A review of past and present developments of the horizontal single belt casting (HSBC) process

ABSTRACT

Horizontal single belt casting (HSBC) has proven to be a viable future alternative to traditional casting processes (e.g. direct chill and conventional continuous casting for aluminum and steel, respectively). The present paper summarizes HSBC developments in Canada since the 1980s. Theoretical and experimental work is summarized to provide the necessary processing parameters needed to cast a wide range of alloys at pilot and industrial scales. Compared to conventional casting technologies, it is anticipated that HSBC will be a far more versatile, economical, and environmentally friendly method that will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions from metallurgical industries. The effects of air gap dimensions and belt speeds on the stability of the “back meniscus” were also studied for a double-impingement metal feeding system to cast AA2024 aluminum alloy. Using ANSYS Fluent 19.1 computational fluid dynamics software, various combinations of these process parameters were tested to obtain optimum results for promoting back-meniscus stability and assess the effects of these parameters on other phenomena (e.g. air entrainment).

RÉSUMÉ

La coulée horizontale à bande unique (HSBC, de l’anglais horizontal single belt casting) s'est avérée être une alternative future viable aux procédés de coulée traditionnels (par exemple, la coulée à refroidissement direct et la coulée continue conventionnelle pour l'aluminium et l'acier, respectivement). Le présent document résume les développements de la coulée à bande unique horizontale au Canada depuis les années 1980. Les travaux théoriques et expérimentaux sont résumés afin de fournir les paramètres de traitement nécessaires pour couler une large gamme d'alliages à l'échelle pilote et industrielle. Par rapport aux technologies de coulée conventionnelles, le HSBC devrait s'avérer être une méthode beaucoup plus polyvalente, économique et respectueuse de l'environnement, qui permettra également de réduire les émissions de dioxyde de carbone des industries métallurgiques. Les effets des dimensions de l'entrefer et des vitesses de bande sur la stabilité du “ménisque arrière” ont également été étudiés pour un système d'alimentation en métal à double impaction destiné à couler l'alliage d'aluminium AA2024. À l'aide du logiciel de dynamique des fluides ANSYS Fluent 19.1, diverses combinaisons de ces paramètres de processus ont été testées afin d'obtenir des résultats optimaux pour promouvoir la stabilité du ménisque arrière et évaluer les effets de ces paramètres sur d'autres phénomènes (par exemple, l'entraînement de l'air).

KEYWORDS:

• Casting technology, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling, Horizontal Single Belt Casting (HSBC), thin strips/sheets

MOTS-CLÉS:

• bandes/feuilles minces, coulée horizontale à bande unique (HSBC), dynamique des fluides computationnelle (CFD)

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

The present work is an expansion of two papers (Gonzalez-Morales, Isac, & Guthrie, 2023b, 2023c) published in the Proceedings of the 61st Conference of Metallurgists (COM 2022).

REVIEW STATEMENT

Paper reviewed and approved for publication by the Metallurgy and Materials Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE

There are no ethical issues associated with this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Aluminum Research and Development Centre of Quebec (CQRDA), as well as member companies of the McGill Metals Processing Centre. The authors also acknowledge the support in software licensing received from ANSYS Inc. to facilitate this research.

Notes on contributors

D. R. Gonzalez-Morales

D. R. Gonzalez-Morales holds an MSc from McGill University, where he is currently carrying out PhD studies. He is mainly interested mathematical modeling of metallurgical processes, having experience studying complex fluid flow and heat transfer mechanisms in secondary steelmaking and casting processes using ANSYS Fluent. He has published several papers in conference proceedings and refereed journals.

M. M. Isac

M. M. Isac is Associate Director of the McGill Metals Processing Centre (MMPC) with an MEng and a PhD in metallurgy. She enjoyed a 20-year career as a Professor of Physical Metallurgy at the University of Bucharest and a one-year sabbatical specializing in High Resolution Electron Microscopy at Delft University, followed by 28 years of research on process metallurgy at McGill. She has more than 300 publications.

R. I. L. Guthrie

R. I. L. Guthrie is Director of the MMPC. An experienced researcher, he co-invented the LiMCA system for in-situ monitoring of inclusions in liquid metals and the horizontal single belt casting system for casting metals, among many other materials, by working closely with industry. He is the author of the popular textbook, Engineering in Process Metallurgy and co-author of the book, Physical Properties of Metallic Liquids.