simplicity,
the latter approach was adopted
and as suggested by Asai and Szekely,5) dynamic viscosity of liquid steel within the mushyregion
was enhanced twenty times. Thus, numerical calculations reported in the present work were carried out assignining
a constant apparent viscosity = twenty times the molecular viscosity of steel)' throughout the mushyregion.

AXIS OF
SY,4METRY

~7 'O

vlO

5~'O

ll

u,Ue,
vO
u
t~
REGION
MOULD
qs '

267~O33JfCT_m
Uo

/ JVO

RE610N
SF
SPRAV

/~\

~f~:~

Soli

f' I~:
,

qs bt(T,
qs'

Tv)

u:Ue

v:O

I
I

Ue
OUTFLOW
BOUNDARY

2.5.

inside the pouring stream (O

//
/
/

,,,

/
I~O

8T

Boundary Conditions
The boundary conditions considered applicable
fiuid flow and heat transfer equations are:
(1) at the meniscus/free surface (z=0)

CASTSURFACE
c._,

Liquid

au

8T

8v

u'O, S~ lO, 8Z 'O

solidifying

C 1994 ISIJ

v=0 and T= T.

U~*

u=O

exit).

(i)

outside the pouring stream

(ii)

predominantly

lence/laminar flow conditions in the lower or submould

region. On the basis of such considerations,
average
effective viscosity
was calculated via Eq. (6) and applied
to the mould region only. In the subrnotild region, some
what less turbulence wasassumedand 50 o/o of the mould
effective viscosity value
was applied.
is
It
instructive
to note here that a differential
turbulence model cannot be applied in such a
manner
to only a part of the flow domain (e.g., the mould) since
no realistic boundary conditions can be applied on the
turbulence quantities at the arbitrarily
chosen boundary
of laminar-turbulence transition (in this case, the mould

Modeningof Fluid Flow in

994), No.

turbulent, fiuid turbulence is relatively

insignificant
in
the lower pool region. 5,9, Io) Therefore, it
considered
was
reasonable to apply the Pun-Spalding formula to the
upper pool regions only, and assume reduced turbu-

2.4.

(1

8u

5~'O,

to the

Fig.

~x ~ r*)
586

1.

a
~O,

aa-Tz.O

Aschematic ofthe

two dimensional calculation domain

and the boundary conditions applied to solve the
governing equations of fiuid fiow and heat transfer.

ISIJ international,

Vol.

34 (1994), No.

pouring stream, was assumedto be covered with an

insulating slag layer and therefore, the corresponding
thermal gradient was considered to be zero at the free

p.d.e.'s

surface (Eq. (9)). Similarly,

at the solid surfaces (e.g.,
etc.),
relative
velocity between solid and liqmould wall
is
solidified
uid
region movesdownward
zero, while the
with the bulk motion, U.. Consequently, at the cast surface, solidification
front and in the solidified region, the
axial velocity component, u, was set equal to the casting
2)) and the corresponding radial velocity
speed (Eq.
assigned
component
a zero value. In addition to these,
surface,
the
at
cast
a prescribed heat flux boundary
condition was considered (Eqs. (13) through (15)) and
to this end, in the mould region the Savage-Pritchard
correlationl4)
wasap~plied. In the submouldregions (e.g.,
radiation
cooling zone etc.), experimental heat
spary,
transfer coefficient values reported in the literature were
applied. Finally, the exit or the outflow boundary (z L)
=
wasconsidered to be located far awayfrom the meniscus,
so that the boundary lied in the completely solidified
region. At the outflow boundary, the gradients of all the
dependent variables were assumedto vanish (Eq. (lO)).

co-ordinate system, via the following equations:

Dimensionless equation of continuity:

together with the boundary conditions were

transformed into their corresponding non-dimensional
form. These can be represented, say in the cartesian

(1

2.6.

radial

.................................(23)

direction:

