Special package for analysis of thermo-mechanical behavior of steel shell in secondary cooling zone of continuously cast round billets

Abstract

In the round billet casting of steel, a major problem is the formation of cracks due to the thermal gradients in the material, ferrostatic pressure of the unsolidified melts pool, and external mechanical force. The stress simulation software of secondary cooling zone in continuously cast steel round billet (SSS) has been developed using the thermo-elastic-plastic theory and finite element method. The calculations were carried out under the plane strain condition based on the slice of the strand. The package is characterized by friendly interface and easy to operate. The package was applied to simulate continuous casting of a Φ200 mm round billet in one steel plant of China. Comparisons with the plant trail verified the crack predictions of this package. The package was also validated with commercial package MSC.Marc which specialized in thermo-mechanical modeling of material. The calculated results show agreement with the experimental observations and the results of MSC.Marc. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.