IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

OPEN ACCESS You may also like

- Prediction of Shrinkage Porosity Defect in
Modelling of shrinkage cavity defects during the Sand Casting Process of LM25
Hardik Rathod, Jay K. Dhulia and Nirav P.
wheel and belt casting process Maniar

- Implementation of the PDCA continuous

improvement cycle (Plan-D0-Check-Act)
To cite this article: S Dablement et al 2012 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 33 012056 as a tool for improving the quality of the
cast AA5083 alloy produced in the foundry
laboratory
Abdelaisalam Ali Al-Bakoosh, Zamani
Ahmad and Jamaliah Idris
View the article online for updates and enhancements. - Non-proportionally multiaxial fatigue
behavior of A319 casting alloy: effects of
strontium addition and hot isostatic
pressing
Zhang Chen, Liu Xiaoshan, He Guoqiu et
al.

This content was downloaded from IP address 157.51.35.59 on 08/07/2022 at 02:38

MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

Modelling of shrinkage cavity defects during the wheel and

belt casting process

S Dablement1, D Mortensen2, H Fjaer2, M Lee3, J Grandfield4, G Savage5 and V

Nguyen5
1
Nexans Research Centre Lens, Boulevard du Marais, BP29, 62301 Lens, France
2
Institute for Energy Technology, P.O.Box 40, N-2027 Kjeller, Norway
3
Nexans Research Centre Lens, 207 Sunshine Road, Tottenham, Victoria, 3012,
Australia
4
Grandfield Technology Pty Ltd, Brunswick West, Victoria, Australia
5
CAST Cooperative Research Centre, CSIRO, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

Email: sebastien.dablement@nexans.com

Abstract. Properzi continuous casting is a wheel and belt casting process used for producing
aluminium wire rod which is essential to the making of electrical cables and over head lines.
One of the main concerns of Properzi process users is to ensure good quality of the final
product and to avoid cast defects especially the presence of shrinkage cavity. Numerical
models developed with the Alsim software, which allows an automatic calculation of gap
dependent heat transfer coefficients at the metal-mould interface due to thermal deformation,
are used in order to get a better understanding on the shrinkage cavity formation. Models show
the effect of process parameters on the cavity defect development and provide initial guidance
for users in order to avoid this kind of casting defect.

1. Introduction
Production of aluminium wire rod with a wheel and belt casting process, like the continuous Properzi
process used in Nexans (figure 1), consists of pouring liquid aluminium in a mould in rotation via a
tundish. The mould is composed of a grooved wheel made of copper alloy which is partially
surrounded by a steel belt for containing the liquid metal. Wheel and belt are water cooled with a
spray system for assuring the solidification of the liquid metal. The product thus obtained is a solid bar
of trapezoidal cross section which is hot rolled in line for forming a round section wire. The
aluminium wire rod is finally packaged as a coil of several tons.
As well as productivity, the main concerns of Properzi process users are to limit the rate of wasted
rod wire and to assure good quality of the final product. Wheel and belt casting is a complex process
where the control of each parameter and operators’ know-how are fundamental for producing a good
quality product. It is difficult or almost impossible to detect casting defects in line especially when the
defect is at the core of the cast bar. Internal defects such as macro-segregation, porosity or cavity can
be only detected after production and with destructive testing.
The main casting defect occurring is shrinkage cavity defect (figures 2 and 3) which leads to scrap
an important quantity of coils for avoiding quality problem during drawing process and causes lost
sales opportunity. Previous modelling studies of the wheel and belt casting process took into only

Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1

MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

account heat flow, and only two-dimension geometry are used when mechanical aspect is treated, and
furthermore no one treats defect solving [1-7].

Rolling direction
Dancer wheel

Steel belt
Solidified
aluminium bar Figure 1.
Liquid feeding Schema of the
Properzi process
Guiding wheel Water spray system

Copper wheel

In this study, numerical modelling has been used to better understand effect of process parameters
on the shrinkage cavity formation in order to solve this issue. Alsim software has been used for
developing thermo-mechanical models of the Properzi process with the advantage of calculating
automatically the gap dependent heat transfer coefficients. More details are given on the development
of the Alsim software in [8]. A two-dimension thermo-mechanical model has been developed for
describing the case where cavity defects can be due to a too long liquid pool and a three-dimension
thermo-mechanical model has been used when shrinkage cavity formation can be due to the formation
of liquid metal pockets.

