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The Online Journal on Mathematics and Statistics (OJMS) Vol. (1) No.

(1)
Reference Number: W10-0025 8
Numerical Study on the Effect of Solidification
Parameters during the Continuous
Casting of Al-Si Alloys
Y. Rihan
1
, B. Abd El-Bary
2
1 Atomic Energy Authority, Hot Lab. Centre, Anshas, B.P. 13759, Egypt, yarihan159@yahoo.com.
2 Menoufia University, Fac. Of Engineering, Production Eng. & Mechanical Design Dept., Egypt.
Abstract- A numerical model is developed, by using
finite volume method to solve the two-dimensional
unsteady flow and energy equations for simulating the
flow and heat transfer with solidification in round billet
continuous casting. The strongly coupled set of partial
differential equations representing the conservation of
mass, momentum and energy are employed. In addition of
this, a modified form of turbulence model k- is used
also during the solution procedure. The thermal profiles
predicted by the mathematical model agree with those
predicted by another industrial model. The temperature
distributions and solid shell thickness profile were studied
in the continuous casting at different conditions. The
results from the analyses are applicable to the design of
the continuous casting process.
Keywords- Heat transfer, solidification, numerical,
continuous casting, Al-Si.
I. INTRODUCTION
Aluminum alloys with silicon as a major alloying element
consist of a class of alloys which provides the most
significant part of all shaped castings manufactured. This is
mainly due to the outstanding effect of silicon in the
improvement of casting characteristics, combined with other
properties such as mechanical properties and corrosion
resistance.
Continuous casting is distinguished from other
solidification process by its steady state nature in which the
molten metal solidifies against the mold walls while it is
simultaneously withdrawn from the bottom of the mold at a
rate which maintains the solid-liquid interface at a constant
position with time. The process works best when all of its
aspects operate in this steady state manner. Over 90% of
commercial aluminum alloys are cast by semi-continous and
continous casting, typically as 0.05-0.5 m diameter round
sections.
The continuous casting of metals is a very important
process in metallurgical industry. Amin and Greif [1] model
this process using the mass, momentum and energy
conservation equations using the average heat capacity
method. Chen et al. [2] model the heat transfer in the
continuous casting process, taking an energy conservation
equation with a convective term where the velocity is
prescribed. Chen and Jiang [3] consider a convective-
diffusion equation and they use an implicit method in the
diffusion term and explicit method in the convective term
together with a finite element method in space. A steady-state
model involving the mass, momentum and energy equations
is given in [4] using a heat flow method to state the energy
equation. They discretize these equations taking a finite
element method in space with a new finite element called
thermal contact element, an implicit method for the resulting
equation. Bermdez and Otero [5] discretized the governing
equations using a characteristics method in time and a finite
element method in space, and they proposed a numerical
algorithm to solve the obtained nonlinear discretized problem.
Aspects of alloy solidification have been extensively
investigated and reported in the literature [6-12].
During casting heat transfer occurs from the hot liquid
metal to the water-cooled mold and the temperature decreases
from that of the cast to the surrounding temperature. The
process involves three successive stages: the cooling of the
liquid metal, the solidification and finally the cooling of the
solid metal. Due to the water cooling (primary and secondary)
solidification rate provided by continuous casting is higher
than in other casting methods therefore continuous castings
have more uniform and finer grain structure and enhanced
mechanical properties. The way the heat flows across the
metal-mold interface strongly affects the evaluation of
solidification and plays a remarkable role in the structural
integrity of castings. Product quality is more directly affected
by the interfacial heat transfer conditions.
The structural integrity of shaped castings is closely related
to the time temperature history during solidification.
Experimental research into such a process is expensive to
carry out and the difficulties of measurement are so great that
the results are sometimes difficult to interpret. The use of
casting process simulation could do much to increase this
knowledge in the foundry industry. A mathematical model,
therefore, often has the advantage.
In the present paper, we are interested in the analysis of
heat transfer in the metal during solidification. This study
consists of the description of a mathematical model governing
the different processes mentioned above for hypoeutectic
aluminum-silicon alloys. The modeling leads to a system of
nonlinear differential equations representing the conservation
of mass, momentum and energy, boundary and initial
conditions which depend on the shape of the part (round
The Online Journal on Mathematics and Statistics (OJMS) Vol. (1) No. (1)
Reference Number: W10-0025 9
pillet), the mold, and the cooling system. A numerical
determination of the temperature distribution and the
solidification front versus time and the influence of the
cooling water flow rate, casting speed, and billet diameter for
cylindrical billets is reported.
II. MATHEMATICAL MODEL
The numerical model is applied to simulate the
solidification of binary alloys during the continuous casting
process. Initially, the alloys were assumed to be molten,
quiescent and uniformly mixed, with temperatures exceeding
the liquidus temperatures. The top and side walls were
assumed to be insulated while energy was extracted from the
bottom at a rate governed by the overall/coolant heat transfer
coefficient. The mathematical formulation of this
solidification problem is given by the one-dimensional heat
conduction equation [13]:
, ) q
x
T
x K
x t
T
c + |

