Real-Time Temperature Prediction Model for Online Continuous Casting Control Using Simplified Boundary Condition Computing Method

Numerical process modeling of continuous casting is increasingly applied to optimize production practices for higher product quality guarantees, in which real-time temperature prediction is the key factor that makes it possible to observe and optimize the solidification behavior of the continuous casting process. For offline simulations, the completeness of boundary conditions and accuracy of calculation are core concerns; as for online control, the stability of the model calculation and the correctness are equally important. This study demonstrates a process tracking and online control model of continuous casting based on IoT technology and proposes a simplified calculation method for secondary cooling boundary conditions. The proposed method calculates a comprehensive heat transfer coefficient based on offline simulated parameters and computes the total heat flux of a secondary cooling zone. The experimental results show that the temperature field calculated by this method is stable, and the difference between the actual measured temperature is within an acceptable range of 15 °C. The proposed method no longer requires an online model to consider four types of heat transfer boundary conditions, improving the versatility of the online model. The smoother surface temperature curve is beneficial for dynamic control of secondary cooling water. It can be an alternative method for implementing a more conducive online continuous casting model.