Heat transfer in a continuous bloomcaster

Abstract

Four approaches to detecting disruptions to the primary cooling process in the continuous bloomcaster at BHP's Rod and Bar Division in Newcastle are investigated. Three of these are based on heat conduction models of the mould. A one-dimensional steady-state formulation leads to the conclusion that it may not be possible to detect changes in the length of the lubricating flux layer between the solidifying steel strand and the mould from data collected at thermocouples in the mould. Two two-dimensional models give formal procedures for determining either the heat input to the mould or the presence of hot spots in the strand from the thermocouple data. The final approach suggests the use of time-series analysis to detect changes in the heat transfer process.