Numerical Simulation of the Thermal–Mechanical Behavior of Copper/Steel Composite Continuous Casting Mold

A 3D quarter‐symmetry multiphysics model of a continuous casting slab mold is developed and validated against plant thermocouple measurements. The thermal–mechanical response of mold plates fabricated from CrZrCu alloy, pure copper, and steel is examined for three configurations: monolithic CrZrCu, bilayer CrZrCu + Cu, and trilayer CrZrCu + Cu + Steel. It is shown that the maximum temperatures along the hot‐face centerline of the wide plate for the three configurations are 378, 363, and 376 °C, respectively; the maximum vertical displacements at the mold top are 0.12, 0.20, and 0.17 mm, and at the mold bottom are 0.12, 0.13, and 0.13 mm, respectively; the monolithic CrZrCu mold shows the best overall performance. The bilayer design provides the highest heat transfer efficiency with the lowest hot‐face temperature but exhibits the greatest thermal distortion. The trilayer design reduces heat transfer and results in the highest hot‐face temperature, though still below the solidus of CrZrCu, with intermediate deformation.