(u*v*)

az *

+ ax.*

=-

ax *

)+ a

av

Re

az*

a (1 av*
+2 ex*
~~~ ex*

ap*

(v*v*)

au*)

(24)

Re ax*

az*

a
ax*
I eT*)+ e I

(U*T*)+
"

(u*T*)+

ez*

ax*

Pe az*

(v*T*)

aTf

)+S*

..(25)

Pe ax *

U~AHf

ey.

CTO

az*

at the meniscus/free surface (z*

inside the pouring stream (o

l)

"(16)

(i)

heat source per

(26)

u*

..........(17)
.........

(2)

= O) r~)
~x* ~

=0 and T*=1

outside the pouring stream (r~

(ii)

at

=O

the

ev

/az*=0

~ 1)

and eT~/az*=0
boundary

or outflow

exit

x*

...........(27)

(z*

o~x* ~ l)
au*/az*=0

ev*/az*=0

....

(3)

at the axis of

eu*/ax*=0

symmetry (x*

(28)

.....

=L* and

and eT#/az*=0

..........(18)

....(29)

= Oand O~ z* ~ L*)

v*=0 and aT~/ax*=0

............(30)

...........(19)
........

(4)

Reynolds number,
pU**Rl/4*

= u/ U**

Tf=T/T.

and

at the side/mould wall (x*

o~z*~L*
.................(20)

= 1)

u*=1 and v*=0

O~z* ~ L~

number,

Pe=pCUi./(F./R)

On the

1)/Ui2.

are:

dimensionless temperature

Peclet

av*)

Dimensionless equation of motion in the transverse/

components,

p*=p/(pUi2*)

(vi)

S* =

dimensionless pressure

Re

a (1

in which, S*, the dimensionless latent

unit volume, is defined as:

U~= U./Ui*

(v)

az*

The corresponding transformed boundary conditions

= z/R
x* = x/R """""

v*=v/Ui*

=-

eu*~

-RgApT.(T* -

~ ez*

dimensionless space variables,

u*

(1 au*)

+2 eza ~~ az

ap*

(u*v*)

e (1

large magnitude (for example, surface

Iatent heat source etc.). Therefore, numerical
were carried out by transforming these into

dimensionless velocity

+ ax*

+ ax* ~~
+ ax* ~~
Re ex*
Re az*

z*

(iv)

az*

az*

solutions
their equivalent dimensionless form. Towardsthis, as our
first
dimensionless variables were
step, the following
defined:

(iii)

(u*u*)

Dimensionless equation of thermal energy balance:

having relatively

(ii)

+ az*

The fluid fiow and thermal energy balance equations,

the tubulence model and the associated boundary conditions
summerised above, provide a complete description of the mathematical model developed in the
The model equations, as seen, are
present investigation.
non-linear, mutually coupled and embodyseveral terms

(i)

(22)

..........

Dimensionless equation of motion in the axial direction:

NonDimensionalisation of the Governing Equations

and the Associated Boundary Conditions

heat flux,

a
+ ax v*=0

a u*

az

q~ = q~ = [1/(pCUi.To)][2.67

..........(21)

~0.33

......................(31)

7V!] 106

.(32)

.....

basis of Eqs. (16) through (21),

Lm

the governing

587

[h /(pCU,*)](T

T~) and

.....(33)

C 1994 !SIJ

ISIJ International,

L~
in which, e.

/(pCU,.T)](O*4

[(ree

Vol.

e*4)
"

.(34)

= T. +273.

Numerical Solution Procedure

control volume based finite difference procedure,1 5)
incorporating the SIMPLEalgorithm of Patankar and
Spalding,16)
was applied to numerically solve the governing p,d,e's in conjunc,tion with the set of boundary
conditions. To this end, as an appropriate starting point,
a steady state, elliptic, two dimensional, turbulent fiow
model, applied previously to simulate flow phenomena
2.7.

axisymmetric gas stirred ladle systemsl7,18) was applied. Howev,er, in order to adapt the previous computational procedure to continuous casting operations,
in

considerable modifications were applied. To this end,

several additional subroutines were incorporated into
the existing computational packagel7,18) for calculating thermal energy transport and the associated phenomenain conjunction with the two dimensional vefields

locity

variable

'

e
,

-L J_
l

t
J~ J_ -~ -F
I l J
I

,
e

~ 1

~I

,
l
,
,

e
e

1 _L
,

J-

T
J

I
t
I

1
L

',
,

ll
e

F1I

Jl

JL

,
e

J,

T ,

e
,

r 7 ,~
L
l

T~Tsol'

'-~

e
e

