OPTIMIZATION OF SECONDARY COOLING PERCENTAGE DURING SEMI-CONTINUOUS COPPER CASTING PROCESS
Hameed, Amar H.
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Abstract
Sufficient cooling is essential to reduce casting defects and to get
high productivity in semi-continuous casting of copper billet. On the
other hand, low rate solidification is desired in order to develop
coarser grain size and softer metal for less energy losses and metal
discards in extrusion. Cooling intensity and percentage in both primary
and secondary cooling stages was inspected to optimize microstructure
and quality of billets. A three-dimensional steady-state numerical model
was develooped including solidification behavior of copper through mushy
zone. Solid shell thickness, pool length, and mushy zone thickness are
monitored during the reduction of the cooling rate in the mold region.
Adequate primary cooling range is concluded, as a function of mold inlet
water temperature, to be between 43 and 63. C. For moderate pool length
according to solidification time, not reduced total heat removal, a
cooling rate with less available inequality along the billet, and at the
range of adequate primary cooling, perfect secondary cooling percentage
sets at the range of 52-67\%. At this range and for a specified speed of
casting, melt at the core needs between 600 and 750 s to start
solidification and solidification needs between 125 and 225 s to
complete.... Show more Show less