An internal cracking indicator is designed to quantify the risk of hot tearing in the continuous casting of round billets. For this purpose, the tensional state of the bar is acquired by implementing a thermo‐mechanical model that uses a steel material law calibrated with hot tension tests. The cracking indicator is then applied to the phenomenon of diametral pinch‐roll compression. Critical combinations of casting speed and steel carbon content are defined to estimate the cracking risk. At last, macro‐etching is applied on industrial bars in order to reveal internal cracking, which is then compared to model results to assess its predictability. Influence of pinch‐roll pressure and roll shape on the cracking risk is also analyzed.

A continuous straightening formulation is proposed in order to smooth the transition between the curved and straight sectors in a continuous caster of metals. This is accomplished by minimising the curvature variation in the straightening sector, taking into account boundary conditions usually found when designing or modifying continuous casting machines. A differential equation is obtained for the bar trajectory which is numerically solved after discretisation. The obtained algorithm is used to compare different casting configurations whose smoothness is quantified in terms of the strain and strain rate along the bar. The continuous straightening configurations developed by this formulation were found to be smoother than typical setups with 1 or 2 straightening points. It was also found that the longer the straightening length, the smoother the transition.

A continuous straightening formulation is proposed in order to smooth the transition between the curved and straight sectors in a continuous caster of metals. This is accomplished by minimising the curvature variation in the straightening sector, taking into account boundary conditions usually found when designing or modifying continuous casting machines. A differential equation is obtained for the bar trajectory which is numerically solved after discretisation. The obtained algorithm is used to compare different casting configurations whose smoothness is quantified in terms of the strain and strain rate along the bar. The continuous straightening configurations developed by this formulation were found to be smoother than typical setups with 1 or 2 straightening points. It was also found that the longer the straightening length, the smoother the transition.