e
,
e

IE
Fig.

2.

A schematic

of the grid layout and control

for scalar as well as vector variables.

C 1994 ISIJ

x~1~x~R, u=U. and v=0

..(39)

Equation (39), embodies the infiuence of bulk motion

of the descending casting strand on liquid steel fiows.
In this way, the liquid contained within the solidifying casting was madeto experience correct boundary
conditions. To incorporate Eq. (39) into the calculation
procedure, the "cell porosity"
or "blockage ratio"
procedure of Moult and coworkersl9) was applied. This
involved selectively blocking off control volumes lying
in the solidified
region, so that these did not constitute
calculation
the
of
part
domain for computations of
a
flow fields. To this end, for each control volume face, a
blockage ratio, varying between Oand I was defined.

L
I

.(38)

Numerical Procedure for Incorporating the Influence

of Bulk Motion of the Descending Casting Strand
on Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer
In the numerical procedure, the axial velocity component, u, was set equal to the casting speed U. and the
radial/transverse
velocity component, v, was assigned
the cast sulface (x=R, viz., Eq. (12)),
only
at
not
zero,
but also in the entire solidified region. Mathematically,
this is expressed as:

(AEipE + wipw+ ANipN+ Asips + SU)

2.8.

r 1 -r I l t
L 1 J L L 1 rl t,
I
, ,
I
, ,
I J
1- L, -r
r 1
r i
I
J~
l
J
J
l
L
, r l , T t I T
, L
t i
4 L
t
l
t
, ~,
I , 1I
,

T i

J -h
,
,

r JI

~'r

I_

J_ T

= Apcp-

Numerical computations were carried out till the absolute

sumof normalised residuals on u, v, masscontinuity and
T all fell below the above stipulated value.

-L

JL

~l

z(1'

'

4 LI J- L
,
~-r 1~ It-

~1~

'

'
,
l

~- ~

-,-,

'

'

'

mm

(= 5

Residual

of the discretisation

XU] -'

procedure.
Flow chart of the computational procedure developed
is shown in Fig. 3. Prior to numerical simulation
of
industrial
continuous casting operations, both uniform
as well as non uniform grids of different configurations
were tested. Theseindicated that for a typical cylindrical
billet
caster, a 92 x 12 grid system while for the square
billet casters,
grid system produced practically
a 125 x

Ap=AE+Aw+AN+As~Sp

These are described in Ref. 15) in greater detail and are

therefore,
here. The set of algebraic
not re-iterated
equations (e.g., Eq. (35)) were solved via the Tri-Diagonal
Matrix Algorithm, incorporating a line by line solution

defined mathematically as: Normalised Residual

input of momentum
Residual]/[Total
[~~
or ther=
mal energy] Furthermore, the residual, for a general
variable c, is defined according t015).

..........(36)

In Eq. (35), A's are the coefficients

..........(37)

l O~ 5),

Apcp= AEcE+ Awcw

+ ANcN+ Asips + SU .....(35)
in which,

S.=SU+Spcp........

2mm

asls):

represented

equation and embody the combined infiuence of

convection and diffusion contributions to cp by the
neighbouring grid points. To estimate the net convective + diffusive
the hybrid differencing
transport,
applied.i5)
scheme was
Furthermore, the discretised
source term, S. is represented in the linearised form as:

18

(see later).

c (= u, v, Tandp)

grid independent solutions. Thesecorresponded approxin the axial and

imately to grid spacings of about 75
in the radial directions
respectively.
Numerical
computations were carried out on HP*9000series computers at Indian Institute of Technology. Kanpur. On
these, a convergence criterion
was applied by prescribing a maximum
allowable normalised residual
x

Numerical computations were initiated by discretising the domaininto a system of non-overlapping control
volumes. Following these, the governing differential
equations were integrated over their respective control
