j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7

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journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmrt

Original Article

Prediction model for crack sensitive temperature

region and phase fractions of slab under
continuous casting cooling rates based on finite
number of experiments

Songyuan Ai, Mujun Long*, Xinhua Yang, Dengfu Chen**, Huamei Duan
Laboratory of Metallurgy and Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University,
Chongqing 400030, PR China

article info abstract

Article history: Accurate prediction of the crack sensitive temperature region and phase fractions variation
Received 19 October 2022 of slabs during continuous cooling is an important guide to avoid cracks and effectively
Accepted 25 November 2022 control the quality. Based on finite number of measurements, at different cooling rates of
Available online 1 December 2022 the continuous casting process, a prediction model for characteristic temperatures of
austenite decomposition, the variation of phase fractions with temperature, the crack
Keywords: sensitive temperature regions, and the final microstructural compositions of casting slabs
Austenite decomposition at different cooling rates has been established and evaluated the accuracy. The results
Crack sensitive temperature region show that austenite decomposition temperature range moves toward the low temperature
Phase fraction region as cooling rate increases, and the independent peak of ferrite transition become
Cooling rate weaker. The characteristic temperatures of austenite decomposition can be quantitatively
Characteristic temperature calculated by TC(CR) ¼ Aexp(B þ C/CR) at different cooling rates, which the maximum
Prediction model relative error for experimental steels is 2.2%. The ferrite and pearlite phase fractions
increases with decreasing temperature during continuous casting cooling, which means
that the ability of the billet to resist deformation and external force changes. Meanwhile,
the final ferrite content of slabs for Steel B and Steel C at different cooling rates are
83.24620exp(2.59364e13.72283/CR) and 85.07143exp(1.71320e15.82244/CR), respectively.
The crack sensitive temperature region Ae3 ~ T40%
a (CR) calculated by the prediction model is in

good agreement with the low ductility zone measured by experiment. Moreover, the critical
temperatures T40%
a (CR) of the crack sensitive temperature regions are 890.35731exp(2.99719

e20.67781/CR), 745.87462exp(4.83056e44.18511/CR) and 729.46168exp(2.96621e12.21949/

