Numerical analysis of the influence of carbon content on the initial shell of continuous casting slab

A numerical model for calculation of temperature and thermal stress in initial steel shell in plate and grooved slab continuous casting moulds was established to predict the influence of steel carbon content on the temperature and stress fields. The calculated results show that the temperature non-uniformity and surface stress of the initial shell increase as the steel temperature decreases. Among the steel grades with carbon contents of 0.06, 0.17, 0.45 and 0.80 wt-%, the initial shell surface stress of steel with 0.17 wt-% (peritectic steel) is the highest. In the grooved mould the temperature non-uniformity and surface stress of the initial shell are significantly lower than those in the plate mould. At 1.7 s after initial shell formation, the non-uniformity of shell surface temperature and stress in the grooved mould are four to nine times and three to nine times, respectively, lower than those in the plate mould.