volumes (see Fig. 2) to yield a system of discretisation/finite
difference equations. These, for a general
is

34 (1994). No.

volumes

588

lnternational,

ISiJ

Vol.

Whena

control volume face lied completely in the

region, blockage ratio was defined as unity.
Similarly, for a face lying fully in the liquid region, this
was set equal to zero. In contrast, a control volume face
which was cut by the solidification
front (i.e., therefore,
lied partially
in the solidified region), blockage ratio
was
estimated by knowing the fraction of the corresponding
face area blocked by the solid shell. Following such

34

994), No.

(1

procedure, blockage ratios for four sides/faces of the

relevant control volumes were calculated.
Thus, during each iteration, solidified shell thickness
wasestimated at each axial station (z), from the predicted
temperature field and from this, the position of the

solidified

front was established. Subsequent to this,

the solidification
front wassuper imposed over the finite
difference grid to compute blockage ratios for various
solidification

S,Aa '
SPECIFVe,UMtR,CAL OATA,
tSTABt,SH MAIN 6RID
6RiO
STA60CREO

tSfAltISFf

FletO VARIAeLCS

,NfTIALtle

UPOATEPROPERf,ES
EFFECTiVEVISCOS,TV
CALCULATE
AXtAL VELOCITV
COMPUTE

FIELO

C0,4PUTERADIALVELOCtTV
' FtELO

TD,1A

BOUNOARV
CONDITIONS

SOLVER
COMPUTE
PRESSURE
'P'

FiELO

TEMPERATURE
COMPUTE

N=Ntl

'T

FIELO

50LIO FRACTION
COMPUTE
'rt'

POSITIONOF
COMPUTE
SOLiDIF,CATtONFRONT
ANO

SHELLTHICXNESS
RATtO
COMPUTE
8LOCXAGE

TE,,PERATURE
ESTIMATE5URFACE
Fig.

INTERMEDIATE
PRiNT OF f~ESIDUALS
ANDFleLD VARIA8LES

VES

NO

CONVERSENCE

3.

Flow diagram of

the numerical model applied to the

computation of velocity and temperature

continuous casting of steel.

pRINT OUf
FIELO OISTR,OUTION

fields

in

STOP

,
SOLIDIFICATION
So
FRONT
XSL,w
.1b

,,t

~P~,--

--N

I
LIQUID REGION 71(I,* S
,

J-1,

I
I

V,1,J,

(1,J'

SOLIOIFIEDREGION
FULLY
F

I
t

xc

X(J)

XSL,e

h- -H
AX

RATIOSOF c,v. FACES

8LOCKAGE
~
fac

f,'

fQct

'n'

PGrtiotty

blockd facet :

Fig.

face 'w'

BRv' 1

Aschematic of a typical

facIt

Deduced via curv

set of otidus

fittiog

BRs' O Liquid r9ion

BRn' 1 Fotty btock,d

','

aRttl

XSL v~XCJ 1)

AX
XSL, ~ XU

AX

1,

4.

radial velocity control volume

intercepted by the solidification
front and corresponding blockage ratios.

through

tr,,proturet

589

C 1994 ISIJ

ISIJ Intetnational,

Aw

control volume face, only the available area to fluid flow

wastaken into account to calculate convective + diffusive
transport of momentum.
Whenall the blockage ratios for a control volume
equals unity (i.e., the control volume is cornpletely in the
region), all the neighbouring finite difference
solidified
coefficients
of the discretisation equations becomezero
therefore,
the grid node is completely isolated from
and
its neighbours. At such
a node, the value of a variable
(u or v) can be fixed at any desired value (for example,
u=U. or v = etc.) by re-defining the source term
componentsin Eq. (37), according to:

casting strand/solidified

cp,desi'ed

1030

Sp=-

and

""""" "" ""

, . . . .

To demonstrate

the present approach, three different

casting operations reported in the literature
were
modelled mathematically.3'20) Towards these, relevant

experimental conditions together with values of thermophysical properties applied have already been summarised by the present authors and are available in Ref.
l). These
are therefore, not reproduced here. Figures 5(a)
comparisons between predicted
through 5(c) illustrate

(40)

solidified

=O

insensitive
are expected to be relatively
coefficients
precise
transfer
the
value
heat
of
to
spray
