THERCAST contiuous casting simulationReduce the time and cost to plan, optimize and run your ingot or continuous casting process.

Transvalor THERCAST® is the best available solution to quickly and accurately simulate your metal casting process, whether you want to optimize one that’s already in operation or to plan a new one.

Model your continuous casting process from start to finish with THERCAST®. It accurately simulates the behavior of your metal and every other element of your continuous casting process, and all their complex interrelationships.

With it you can optimize your casting speed, prevent cracking and tearing, save energy, improve safety, and take other steps to increase quality and efficiency and reduce cost.

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In this continuous casting example, THERCAST® simulates the entire process and all its complex interactions. The cooling effects of the molds, air, rolls and sprays are clearly visible.

 

Model your continuous casting process from start to finish

Continuous casting sites all over the world have discovered the power, accuracy and flexibility of THERCAST® to simulate their casting processes, allowing them to improve productivity and quality, reduce cost and prevent surprises. THERCAST® features specific to continuous casting include :

Simulating metal behavior in the tundish

Thanks to the versatility of its thermo-mechanical model, THERCAST® can simulate the behavior of a turbulent liquid in the ladle or the spreader at the top of the casting machine. This way you will analyze:

  • The paths of any inclusions within the liquid metal,
  • Ladle behavior and the efficiency of any spreaders,
  • microstructures,

and you will optimize the cleanliness of your product.

Studying trajectories taken by the fluid in a tundish

 

Simulation of dies, rolls and sprays

THERCAST® software accurately simulates in three dimensions the temperature, deformation and other attributes of all elements of a continuous casting process, including ladles, nozzles, tundishes, rolls, sprays and air - as well as the metal itself. The ability to model every element of the process, from start to finish, is unique to THERCAST®, and provides many cost, time and quality advantages.

You can :

  • Optimize ingot mold taper/conicity efficiency,
  • Predict the quality of the solid shell,
  • Check bulging and avoid breakouts

thanks to a unique module that is dedicated to studying complex phenomena like the interaction between the turbulent liquid metal and solid shell shrinkage.

THERCAST_continuous_casting 3Left: Simulating the start of the continuous slab casting process (filling the cavity under turbulence).

Right: llustrating liquid metal paths and checking mold temperature using cooling channels during the process.

 

casting speed optimization

The rate at which your continuous casting process runs has huge impacts on cost, productivity and profitability. "Rules of thumb" are often applied that are overly conservative, meaning the process is being run as slowly as possible. THERCAST® can model the entire process and allow you to explore the effects of different casting speeds. This is especially valuable with existing processes, where production managers are understandably reluctant to "experiment." To learn through THERCAST® that a process could run 10% to 25% faster, without any ill effects, can dramatically improve the economics of the entire casting operation.

 

prevention of cracks and tears

Metal begins to cool and solidify as soon as it enters the die, and this period of early solidification is extremely important in determining the integrity of the part being cast. The detailed thermo-mechanical modeling in THERCAST® allows this phase to be studied and optimized, preventing problems before they start.

 

optimization of die and cooling

THERCAST® can be used to determine the optimum die dimensions and cooling system requirements, preventing guesswork and unnecessary expense.

 

mastery of tapering

Cooling metal is already shrinking in size as it moves through the die at the beginning of your continuous casting process. This can introduce air gaps, which can cause cracking and other defects. THERCAST® can predict this phenomenon with such accuracy that you can apply tapers to your die designs, compensating for shrinkage and preventing air gaps.

 

energy savings

As costs rise and environmental concerns grow, it is increasingly important to save energy. THERCAST® can be used to determine the minimum amounts of heating and cooling that will produce the desired results, and can have a significant and immediate impact on energy use.

 

Safety

Continuous casting is a large, complex, real-time undertaking in which problems can easily cascade and multiply, potentially with catastrophic results. Stresses and strains can produce cracking, tearing and even dangerous breakouts. With THERCAST®, your entire process can be modeled and operated as a simulation, allowing you to identify and prevent problems, long before physical setup and production start.

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Computation method

A unique computation method, so-called Global Slice Computation (GSC), especially developed for THERCAST®, drastically reduces calculation times for continuous casting simulations. This method made it possible to compute a simulation of 35 meters long 10 times faster than with the former method. LEARN MORE >

 

Case study: simulate soft reduction in continuous casting

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To conduct the revamping of a continuous casting machine, ABS Centre Métallurgique carried out simulations on THERCAST® software taking into account soft reduction.

Download the case study