\
|
c
c
c
c
=
c
c

(1)
where K is the thermal conductivity (W/m K), c the specific
heat (J/kg K), the density (kg/m
3
), q the rate of energy
generation (W/m
3
), T the temperature (K), t the time (s), and x
the rectangular coordinate (m).
The release of latent heat between the liquidus and solidus
temperatures is expressed by q :
t
f
L q
s

= (2)
where L is the latent heat (J/kg), and f
s
the local solid fraction
(%).
The fraction of solid in the mushy zone can be estimated by
the Scheil equation, which assumes perfect mixing in the
liquid and no solid diffusion. With liquidus and solidus lines
having constant slopes, f
s
is often expressed as:
) 1 (
1
0
1

|
|

\
|

=
k
l f
f
s
T T
T T
f
(3)
where T
f
is the melting temperature (K), T
l
the liquidus
temperature (K), and k
0
the partition coefficient.
Eq. (3) is incorporated into the latent heat term (Eq. (2)) by
differentiating the Scheil equation with respect to
temperature. Hence, applying the chain rule of differentiation,
we have:
, ), ) t
T
T T
T T
T T k t
f
k
k
l f
f
l f
s
c
c
|
|

\
|


=
c
c

1
2
0
0
0
1
1
(4)
Substituting Eq. (2) into Eq. (1) gives:
, )
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
=
c
c
'
x
T
x K
x t
T
c (5)
where can be considered as a pseudo-specific heat given by:
T
f
L c c
s
M
c
c
= ' (6)
, )
S s L s M
c f c f c + = 1 (7)
where the subscripts S, L and M refer to solid, liquid and
mushy, respectively.
The other properties such as thermal conductivity and
density in the mushy zone are described similarly as the
specific heat in Eq. (7):
, )
S s L s M
K f K f K + = 1 (8)
, )
S s L s M
f f + = 1 (9)
A finite difference form of Eq. (5) is obtained for time-
dependent temperature distribution at discrete grid points:
, )
|
|

\
|
A

A
=
A

'

+
+
+
x
T T
K
x
T T
K
x t
T T
c
n
i
n
i
i
n
i
n
i
i
n
i
n
i
i
1
2 / 1
1
2 / 1
1
1

(10)
where n and n+1 refer to temperatures before and after the
incremental time interval t, respectively, i the element
position according to x and y axes.
K
i+1/2
and K
i-1/2
are given by:
2
1
2 / 1
i i
i
K K
k
+
=
+
+
(11)
2
1
2 / 1