Figure 2. X-ray image of the longitudinal cross- Figure 3. Metallographic image of a cast
section of a cast bar with shrinkage cavity defect bar with shrinkage cavity defect

2. Modelling

2.1. Solved equations

In this work, the Alsim software has been used to develop the models (the 2D model includes heat and
stress, the 3D model includes heat, fluid flow and stress). The Alsim software includes heat and fluid
flow and stress and is based on a continuum mixture model for the solid-liquid material. A Darcy force
is used in the mixture momentum equations. Thermal convection is included by the Boussinesq
approximation. The turbulence is modeled by a low Reynolds number (LRN) k-e model after Launder
and Sharma. The permeabilty of the mush is dependent on the morphology of the mush, it is given by
the Kozeny-Carman equation.
Additional capability has been added to the software to enable full thermo-mechanical modelling of
the air gap formation between the bar and the wheel and belt. The heat transfer coefficient between the
bar and the wheel and belt is calculated according to the gap dimension and the air thermal
conductivity i.e. a fully coupled thermo-mechanical analysis. An initial contact value is used.
For stresses and deformations, the basic equation in the stress modelling is Cauchy’s equation for
the momentum balance where the inertia terms are neglected:

∇ ⋅ σ = ρg (1)

2
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

The material is treated as an elastic-viscoplastic material for which plasticity and creep are treated
in a uniform manner. The model formulation has been based on the classical small deformation theory
where the total strain e, derivable from the displacement field u is subdivided into viscoplastic, elastic
and thermal components.
1
( )
ε = ∇u + [∇u ] = ε vp + ε e + εT
2
t
(2)
The thermal strain component can be written as an integral of the (volumetric) thermal expansion
coefficient βT.
1 Tcoh
εT = − ∫ βT (T )dT ⋅ I (3)
3 T
The constitutive equation for elasticity (Hook’s law) defines how the stress depends on the elastic
strain εe and the temperature dependent Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio entering the matrix D.
σ = D(T ) ⋅ εe (4)
A set of equations assuming steady state creep above a temperature T0 and work hardening below
this temperature, was applied here:
m( T )
σ = F (T ) ⋅ (φ0 + φ ) ⋅ ( ε& p )
n(T )
(5)
d ε when T ≤ T0 (6)
dφ =  p
 0 when T > T0
Thermo-mechanical coupling: in the treatment of the mechanical problem in casting, the
temperature development represents the major load, or the cause of stresses, due to inhomogeneous
thermal contractions. The temperature field also influences the local response of this load through the
temperature dependency of the elastic and viscoplastic mechanical properties. On the other hand, the
resulting stresses and displacements, affect the thermal boundary conditions regarding contact zones
or air gaps between ingot and mold. On the boundaries between two different materials the heat
transfer coefficient α is calculated according to:
(
α = Min α Contact , α gap ) (7)
Where the gap heat transfer coefficient αgap is calculated by:
1
α gap = (8)
1 1
+
α conduction + α radiation α contact
Where the local displacement dependent gap value dgap is used to calculate the conduction heat
transfer through the gap αconduction, and the radiation part αradiation is found from the local temperatures
and emissivities on the two boundaries. The heat transfer coefficient representing the contact between
the materials, αcontact, was a constant quantity imposed on the calculation (dependent on lubrication,
surface roughness etc). Equation (8) is a parallel coupling between two heat transfer mechanisms
(conduction and radiation) which is then serial coupled with the surface heat resistance. αgap
approaches infinity as dgap approaches zero, so αcontact is used instead of αgap for small or zero gap-
values (according to equation 7).
More information about solved equations is given in [9-11].

2.2. Material properties

For both models the material properties are as following:
For the aluminium cast bar the alloy AA1350 was modelled. Thermal properties were taken from
the ThermProp package. The fluid properties published in [11] were applied. A thermo-elastic-
viscoplastic formulation is used where the mechanical properties F(T), n(T) and m(T) functions in
equation (5) were taken from [12] with adjustment. The work hardening temperature T0 in equation
(6) was equal to 360ºC, and the initial accumulated strain parameter φ0 in equation (5) was equal to
10E-4.

