Particle method simulation of direct-chill casting process including breakout

A direct-chill (DC) casting simulation model was developed and applied to the authors' particle method simulation to enable three-dimensional thermo-fluid and solidification simulation of DC casting processing, including breakout. DC casting includes the feeding of molten alloy, changes in the direction and speed of molten alloy flow by a floating distributor, cooling of the alloy by the mold and water, state changes and solidification, and motion of an ingot relative to the mold by motion of a starter block. A salient difficulty that might arise with DC casting is breakout, which results from various factors related to these complex processes. The proposed simulation model enabled simulation of DC casting processes, including breakout, under simulation conditions that more closely resemble those of actual phenomena than do conventional methods (such as finite difference method and finite element method): starter block motion, ingot motion relative to the mold, and starter block – ingot interaction was addressed directly and naturally.