A Multi-Scale CFD Model of Solidification and Heat Transfer in Compact Strip Production (CSP) Casting of Boron-Alloyed Steel

Abstract

The Compact Strip Production (CSP) process is the latest version of thin-slab continuous casting, combining both casting and rolling, thus improving the CSP process’s energy efficiency and the strip quality. Modeling the combined phenomena of fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification in CSP casting remains an unresolved multiphysics problem, particularly when boron and other alloying elements enter the system and modify the thermal properties and solidification behavior. In this study, we propose a more integrated approach by executing a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model at different scales, blending macroscale fluid flow and heat transfer with meso-solidification that is molten in a CSP casting model. For the macroscale model, we solve the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with one of the energy equations, while the mesoscale model uses the solid fraction evolution algorithm to model the multiphase latent heat of solidification and the motion of solid and liquid phases of a non-equilibrium system. Mold heat flux, free surface cooling and secondary spray zones were used to set the boundary conditions. The model simulates temperature distributions at different times, the solid fraction below the liquidus and the trends in shell growth for different process parameters and the time profile of the solidification. The improved prediction capability of the model, demonstrated by the results, opens the opportunity to reduce the process parameters of casting speed and cooling to defect-free results. Comparisons with the most recent studies on continuous casting processes (including CSP and thin slabs) demonstrate alignment with the thermal gradient and solidification behavior characteristics. The thermal gradients and solidification behavior characteristics were obtained. The research yields the basis for developing microstructure and segregation models with boron-alloyed steels.