Interfacial heat transfer coefficients and solidification of an aluminum alloy in a rotary continuous caster

The present study describes the development of an experimental set-up representing the metal/mold system of a rotary continuous caster as part of a methodology, which connected to a numerical heat transfer model permits to determine transient metal/mold heat transfer coefficients, h, during solidification. By using this approach the variation of h along the different mold walls and the metal surface has been investigated by a method based on numerically calculated/experimental fit of thermal profiles (IHCP). The results have shown that the used methodology permits the characterization of h and may be used in the simulation of solidification in industrial processes.