Effect of cooling structure on the deformation of copper plates for slab continuous casting molds

A three-dimensional finite-element thermal-stress model of slab continuous casting molds was conducted to predict the deformation of copper plates and the effect of cooling structure on the deformation. It is found that the deformation behavior of copper plates is mainly governed by cooling structure and thermal-mechanical conditions, the deformation amount is related to the geometry of the cooling system, and a small deformation mutation occurs in the copper-nickel boundary. The maximum deformation at the hot surface centricity of the wide face locates at 100 mm below the meniscus, but that of the narrow face locates at the meniscus and the terminal of water slots. There are significant curvature fluctuations on both sides of the copper-nickel boundary of the narrow face. The maximum deformation at the hot surface centricity increases up to 0.05 mm with a thickness increment of 5 mm for copper plates, and the impact is not obvious from the nickel layer and water slots; the maximum deformations are only depressed 0.01 and 0.02 mm with the increments of 1 mm nickel layer thickness and 2 mm water slot depth, respectively.