THE OPTIMIZATION OF MOLD TAPER FOR THE ILVA-DALMINE ROUND BLOOM CASTER

To optimize the mold taper, a thermomechanical analysis of the cooling and shrinkage taking place inside the solidifying steel shell has bee n performed together with a heat flow analysis of the liquid slag movi ng down the interfacial gap between the mold wall and the shell. Exper imental thermocouple measurements in an operating mold were employed t o calibrate the model predictions. Results indicate that taper should decrease greatly from the top to the bottom of the mold, so a multifol d taper is recommended.