+
=
i i
i
K K
k (12)
The flow is assumed to be fully developed and symmetric.
The radial component of velocity is set to zero at the
symmetry axis and at the casting surface next to the mold.
The pouring temperature 700
o
C was an initial temperature of
the process. It was found that the grid size 50100 is
sufficient to resolve the details of the flow and temperature
distributions. The thermo-physical properties and casting
conditions for the calculations are given in table 1.
Table 1: Thermo-physical properties of the casting materials
used in this study [6].
Properties Symbol/
units
Al-3wt.
%Si
Al-5wt.
%Si
Al-7wt.
%Si
Al-9wt.
%Si
Thermal
conductivity
KS
(W/m.K)
(solid)
KL
(W/m.K)
(liquid)
121
91
104
90
90
90
81
89
Specific
heat
cS (J/kg.K)
(solid)
cL (J/kg.K)
(liquid)
1084
963
1082
963
1080
963
1078
963
Density S (kg/m
3
)
(solid)
L (kg/m
3
)
(liquid)
2695
2385
2690
2389
2680
2394
2670
2399
Latent heat
of fusion
L (J/kg) 389187 393083 397440 405548
Solidus
temp.
Ts (
o
C) 577 577 577 577
Liquidus
temp.
Tl (
o
C) 644 632 610 604
The Online Journal on Mathematics and Statistics (OJMS) Vol. (1) No. (1)
Reference Number: W10-0025 10
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Validation of the mathematical models accuracy can be
realized by two methods. The first is the direct comparison
with the experimental data obtained from the continuous
casting machine and the second is the comparison with results
of other numerical models. The experimental results for
Spinelli et al. [14] were employed to compare the thermal
profile obtained in our study. The model was employed with
the same parameters of casting speed, mould shape, rate of
cooling water, heat transfer coefficient, and cast length. The
thermal profile predicted by the suggested mathematical
model agrees with the experimental data obtained by Spinelli
et al. as shown in Fig. 1.
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 40 80 120 160 200 240
Time, sec.
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
,
o
C
r= 27 mm r= 41 mm
r= 62 mm r= 90 mm
Figure (1): Comparison between the presented model with
experimental results of Spinelli et al. [14].
Figures (2-5) present the temperature variation as a
function of time, for the solidification of the studied
aluminum alloys at constant casting speed, u
c
= 18 cm/min
and constant water flow rate, Q = 0.7 m
3
/hr for billet
diameter, d = 5 cm and cast length, L = 100 cm.
The process involves three successive stages: the cooling
of the liquid metal, the solidification and finally the cooling
of the solid metal. In general, temperature decreases with
increasing time. Heat transfer occurs from the hot liquid
metal to the water-cooled mold and temperature decreases
from that of the cast to the surrounding temperature. The
solidification starts from the walls of mold towards the center.
From the results, one can say that the complete solidification
at the surface occurs after a time of about 30 sec for Al-3 wt%
Si and Al-5 wt% Si while it occurs after a time of about 23
sec for Al-7 wt% Si and Al-9 wt% Si and this perhaps can be
attributed to the effect of silicon. Also, we notice that the
complete solidification at the center occurs after a time of
about 160 sec for Al-3 wt% Si and more than 200 sec for Al-5
wt% Si, Al-7 wt% Si and Al-9 wt% Si. This means that as
silicon content increases the solidification time increases.
When we advance towards the mold center, we observe the
solidification rate decreases.
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 40 80 120 160 200
Time, sec.
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
,
o
C
surface
0.625 cm from surface
1.250 cm from surface
1.875 cm from surface
center
Solidification line
Figure (2): Cooling curve inside the casting cross-section for
Al-3wt % Si, (u
c
= 18 cm/min., Q = 0.7 m
3
/hr, d = 5 cm, L =
100 cm).
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 40 80 120 160 200
Time, sec.
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
,
o
C
surface
0.625 cm from surface
1.250 cm from surface
1.875 cm from surface
center
Solidification line
Figure (3): Cooling curve inside the casting cross-section for
Al-5wt % Si, (u
c
= 18 cm/min., Q = 0.7 m
3
/hr, d = 5 cm, L =
100 cm).
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 40 80 120 160 200
Time, sec.
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
,
o
C
surface
0.625 cm from surface
1.250 cm from surface
1.875 cm from surface
center
Solidification line
Figure (4): Cooling curve inside the casting cross-section for
Al-7wt % Si, (u
c
= 18 cm/min., Q = 0.7 m
3
/hr, d = 5 cm, L =
100 cm).
The Online Journal on Mathematics and Statistics (OJMS) Vol. (1) No. (1)
Reference Number: W10-0025 11
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 40 80 120 160 200
Time, sec.
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
,
o
C
surface
0.625 cm from surface
1.250 cm from surface
1.875 cm from surface
center
Solidification line
Figure (5): Cooling curve inside the casting cross-section for
Al-9wt % Si, (u
c
= 18 cm/min., Q = 0.7 m
3
/hr, d = 5 cm, L =
100 cm).
Fig. (6) shows the relationship between solidification time
versus casting speed for the studied Al-Si alloys for different
billet diameters at constant water flow rate and cast length.
The figure shows that the solidification time decreases with
increasing casting speed for all studied Al-Si alloys. The
solidification time is affected more by the increase of casting
speed up to 40 cm/sec for all studied Al- Si alloys. The more
billet diameter increases the more solidification time
increases.
50
150
250
350
450
0 20 40 60 80
Casting speed, cm/min
S
o
l
i
d
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n