3
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

The wheel is made of silver-copper alloy and the belt is made of steel. A thermo-elastic
formulation is used for the wheel and the belt. The thermal and mechanical properties of the wheel and
the belt are given in table 1.
Table1. Termal and mechanical properties of the wheel and the belt
Property Wheel (Cu-Ag) Belt (steel)
Density (kg/m3) 8,940 7,900
Conductivity (W/m.K) 377 48
Specific Heat (J/kg.K) 385 510
Young Modulus (MPa) 125000 200000
Poisson’s ratio 0.34 0.29
Thermal Expansion Coefficient 16.5E-6 11.0E-6

3. 2D thermo-mechanical model and shrinkage cavity defect due to deep liquid pool

3.1. Shrinkage cavity defect due to deep liquid pool

Users and manufacturers of wheel and belt casting processes assume that a too deep liquid pool leads
to the formation of shrinkage cavity defects.
In the case of the copper wheel and belt casting, as mentioned by R Adams in [13], when the liquid
pool is too long, the gravity can pull the molten core back down out of the centre of the cast bar (figure
4). No more precision is given, but with the principle of the hydrostatic equilibrium, this phenomenon
is possible only if the liquid pool goes above the tundish where the liquid is poured at the entry of the
process. Another reason can be that the longer the liquid pool is the more difficult it is to feed the
mushy zone.No value regarding the maximum length of the liquid pool is formally mentioned in any
references but it is advisable that the bar is totally solidified before it exits the wheel and to be really
sure it’s better before the 180 degree angle.

Solidified
bar
Liquid Figure 4. Figure of a
pool deep liquid pool
180° angle
3.2. 2D thermo-mechanical model
A two-dimensional thermo-mechanical model is sufficient for estimating when the aluminium bar is
totally solidified according to the value of process parameters.
The geometry consists of a transversal cross-section of the wheel and belt casting process with a
symmetrical axis and a meshing with a compatible interface is used (figure 5).
The initial temperature of the wheel and the belt is set at 50°C and that of the bar at the casting
temperature (Tcast)
A fixed heat transfer coefficient is applied to the wheel and the belt for the water cooling with
ambient temperature fixed at 30°C (cooling HTC). When the bar is in the mould, a gap dependent heat
transfer coefficient is calculated according to the calculated gap dimension and the air thermal
conductivity, an initial and constant contact value is used (contact HTC). Leaving the wheel (at the
210 degree angle) the bar is air cooled and a constant heat transfer coefficient of 10 W/m².K is used. A
normal and tangential distributed stiffness dependent respectively on the normal and tangential

4
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

displacement is applied to the bar-mould interface. A fixed distributed normal and tangential stiffness
is used for the belt-wheel interface and for the outer part of the wheel which is clamped onto the
rotating equipment.
There is an assumption on the total strain in the third direction. The total strain out of the plane is
zero (the sum of the thermal strain, the elastic strain and the viscoplastic strain is zero, but the
components are not zero)

Steel
belt
Copper
Aluminium wheel Figure 5. Geometry and
cast bar mesh of the Properzi 2D
model

3.3. Model results for normal conditions

Normal conditions for the Properzi process are defined with the following parameter values in the
model (assumed to represent normal operating conditions of the process):
• casting temperature = 710°C • cooling HTC = 8,000 W/m².K
• rotation speed = 1.77 RPM • contact HTC = 4,000 W/m².K

The model predicts that the cast bar is totally solidified after a calculating time of 15 seconds i.e. at
160 degree angle, therefore with these conditions the cast bar should not have any shrinkage cavity
defect. Some results of this case are presented in the following figures.

a. Mold temperature (°C) + magnified

b. Temperature field of the bar (°C)
deformed geometry + undeformed mesh

c. Air gap size (m) + magnified deformed d. Solid fraction of the bar
geometry (1 = totally solidified)
Figure 6. Model results after 1.9 second calculating (20 degree angle)

5
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

3.4. Model results: effect of process parameters on the depth of the liquid pool
The model can predict the effect of each parameter on the length of the liquid pool. In the following
calculations when a process parameter is studied as a variable, the other parameter values are set as in
normal conditions.
As illustrated in figure 7a, the casting temperature has a poor effect on the length of the liquid pool.
Indeed, even if the casting temperature is set at 780°C (i.e. 70 degrees above the casting temperature
of the normal conditions) the solidification terminates at 167 degree angle.
Figure 7b shows that the rotation speed has an important effect on the length of the liquid pool and
a minimal speed of 2 RPM is necessary in order that the solidification terminates after 180 degree
angle.
The water cooling heat transfer coefficient starts to have an effect on the shrinkage cavity
formation below a value of 2,000 W/m².K. (Figure 7c).
Figure 7d shows that the heat transfer coefficient of contact between the mould and the bar has to
be below a value of 2,500W/m².K for that the solidification terminates after a 180 degree angle.

a. Casting temperature effect b. Rotation speed effect

c. Cooling HTC effect d. Contact HTC effect

Figure 7. Model results: effect of parameters on the depth of the liquid pool (in degree angle)