applied. In each of the three preceding figures, nushell thickness derived
merical estimates of solidified
via the effective thermal conductivity based model and
reported earlier by the present authors have also been
included. These clearly demonstrate the adequacy and
appropriatness of the "conjugate fluid flow and heat
in
transfer model" in simulating transport phenomena

flow, heat reansfer and solidification

phenomena
considered
and a primitive variable (u, v andp) based
was
numerical formulation was applied in the present study.
The flow phenomenawere simulated in the entire liquid
fluid

cQntinuous casting operations.

2s

20

_
-----

conjugate

tt'nnsfor

d"tn

nt'id

no* a"d

(b)

heat

'

*]odel

Erfecti*e

tneri]Ini

modell

cond*'cti+it,

,5

E
E

_
----

transfer model
Effecti~e themlai eonducti+it,

20

model[

E
E

~- Io

:E-~

-'o
~
'
u'

-----

~" Io

Expertmentat data
conjugate nuid nowa~d heat
transfer modet
Errecti*e thermu] cond*Gti*it! ~odeii

d 1$

"

G'

c)

Experimcntal dnta
conjugate nt'id no~ n']d heat

,i

~"o

plane)

mould region

region.
the
preceding details, it is nowworthwhile to
Given
vis a vis the earlier
the
examine
present contribution
equivalent studies.5~7) As ennumerated, a fully coupled

Expertnie"lal

vertical

in Ref. 3)

in the solidified

~-_

thickness (at the central

the secondary cooling zone (exact values are not available

and consequently, comparisons are shownfor
the mould region only. Since axial heat conduction
phenomenais realtively unimportant in practical billet
predicted shell thickness in the
casting operations,1'3)

Subsequently, the energy conservation equation was

solved, in which, both the velocity components, u and v,
were set to zero in the solidified region, so that convective
heat transport terms were completely eliminated from
the governing heat fiow equation (viz., Eq. (4)). In
addition to these, when solving for temperature fields,
true value of thermal conductivity of steel was applied

$0

shell

and corresponding experimental measurementsreported

in the literature.3'20)
There, reasonably good agreement
betweentheory and experiments is readily apparent. With
reference to the results shownin Figs. 5(b) and 5(c), it
is important to mention here, these
were derived by
prescribing an arbitrary heat transfer coefficient value in

region. Consequently, during

fixed within the solidified
each iteration, the velocity equations were solved by force
fitting
in the completely solidified region.
u U. and v

'

steel flows.

billet

..........,.........(41)

(a)

on liquid

Experimental Measurements3'20)

With such prescriptions, Eq. (35) reduces to: - Spepp=

SU, Ieading to, cp= SU/Sp=cp,d.~i.ed' This allowed the
value of the fiow components(u and v) to be selectively

shell

Comparisonof Numerical Predictions with Reported

3.

SU= 1030

pool region (e.g., by choosing the outflow boundary in

region) and hence, casting
the completely solidified
lengths of about IO were mathematically modelled.
The influence of thermal buoyancy on liquid steel flows,
which was ignored in a muchearlier study,5) was also
embodiedin the present model. Furthennore, turbulence
within the liquid pool region was accounted for via a
simplied, physically realistic,
zero order model and a
novel, computationally robust, calculation
procedure
was applied to model the influence of the descending

faces of the relevant control volumes. To demonstrate

of a
the principles applied, in Fig. 4, the intersection
front
radial velocity control volumeand the solidification
is illustrated
schematically. Onceblockage ratios (BR*,
BR~etc.) for each control volume were known, the
original coefficiehts of the discretisation
equations (viz.,
Eq. (35)) were iuodified according to: AE,**~=(1(1