t
i
m
e
,

s
Al-Si3
Al-Si5
Al-Si7
Al-Si9
d=5
cm
d=10
cm
Figure (6): Solidification time vs casting speed , (Q = 0.7
m
3
/hr, L = 100 cm).
Fig. (7) shows the relationship between solidification time
versus casting speed for the studied Al-Si alloys for different
water cooling flow rates at constant billet diameter and cast
length. It is clear that solidification time decreases with
increasing water flow rate for all studied Al-Si alloys. Also,
the solidification time is not very affected by the increase of
water flow rate for the studied Al-Si alloys.
Fig. (8) shows the temperature distribution versus time at
the billet surface and the billet center for different values of
billet diameter with the same value of casting speed, water
flow rate and cast length for Al-Si alloys. The heat removal
rate from the billet surface decreases with increasing the billet
diameter due to the bulk of melt and its heat content. At the
billet center the temperature will remain constant for a period
of time and this can be attributed to the latent heat and the
distance from the mold walls.
50
150
250
350
0 20 40 60 80
Casting speed, cm/min
S
o
l
i
d
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n

t
i
m
e
,

s
Al-Si3
Al-Si5
Al-Si7
Al-Si9
Q=0.7 m3/hr
Q=4 m3/hr
Figure (7): Solidification time vs casting speed , (d = 5 cm, L
= 100 cm).
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 40 80 120 160 200
Time, sec.
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
,
o
C
d = 5 cm
d = 7.5 cm
d = 10 cm
d = 15 cm
d = 20 cm
Center
Surface
Figure (8): Surface and center temperatures vs time for Al-
3wt % Si at different diameters, (u
c
= 36 cm/min., Q = 0.7
m
3
/hr, L = 100 cm).
The distribution of shell thickness versus length from
meniscus at different conditions of casting speed with the
same cooling condition is shown in Fig. (9). The figure shows
that the solidified shell thickness increases with increasing
length from meniscus for all casting speeds. The figure also
shows that the shell thickness decreases with increasing the
speed value. Fig. (10) shows the distribution of shell
thickness versus length from meniscus at different billet
diameters with the same cooling condition. The figure shows
that increasing the billet diameter the solidified shell
thickness decreases but the distance from meniscus at which
the solid shell start to form increases.
The Online Journal on Mathematics and Statistics (OJMS) Vol. (1) No. (1)
Reference Number: W10-0025 12
0
5
10
15
20
25
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Length from Menisus (cm)
S
h
e
l
l

T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s

(
m
m
)
u=18 cm/min
u=36 cm/min
u=54 cm/min
u=72 cm/min
Figure (9): The shell thickness vs length from meniscus for
Al-7wt % Si at different conditions of casting speed, (Q= 4
m
3
/hr, d = 5 cm).
0
10
20
30
40
50
0 20 40 60 80 100
Length from Meniscus (cm)
S
h
e
l
l

T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s

(
m
m
)
d=5 cm
d=10 cm
d=15 cm
d=20 cm
u=18
Figure (10): Shell thickness vs length from meniscus for Al-
7wt % Si at different conditions of billet diameter, (Q= 4
m
3
/hr).
IV. CONCLUSIONS
An unsteady heat transfer model for continuous round
billet casting was developed to calculate the temperature
distributions and solid shell thickness profile and to study the
solidification process in the continuous casting. The thermal
profiles predicted by the mathematical model agree with
experimental data for another authors. Results showed that
such mathematical analyses of the process can help to
control and optimize the process and to investigate the
consequences of parameter changes without the safety and
cost limitations of in-plant experiments. The predicted
results showed that the solidification time increases with
increasing silicon content and decreases with increasing
casting speed. The more billet diameter increases the more
solidification time increases. The cooling water flow rate has
less effect on the shell thickness compared with the effect of
casting speed. The numerical results show that the method of
this work is efficient for analyzing the flow and heat transfer
with solidification problem of round billet continuous
casting.
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