On the optimal cooling strategy for variable‐speed continuous casting

In this paper, we consider the inverse problem of determining the optimal cooling parameters for continuous casting under changing casting speed. We rely on automatic differentiation to support different search methods for the parameter values that will minimize a given cost functional, which can include a variety of criteria: surface temperature evolution and variation, interface position, full solidification point. In the direct problem we use a fixed‐domain transformation to solve the corresponding free‐boundary problem to high accuracy. Numerical experiments are provided to illustrate and support the effectiveness of the present concept. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.