Abstract
Critical strains during solidification in the continuous casting process for steel were investigated for predicting internal crack formation. The method developed in this investigation is a tensile test on small cylindrical specimens which have been partially remelted using an induction heater. To simulate crack formation in a cast slab, the temperature gradient was applied in the radial direction and the strains were applied perpendicular to the growth direction of the dendrites. The amount of strain applied to the solid-liquid interface was controlled by strain rate and time, and the maximum strain applied to the specimen was up to 2%. From the results of Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA), we found that the segregation of Si, P and Mn which occurred was the same as that found in the cracks in the actual continuous casting process. As a result, the critical strains were found to be 0.2 % for middle carbon (0.16%C) steel.
