Numerical Simulation on the Thermodynamic Equilibrium of Inclusions in the Continuous Casting Bloom

In the continuous casting process, the phenomena of uneven temperature and element distribution occurred, leading to non-uniform inclusion distribution in the continuous casting bloom. A thermodynamic equilibrium model was established for inclusions in the continuous casting bloom that coupled flow, heat transfer, and mass transfer, to study the thermodynamic equilibrium process between steel and inclusions during continuous casting, facilitating further research on the spatial distribution of inclusions in the continuous casting bloom. The predicted intensities and temperatures align well with the measured ones, and the predicted contents of carbon in the positive segregation at the center and negative segregation beneath the surface align well with the detection results. Carbon, Silicon, Manganese, and Phosphorus exhibit a positive segregation at the center of the continuous casting bloom and a negative segregation at the surface layer of the bloom. The average segregation indices of Carbon, Silicon, Manganese, and Phosphorus at the center of the continuous casting bloom were 1.25, 1.21, 1.09, and 1.47, respectively. Subsequently, the equilibrium contents of the components under the multi-component solidification process within the distribution range of elements were calculated and trained using Fact-sage software and a BP neural network model. Finally, the equilibrium state of steel and inclusions along the entire length of the continuous casting bloom was calculated, the equilibrium contents of [Si], [Al], [S], [Mg], and [Ca] and corresponding equilibrium contents of inclusions at different positions in the continuous casting bloom were obtained. The calculation results indicated that, although the elemental segregation of Al, S, Mg, and Ca was not considered, the equilibrium contents of [Si], [Al], [S], [Mg], and [Ca] and the distribution of equilibrium composition of inclusions in the continuous casting bloom were not uniform.