Numerical analysis of temperature field and structure field in horizontal continuous casting process for copper pipes

To efficiently utilize energy, refrigeration industries, including air conditioning, have put forward higher and higher requirements for the performances of copper pipes used for heat exchangers. Horizontal continuous casting of pipe blank is a key process in production of copper pipes, and optimization of its technological parameters has positive effects on improving the structure uniformity of casting blank. The stability of the performances of pipe blank also directly influences the quality of subsequent machining process. In this paper, numerical analysis was carried out for the temperature field and structure field during solidification of pipe blank in the crystallizer for horizontal continuous casting, and the steady-state sump depth and morphology in the crystallizer for continuous casting, which could be used to evaluate production safety, were obtained. Quantitative analysis was conducted for the laws of influence of different casting technological parameters, such as cooling water flow rate, withdrawal speed, and casting temperature, on the sump morphology in the crystallizer for casting blank and the final distribution of structure field in casting blank. Metallographic experiment was carried out for casting blank, and the results were compared visually with the structure field from simulation calculation, to provide measurable reference bases for further optimizing the horizontal casting technological parameters for copper pipes. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.