The Effect of Mold Structure and Cooling Parameters on Heat Transfer during Billet High-Speed Continuous Casting

Mold structure and cooling parameters are significant factors that affect the heat transfer capacity of high-speed continuous casting molds of billets. Therefore, a three-dimensional fluid flow and heat transfer model of a 160 mm x 160 mm billet mold was established, and its accuracy was verified. Thereby, the characteristics of heat transfer and influences of mold structure and cooling parameters on heat transfer in the high-speed continuous casting billet mold region were revealed. It was found that extending the effective length of a mold is the most valuable method to improve its heat transfer capability and achieve high-speed continuous casting. The total heat and the shell thickness at a mold outlet increased by 19% and 9.21% on average with every 100 mm extension. Enlarging the fillet radius could enhance the uniformity of heat transfer in the mold. Considering the loss of material, the optimal fillet radius of the mold was determined to be R = 10 mm.