Film Boiling and Water Film Ejection in the Secondary Cooling Zone of the Direct-Chill Casting Process

Accurate thermal modeling of the direct-chill casting process relies nowadays on increasingly complex boundary conditions for the secondary cooling zone. A two-dimensional axisymmetric finite-element model of the direct-chill casting process was developed to quantify the importance of secondary cooling at the surface compared with internal heat conduction within the billet. Boiling water heat transfer at the surface was found to dominate and be the governing factor only when stable film boiling or water film ejection take place; all other cases were dominated by internal heat conduction. The influence of various parameters (casting speed, cooling water flow rate, and thermophysical properties of the cast material) on the occurrence of water film ejection was analyzed. An exponential relationship was found between the cooling water flow rate and the minimum casting speed at which water film ejection takes place.