The two-dimension thermo-mechanical model of the Properzi process predicts some results which
allow operators to get the effect of parameters on the shrinkage cavity formation into the as-cast bar.
The casting temperature has almost no effect on cavity defect and this is explained by the fact that the
most important part of heat to be extracted is still the latent heat of solidification even if the casting
temperature is high. The rotation speed has an important effect, but in any event, it should not be the
cause of the shrinkage cavity defect because it is a well-controlled process parameter and having a
speed variation of 13% seems impossible. Decrease of the cooling heat transfer coefficient has an
effect. Consequently, during production all phenomena which lead to decrease the water cooling have
to be checked, e.g.: failure of the water spray system or scale build-up on the mould. Decrease of the
contact heat transfer coefficient has an effect too. All phenomena leading to decrease heat transfer
between the bar and the mould have to be checked, e.g.: bad roughness of the mould, dirt build-up on
the mould or a too thick coating deposited on the mould.

6
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

4. 3D thermo-mechanical model and shrinkage cavity defect due to liquid metal pocket
formation

4.1. Shrinkage cavity defect due to liquid metal pocket formation

Shrinkage cavity defect formation can occur when the heat transfer between the metal and the mould
is unsteady. Indeed, in this case the liquid pool of solidification is an imperfect V-shaped sump and
causes the formation of liquid metal pockets (figure 8). And as the liquid metal is surrounded by
solidified metal, the feeding of metal is impossible to compensate shrinkage when liquid metal
solidifies. This leads to the formation of a cavity called shrinkage cavity defect.

Liquid metal
pocket
Figure 8. Figure of liquid metal pocket
formation into the bar due to a non-homogeneous
V-shaped sump

The two dimension thermo-mechanical model does not allow studying phenomena which could
lead to have an unsteady heat transfer between the metal and the mould. A three dimension thermo-
mechanical model has been used for studying cases where liquid metal pocket formation can be
possible.

4.2. The 3D thermo-mechanical model

The three dimension model used here is an improved version of the model as described in a previous
study [14]. In this new version the belt is totally taken into account and that allows reproducing efforts
induced by the tension and the pressure wheels which ensure the good positioning of the full belt
during process. This version better calculates contact between the belt and the cast but it also allows
predicting the thermal and the mechanical cycles of the belt which will be useful for determining the
belt life. This updated model includes the geometry of the guide wheel (which guides the bar at the
exit of the wheel) and the geometry of the dancer wheel (which supports the bar and assures the speed
regulation between the casting wheel and the rolling) in order to be closer to the reality and to better
calculate the bar path from the casting wheel to the rolling (Figure 9).

Dancer wheel

Cast parts
Full belt

Guide wheel zoom

Casting wheel

Figure 9. Geometry and mesh of the Properzi 3D model

(Cast parts: red=Euler domain, yellow=Expansion zone and green=Lagrangian domain)
The initial temperature of the wheel and the belt is set at 50°C and the inlet temperature for the bar
at 710°C.

7
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

A fixed heat transfer coefficient is applied to the wheel and the belt for the water cooling with
ambient temperature fixed at 30°C (cooling HTC). When the bar is in the mould, a gap dependent heat
transfer coefficient is calculated according to the calculated gap dimension and the air thermal
conductivity, an initial and constant contact value is used (contact HTC). Leaving the wheel (at the
210 degree angle) the bar is air cooled and a constant heat transfer coefficient of 10 W/m².K is used. A
normal and tangential distributed stiffness dependent respectively on the normal and tangential
displacement is applied to the bar-mould interface. A fixed distributed normal and tangential stiffness
is used for the belt-wheel interface and for the outer part of the wheel which is clamped onto the
rotating equipment.
The wheel, the bar and the belt are all assumed to move at the casting speed i.e. no friction or
sticking is accounted for.

4.3. Model results for normal conditions

Normal conditions for the Properzi process are defined with the following parameter values in the
model (assumed to represent normal operating conditions of the process):
• casting temperature = 710°C • cooling HTC = 8,000 W/m².K
• rotation speed = 1.77 RPM • contact HTC = 4,000 W/m².K

The model predicts that the cast bar is totally solidified at 174 degree.

4.4. Model results: effect of process parameters on the shrinkage cavity formation
Many assumptions could be made in order to try to explain the formation of liquid metal pockets
which lead to the formation of shrinkage cavity defects. Several hypotheses have been tested with the
3D model in order to check if they had an impact on the heat transfer between the metal and the
mould.
One of these assumptions is that a fluctuating heat transfer of contact between the liquid metal and
the mould, due to a non-constant thickness of coating during process for example, could lead to the
formation of liquid metal pockets. In order to test this case, all parameters are set as normal conditions
except values of the contact heat transfer coefficient between the bar and the casting wheel. On the
inner surface of the wheel (in contact with the bar) two boundary identifiers (Bid) have been defined
in order to set a different value of the contact HTC as illustrated in figure 10.

