Finite element analysis and experiment on induction heating process of slab continuous casting-direct rolling

To reduce the energy consumption of reheating billets between the continuous casting and hot rolling processes, the continuous casting-direct rolling (CC-DR) process is developed, of which one of the key technologies in CC-DR is compensative heating between the processes. Considering the compensative heating technology requirements in the actual production of slab CC-DR, the finite element models of longitudinal flux induction heating (LFIH) and transverse flux induction heating (TFIH) are established to analyse the slab heating process. The results show that LFIH is good for heating surfaces of the slab, but cannot solve the problem of low temperature on the edges, which can effectively be heated with TFIH. The temperature distribution of the slab can be made more uniform by choosing the appropriate current and moving speed. Besides, induction-heating prototypes are developed to inspect the effect of induction heating. The measured results are consistent with the simulated ones. The results of the analysis have direct significance on the induction heating process in the actual production of slab CC-DRs.