etc. In this way, for each
BR*)AE,
BR~)

Aw*.* = -

34 (1 994), No.

Vol.

i:

v'

v's

/.:.~

to

'

oo.o

OitancFig.

5.

blow meni,cu',

o,

0.044

ms~

o.

o,e

0,2

Oi,tonc.

0,4

590

o,e

bIow m,ni,cu',

shell thickness3,20) and their comparison with present and earlierl)

size
(billet
(b) square billet3)
round billet,20)
= 0.133mx0.133mand casting speed=
and (c) square billet3) (billet size = 0.14 mx 0.14m and casting speed=0.0254 ms~ 1).

(a)
1)

DiltonGe b,lew m,ni,cul,

Experimentally measured solidified

estimates.

C 1994 ISIJ

oo,o

0,2

o,-

ISIJ International,

Vol.

1650

through the mushyzone,

_____i

lidified

discussed

.o

1 Fluid flow heat transf,r modL

2 Effectivt thrmal conductivity modet

1050

8500

Fig.

6.

10

20

30

40

Radial distance

mm

(1)

phenomena, (2) flow

descending motion of so-

(3)

on flow and heat transfer

extensively.

numerical predictions were carried out for three different

continuous casting operations reported in the literature.
Reasonable to excellent agreement between experimental observations and predicted results
were achieved.
Furthermore, numerical predictions from our earlier
study were applied to assess the relative adequacyof the
two different classes of models (viz., the effective thermal
conductivity
and the conjugate heat and fluid flow
models). It is shownthat models based
on the concept
of "conjugate heat and fluid flow" are the most
appropriate for mathematical modelling of transport
phenomenain continuous casting of steel.

::'

A
E
ho

shell

as the modelling of,

phenomenawere
Embodying a bulk effective
viscosity formula together with
a simple model for flow
through the mushyzone in the calculation procedure,

~T

o
L
~o 1250
L
o

boundary conditions as well

turbulence and solidification

ZONE
MUSHY

1450

34 (1 994), No.

50

Acknowledgements

Present estimates of temperature profiles in

a round
billet20)
at the mould exit and their comparison with
those deduced earlier via the effective thermal
conductivity based modell).

The authors wish to express sincere gratitude to The

National Mission of lron and Steel (NMIS), Ministry of
Steel, Governmentof India for their financial
support
to the present study.

Numerically

predicted temperature profiles

at the
for a cylindrical
shaped billet casters20)
derived via the two modelling procedures (e.g., effective
thermal conductivity and conjugate heat and fluid flow)
are shownin Fig. 6. There, while the two set of estimates
similar within the liquid pool region,
are practically
substantial differences are seen to exist between these in
the mushyzone as well as in the solidified shell. Results
presented so far, appear to indicate that the turbulent
heat-fluid
interactions
associated with thermal energy
transport from the liquid core to the solidified
shell
cannot be modelled effectively through the prescription
of a relatively large thermal conductivity in the liquid
pool region, as has been attempted earlier.1~4) The
present study, conclusively demonstrates that for realistic

mould

Nomenclature
BR*, BR~,
:

exit

C:

D~:

AHf :

L~ :
L* :
th

p:
q*

R:

6)

industrial

trials

q~ :

point,

S.

were also carried

heat effect

associated with solidifica-

Iength of the mould

Iength of the spray zone
massflow rate ofsteel through the inlet
nozzle
dynamic pressure with reference to
local hydrostatic pressure
surface heat flux
mould heat flux
half width/radius of the mould

: a general,
u, v,

out21)
on somemacrostructural and macrosegregation
phenomena(e,g., columnar-eqiaxed transition tempera-

T:
T. :
T* :

tures etc.) and were correlated successfully with the

corresponding numerical predictions derived from the