Blue Bid:
Constant contact HTC=4,000W/m².K

Yellow Bid:
Bid changes Contact HTC = 2,000W/m².K when metal is liquid
every 20° Contact HTC = 4,000W/m².K when metal is solid

Figure 10. Definition of the contact HTC value between the bar and the wheel
Thus, assuming that the contact HTC value depends only on the coating deposed on the casting
wheel, the model can predict the effect of a non-constant thickness of coating during process.
As illustrated in figure 11, a coating thickness of the casting wheel which changes during
processing leads to the formation of liquid metal pockets which result in shrinkage cavity defects after
total solidification.

8
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

Figure 11. Liquid metal pocket formation due to non constant coating
(blue is for totally solidified part)

The 3D thermo-mechanical model can predict the effect of the coating quality deposited on the
mould. Depending on the nature of the coating, the model can determine the maximal variation of the
coating thickness which is acceptable for avoiding the presence of shrinkage cavity defects during
Properzi process.

5. Conclusions
Thanks to the Alsim software Nexans has in its possession a comprehensive model of its Properzi
continuous casting process by taking into account the casting wheel, the real path of the bar and the
full belt. With a full thermo-mechanical modelling of the air gap formation between the bar and the
mould, the model calculates itself the heat transfer coefficient at this interface. Numerical modelling,
in combination with the operators’ know-how, allows Nexans to have a better understanding on the
effect of process parameters on the shrinkage cavity defect formation which is impossible to detect
during production. By improving the quality of the cast bar, Nexans can reduce scrap and produce
better aluminium wire rod.

References
[1] Mohapatra S P, Sahoo S K, Nanda S, Palchaudhary A and Patnaik S C 2010 Thermo
mechanical modelling of bar casting Journal of Advanced Research in Mechanical
Engineering 1 173
[2] Mohapatra S P, Sahoo S K, Nanda S, Hembram P, Palchaudhary A and Patnaik S C 2010
Numerical simulation of aluminium bar casting for wire rod production Journal of Scientifif
and Industrial Research 69 913
[3] Cottignies L, Duhoux V, Blais S and Duran C 2009 Heat transfer during rod casting The
minerals, metals and materials Society 877
[4] Cheung N, Santos N S, Quaresma J M V, Dulikravich G S and Garcia A 2008 Interfacial heat
transfer coefficients and solidification of an Al alloy in a rotary continuous caster
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 52 451
[5] Lindholm D , Sørheim E, Rødscth J, Mortensen D and Heggland H 2002 Mathematical
modeling of wire rod casting The minerals, metals and materials Society 651
[6] Liu J C, Anyalebechi P N, Scherbak M and Bachowski R 1991 Coupled thermomechanical
model for continuous bar casting The minerals, metals and materials Society 229
[7] Davies V L and Westby O 1977 Numerical computation of the solidification of continuously
cast aluminum rod Nonferrous Wire handbook 197
[8] Mortensen D, Fjær H, Lindholm D, Rudshaug M and Sørheim E 2011 The development of

9
MCWASP XIII IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 33 (2012) 012056 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/33/1/012056

Alsim – a modelling tool for direct chill casting, twin roll casting, wheel and belt casting and
chain conveyor casting Materials Science Forum 693 187
[9] Mortensen D, Henriksen B R,M’Hamdi M, Hallvard and Fjær G 2008 Coupled modelling of
air-gap formation and surface exudation during extrusion ingot DC-casting The minerals,
metals and materials Society 773
[10] Mortensen D 1999 A mathematical model of the heat and fluid flows in direct-chill casting of
aluminium sheet ingots and billets Metallurgical and Materials Transactions 30B 119
[11] Fjær H and Mo A 1990 ALSPEN – A mathematical model for thermal stresses in DC casting of
aluminium billets Metallurgical and Materials Transactions 21B 1049
[12] Haaften V M 2002 Constitutive behaviour and hot tearing during aluminium DC casting PhD-
Thesis ISBN 90-9015792-1
[13] Adams R 2002 Cast bar quality basics SCR Users Meeting
[14] Grandfield J, Dablement S, Fjaer H, Mortensen D, Lee M, Nguyen V and Savage G 2011 3D
thermo-mechanical modelling of wheel and belt continuous casting Materials Science Forum
693 235

10