CR) for three experimental steels under different cooling rates.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: longmujun@cqu.edu.cn (M. Long), chendfu@cqu.edu.cn (D. Chen).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2022.11.169
2238-7854/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
1104 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7
1. Introduction
As a primary product, the continuous casting slab directly
affects the quality of the final steel product. In the continuous
casting process, crack defect of casting slab has been a
perennial problem that directly affects the subsequent rolling
control as well as the quality of final steel products [1e5]. The
initiation of crack is directly related to the phase trans-
formation processes such as liquid phase solidification and
peritectic reaction [6,7], especially the austenite decomposi-
tion behavior that occurs in the solid state [8e10]. Critically,
since the continuous casting process undergoes a transition
from liquid at high temperature to solid state at room tem-
perature, the austenite decomposition is unavoidable. The
types of matrix phases and change of phase fraction during
austenite decomposition directly affects slab properties
[11e14]. In addition, the austenite decomposition character-
istic temperatures and phase transition interval have an
important influence on the crack sensitive temperature region
[15e17]. Therefore, the quantitative research of the austenite
decomposition process is of great significance for predicting
the properties of the slab and clarifying the crack sensitive
temperature region.
Numerous researches have shown that the cooling rate has
a significant effect on the austenite decomposition behavior
when ignoring the steel grade differences [18e22]. Ceza
rio
et al. [23] reported an empirical functional equation to
describe the phase transformation under continuous cooling
and found that higher cooling rates decreased the austenite to
ferrite transformation temperatures and resulted in finer
ferrite grains. Schindler et al. [24] compared the austenitic
decomposition of four unalloyed hypoeutectoid steels and
determined the effect of cooling rate and carbon equivalent on
the phase transformation behavior. In addition, the ferrite-
start temperature was significantly reduced at high cooling
rates and the preferred decomposition of coarse grained
austenite to acicular ferrite suppressed the bainite trans-
formation at medium cooling rates [25]. Rodrigues et al. [26]
investigated the characterization of austenite to pearlite
transformation in rail steels and qualitatively and quantita-
tively described the phase transformation temperatures as a
cooling rate function. Teplukhina et al. [27] examined the
variation of austenite and its decomposition products with
cooling rate during continuous cooling and proposed a
method for plotting CCT curves based on the quantitative
analysis of the coefficient of thermal expansion during
continuous cooling. As mentioned above, the current re-
searches on austenite decomposition are mainly focused on
the effect of cooling rate on phase transition temperature.
However, for the continuous casting process, the cooling rate
fluctuation of continuous casting production is complex due
to the different heat transfer capacity, cooling methods and
intensity at different locations of slab in the continuous
casting process [28e31]. There are no relevant researches
covering the whole cooling rate range of continuous casting,
because of the limitations of experimental equipment, test
conditions, and test accuracy. In addition, the attention to the
combination of final microstructure and mechanical proper-
ties of casting slab at different cooling rates are still
insufficient. Thus, the construction of a prediction model for
the change of the slab phase fraction over the entire range of
continuous casting cooling rates is useful toward predicting
crack sensitive temperature region accurately and realizing
effective regulation of casting slab properties.
In this work, a finite number of the thermal expansion tests
have been used to quantitatively investigate the austenite
decomposition behavior of slabs under different cooling rates.
Particularly, considering the accuracy, universality and
simplicity of function, a prediction model for phase fraction
variation of slabs over the entire range of continuous casting
cooling rates has been constructed and the model accuracy
has been evaluated. Meanwhile, a comprehensive analysis of
the slab phase fraction variation, final microstructural com-
positions and crack sensitive temperature region at different
cooling rates have been performed by prediction model. The
research provides a potential benefit for the effective control
of continuous casting slab quality and the optimization of
process parameters.
2. Experimental procedures and materials
Thermal expansion testing is the most effective method to
investigate the austenite decomposition behavior due to its
simple operation and high accuracy. The thermal expansion
tests have been carried out with a high-resolution DIL402 in-
strument produced by NETZSCH, Germany. As shown in Fig. 1,
all cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 4 mm and a
length of 25 mm are machined from the casting slab 230 mm
in thickness with the axes parallel to the casting direction, and
the sample locations are at around 10 mm below the surface
and more than 100 mm away from the narrow face. All
specimens are ultrasonically cleaned with alcohol and dried
before the testing. Make sure that both ends of the cylindrical
specimens are smooth and parallel, and then these are
clamped between two quartz push rods during the measure-
ment process. And a linear variable displacement transducer
is used to record the length changes with temperature due to
thermal expansion or contraction occurrence in the specimen
interior.
The austenite decomposition behavior mainly depends on
the cooling conditions of the slab in the secondary cooling
zone of continuous casting, which is related to the process
parameters such as casting speed, steel type and size, as well
as cooling intensity. Chen et al. [29,32] concluded that the
average cooling rate in the second cooling zone of slabs is
generally less than 30  C min1, while Ji et al. [28] believed that
it varies in the range of 10e50  C min1. However, Mintz et al.
[30,31] pointed out that the instantaneous cooling rate of
conventional slab surface is about 60e100  C min1, and that
of thin slab can rise to 200e300  C min1. Combined with the
practical production of continuous casting and the experi-
mental equipment, the cooling rate of thermal expansion
measurements are performed at 5e30  C min1 with DIL402
instrument. Meanwhile, the experiments to evaluate model
accuracy are implemented on the Gleeble3800D with a test
cooling rate of 100  C min1. The experimental procedure is
illustrated as follows: the specimen is heated to 1000  C with a
heating rate of 5  C min1 and held for 5 min to make the
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7 1105

Fig. 1 e Schematic diagram of the position for sample.

sample temperature homogenize; and then, the specimen is
cooled to room temperature with five different cooling rates of
5, 10, 15, 20, and 30  C min1. Particularly, a stable argon gas
flow of 80 mL min1 in whole process is maintained to avoid
specimen oxidation. During the continuous heating and
cooling circle, the relative changes in length with temperature
of the specimens have been recorded in detail. In addition,
continuous casting slab samples of three typical steel grades
are used for generality verification, and the chemical compo-
sitions are shown in Table 1. Moreover, the microstructures
after the expansion test are observed by optical microscopy,
and the phase fractions of various matrix phases have been
measured using a quantitative image analysis software.
3. Establishment of prediction model
3.1. Dilatometric behaviour at various cooling rates
In general, austenite decomposition during continuous casting
is accompanied by obviously volume expansion, which is
associated with the lattice structure change. Thus, a significant
dimensional change on the cooling dilatometric curve can be
observed. Furthermore, during the cooling process of contin-
uous casting, the volume of samples would shrink due to the
restricted vibration of atoms in the lattice. Based on the ther-
mal expansion testing, the relative expansion length (DL/L) has
obtained, which is a function of temperature:
DL LT  L0
¼ (1)
L0 L0
where DL is the length change during the cooling process; LT
and L0 are the corresponding sample length at temperature T
and initial temperature T0, respectively.
Based on the measured dilatometric curve during contin-
uous cooling, the linear thermal expansion coefficient (LTEC)
curve versus temperature can be definitely calculated by Eq.
(2):
1 dLT
bðTÞ ¼ $ (2)
LT dT
where b(T) is the LTEC curve of the sample; dLT and dT are the
length change of the sample and corresponding temperature
interval, respectively. The schematic diagram of dilatometric
curve and LTEC curve versus temperature during continuous
cooling are shown in Fig. 2.
The LTEC curve is processed using the peak separation
method [15], which is used to investigate the mutual trans-
formation between the various matrix phases during the
austenite decomposition process. Generally, there are two
typical independent peaks during austenite decomposition
process of slab, corresponding to the ferrite transformation
(g/a) and pearlite transformation (g/p), respectively. In
order to clearly distinguish the details of these trans-
formations, the characteristic temperature of austenite
decomposition, such as the start temperature of ferrite
transformation Ar3, the finish temperature of ferrite trans-
formation Aaf, the start temperature of pearlite trans-
formation Ar1, the finish temperature of ferrite transformation
Apf, the intersection temperature of ferrite transformation and
pearlite transformation Aint, have been prominently denoted.
The relative positions of these characteristic temperatures are
shown in Fig. 3.
Assuming the CR,i is used to represent the i-th cooling rate,
all the test cooling rates can be expressed as:
CR;1 ; :::CR;i ; :::CR;n i ¼ 1; 2; 3; :::n (3)

