Mold

In the continuous casting mold the highly sensible solidification process takes place. The mold consists of water-cooled, oscillating copper plates, the melt solidifies and forms a stable strand shell. In the mold domain, the liquid core is covered by a layer of casting flux resulting in a resistance to heat and reducing friction. The supported strand is cooled with spray water. To guide the strand out of the caster horizontally, it is bent and straightened, either partially or fully solidified, depending on the casting technology. However, product defects caused by uncontrolled mold flow phenomena cannot be reversed further downstream in the casting process. CFD simulations allow to calculate a performance map of any SEN for the full casting range (casting speed, width, thickness, immersion depth, etc.). With this performance map the flow behavior in the mold is much more transparent and can be adapted to the casting condition.