A mold simulator for the continuous casting of steel: Part I. The development of a simulator

Surface defects, such as oscillation marks, ripples, and cracks that can be found on the surface of continuously cast steel, originate in the continuous casting mold. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of initial solidification behavior of steel in a continuous casting mold is necessary because it determines the surface quality of continuously cast slabs. In order to develop an understanding of the initial solidification of continuous cast steels, a "mold simulator" was designed and constructed to investigate heat-transfer phenomena during the initial phase of strand solidification. The mold simulator was used to obtain solidified steel shells of different grades of steel under conditions similar to those found in industrial casting operations. The resulting cast surface morphologies were compared with industrial slabs and were found to be in good agreement, indicating that it is possible to simulate the continuous casting process by a laboratory scale simulator.