present model. This evidently lends further confirmation
to the adequacy and appropriatness of the model developed in the present study.

T~ :

T* :
Tsol

u:
4.

mould

K: constant defined by Eq. (6)

L : domain length in the axial direction

accurate mathematical modelling of rate

billet
casting operations, a
calculation procedure based on the concept of "conjugate
heat and fiuid flow" is the most appropriate. Similar
conclusion also emergedfrom a recent study by Flint et
final

east, west,

heat of steel
diameter/width of the
specific

tion

phenomenain continuous

As a

a control volume

g: acceleration due to gravity

h* : spray heat transfer coefficient

and relatively

al

blockage ratios for

faces in the direction

Ui.

Concluding Remarks

numerical calculation procedure has been developed

for mathematical modelling of transport phenomena
in
continuous casting of steel. Towards this, derivation of
the governing differential
equations and the associated

U. :

discretised

source term (for

P, Tetc.)

temperature
pouring temperature
temperature at the cast surface
bulk spray water temperature
reference temperature
solidus temperature of steel
axial velocity componentof fluid
Iiquid steel velocity through the

inlet

nozzle
casting speed

v : radial velocity componentof fluid

x : transverse or radial coordinate
interface
x*1 : distance of the solid liquid
591

C 1994 ISIJ

Voi.

ISIJ Internationai,

from the

line

34

of symmetryat any axial

distance

y.
'4L

index of coordinate system

coefficient of volumeexpansion of

liquid
,~T

p:
O:

viscosity

of

steel

turbulence viscosity
density of steel
absolute temperature
emissivity of oxidised iron surfate

S.

K. Choudhary, D. Mazumdarand A. Ghosh: ISIJ

B.

8)

W. M. Pun and D.
J.

J.

12)

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H. Murakami, M. Hasanand R. I. L. Guthrie: Proc.,

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PTDConf.,

Vol. 10, (1992), 247.

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Savageand W. H. Pritchard: J. Iron Sleel Inst., 178 (1954), 267.

V. Patankar: Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow,
HemispherePub., NewYork, (1980).
S. V. Patankar and D. B. Spalding: Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer,

l 7)

D. Mazumdarand R.

5)

15 (1972), 1787.

16B (1985),

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L. Guthrie: Metall.

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L. Guthrie: Ironmaking Steelmaking, 12

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83.
Int.,

33

E. A. Miziker: Trans. Met. Soc. AIME, 239 (1967), 1747.

E. Lait, J. K. Brimacombeand F. Weinberg: Ironmaking
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Steelmaking,
J. K. Brimacombe: Canad. Metall. Q., 50 (1976), 163.

C 1994 ISIJ

Szekely and R.
Szekely and R.

13)

18)

and R.
D. Mazumdar

l 9)

A. Moult, D. B. Spalding and N. C. G. Markatos: Trans.

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3.

Yadoya: Metall. Trans., 3 (1972), 2673.

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Mech. Eng., 3(1974), 269.
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Vol. 10,

G. Thomasand F. M, Najjar: Appl. Math. Modell., 15 (1991),

7)

3(1976),

REFERENCES
l)

P. J. Flint.

226.

steel

(Stefan-Boltzman
= 0.85)
constant
(5.67 x 10~8 m~2 K~4)
W

(T:

S.

6)

(=1 x 10~3'C~1)

: solid fraction
: dynamic or molecular

Asai and J. Szekely: Ironmaking Steelkmaking, 3 (1975), 205.

Q. L. He. R. B. Mahapatra and J. Herbertson: Proc.,

5)

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axial coordinate

Ap:

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(1

20)
21)

592

(1985), 256.
Inst.