Application of Local Radia Basis Function Collocation Method in Through-Process Modelling of Steel Production Path
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We present the computational modelling of the steel processing route: continuous casting, controlled cooling and reheating, hot and cold rolling, and heat treatment. The modelling concept is based on the Hybrid Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) approach, composed of a combination of Horizontal ICME, where the simulation codes for different processing or product usage steps are connected with their associated multiscale structures and material properties, and Vertical ICME, where the simulation codes at multiple length scales are involved in describing the product properties. The scales we cope with range from the dendritic growth to several tenths of metres. We present novel solution methods for describing the related multiscale and multiphysics fluid dynamics and thermomechanical problems. The microstructure is formulated using the phase-field method, the meso-structure using the cellular automaton method, and the macroscopic electromagnetic, fluid mechanics, and solid mechanics fields using the continuum mechanics concept. We elaborate on a space-time adaptive meshless solution based on collocation with radial basis functions for solving the microscopic and macroscopic scales and the point automata concept for solving the mesoscopic scale. The phenomena tackled by this novel meshless technique range from the large-eddy simulation of continuous casting to the elastoplastic deformation of the products on the cooling bed. The validation of the models, based on plant and laboratory measurements, is shown. The Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency funded this research under program P2-0162 and project P2-3173, co-funded by the Štore-Steel Company, Slovenia.