Table 1 e Chemical compositions of three typical steel (wt.%).

Steel Element
C Si Mn P S Cu Ni Cr Ti
Steel A 0.003 0.003 0.12 0.005 0.008 0.05 0.037 0.019 0.058
Steel B 0.15 0.21 1.08 0.017 0.002 0.01 0.03 0.05 0.053
Steel C 0.08 0.04 0.80 0.009 0.007 0.01 0.007 0.017 0.055
1106 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7

Fig. 2 e The dilatometric curve and LTEC curve versus temperature during continuous cooling.

Fig. 3 e Relative positions of the five characteristic temperatures separated during austenite decomposition.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7 1107

here n is the total number of tested cooling rates. Thus, five decrease in ductility [33e35]. In order to prevent cracking,
groups of characteristic temperatures for the austenite sufficient ferrite is needed to enable the strain to evenly
decomposition process at n different cooling rates are distribute in the matrix during the austenite decomposition
expressed as: [36e38]. Obviously, the characteristic temperatures and phase
8 transition interval of austenite decomposition are associated
>
> Ar3;1 ; :::; Ar3;i ; :::; Ar3;n with the ductility trough during continuous casting. The
>
>
< Aaf ;1 ; :::; Aaf ;i ; :::; Aaf ;n
Ar1;1 ; :::; Ar1;i ; :::; Ar1;n (4) decomposition behavior of austenite is directly affected by the
>
> cooling rate. However, few publications focus on the rela-
>
> A ; :::; Apf ;i ; :::; Apf ;n
: pf ;1
Aint;1 ; :::; Aint;i ; :::; Aint;n tionship between the characteristic temperatures and the
cooling rate, which frequently changes in actual continuous
3.2. Variation of phase fractions with temperature at casting processes. In order to establish the quantitative
different cooling rates expression of characteristic temperatures on cooling rate, the
results of peak separation are employed in the regression
During austenite decomposition process, the proportion analysis of these temperatures. The regression equation of
changes in the fractions of ferrite and pearlite can lead to characteristic temperatures can be obtained as follows [39]:
different combined effects of strength and toughness for the  
casting slab. Clarifying the change of the phase fraction of each C
TC ðCR Þ ¼ A  exp B þ (10)
matrix phase with temperature plays an important role in CR
avoiding the occurrence of slab cracks. Based on our previous where TC(CR) represents the characteristic temperatures (such
study [15], the change in the fraction of each matrix phase can be as Ar3, Aaf, Ar1, Apf, Apf, and so on) during continuous cooling.
determined by measuring the area change of the separate peaks, A, B and C are regression coefficients, and CR is the cooling
which is separated from the LTEC curve. As for the cooling rate rate.
CR,i, the phase fractions of ferrite, pearlite, and austenite at any In this case, the relationship of austenite decomposition
given temperature T can be obtained by Eqs. (5)e(8): temperature interval DT versus cooling rate CR can be written
ð TðtÞ as:
bi dT
Sai ðTÞ Ar3;i DTðCR Þ ¼ Ar3 ðCR Þ  Apf ðCR Þ (11)
fa;i ðTÞ ¼ ¼ ; Aaf ;i  TðtÞ  Ar3;i (5)
Stot;i Stot;i
here the characteristic temperatures Ar3(CR) and Apf(CR) can be
ð TðtÞ linearized by Eq. (10). In this way, the phase transition tem-
bi dT perature interval as a function of cooling rate is specified by
Sp;i ðTÞ Ar1;i
linear regression on typical characteristic temperatures.
fp;i ðTÞ ¼ ¼ ; Apf ;i  TðtÞ  Ar1;i (6)
Stot;i Stot;i
3.4. Phase fractions evolution and microstructure
ð
Apf ;i
combination at arbitrary cooling rate
Stot;i ðTÞ ¼ bi dT; Apf ;i  TðtÞ  Ar3;i (7)
Ar3;i The content of ferrite during austenite decomposition has a
significant effect on the ductility of the cast slab. Investigating
fg;i ðTÞ ¼ 1  fa;i ðTÞ  fp;i ðTÞ; Apf ;i  TðtÞ  Ar3;i (8) the evolution of each matrix phase fractions at different
cooling rate during the austenite decomposition process,
where the bi is the LTEC of the casting slab at the cooling rate
which is an important guide for clarifying the slab structure
CR,i. The fa,i(T), fp,i(T) and fg,i(T) are the phase fractions of ferrite,
combination state and avoiding the occurrence of cracks in
pearlite, and austenite phase, respectively. Similarly, the
the cooling process of continuous casting. Meanwhile, after
Sa,i(T) and Sp,i(T) are the peak area between the baseline and
the decomposition of austenite, the proportion of ferrite phase
the separate peaks at the given temperature T, and Stot,i(T) is
and pearlite phase could lead to the different combination of
the entire peak area between the baseline and the overlapped
strength and toughness for the final casting slab. In order to
peaks on the LTEC curve. Hence, the phase fractions of each
explore the inherent influence of cooling rate on the phase
matrix phase for the austenite decomposition process at n
fractions during the decomposition of austenite, the results
different cooling rates are expressed as:
obtained by the peak separation method (ie, Eqs. (5)e(8)) have
8
< fa;1 ðTÞ; :::; fa;i ðTÞ; :::; fa;n ðTÞ been discretized. In this case, a set of distributions such as Eq.
f ðTÞ; :::; fp;i ðTÞ; :::; fp;n ðTÞ (9) (12) can be constructed to discretize the austenite phase
: p;1
fg;1 ðTÞ; :::; fg;i ðTÞ; :::; fg;n ðTÞ fraction during the austenite decomposition process:

3.3. Characteristic temperatures and phase transition

fg ðTÞ ¼ fg1 ; :::; fgj ; :::fgm j ¼ 1; 2; 3; :::; m (12)
interval at different cooling rates
where m is the number of phase fractions after discretization.
The characteristic temperature of austenite decomposition The fg j is the j-th discretized austenite phase fraction, and fg j
plays an important role in the formation of cracks in casting. satisfies
The formation of film-like ferrite around the austenite grains
at the prior period of austenite decomposition is easy to cause fg1 ¼ 0; 0＜fgj ＜100%; fgm ¼ 100% (13)
the stress concentration of casting slab, which can lead to a
1108 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7

Table 2 e Discrete coordinates of cooling rate, temperature, and austenite phase fraction.
fg(T) fg1 … fg
j … fgm
Discrete coordinates
CR
j j
CR,1 ðCR;1 ; T1g;1 ; fg1 Þ … ðCR;1 ; Tg;1 ; fg Þ … ðCR;1 ; Tm
g;1 ; fg Þ
m

… … … … … …
j j
CR,i ðCR;i ; T1g;i ; fg1 Þ … ðCR;i ; Tg;i ; fg Þ … ðCR;i ; Tm
g;i ; fg Þ
m

… … … … … …
j j
CR,n ðCR;n ; T1g;n ; fg1 Þ … ðCR;n ; Tg;n ; fg Þ … ðCR;n ; Tm
g;n ; fg Þ
m

To ensure as much accuracy as possible, the discretized

interval increment Dfg ¼ fg jþ1 - fg j  1%. fa ðT; CR Þ ¼ 1  fg ðT; CR Þ; Aint ðCR Þ  T  Ar3 ðCR Þ (15)
j
Assuming the Tg;i is used to represent the discretization
temperature corresponding to austenite phase fraction fg j at fp ðT; CR Þ ¼ 1  fg ðT; CR Þ  fa ðAint ðCR ÞÞ; Apf ðCR Þ  T  Aint ðCR Þ (16)
the cooling rate CR,i, then the discrete coordinates about the
where the fa(Aint(CR)) is the ferrite fractions at the end of the
cooling rate, discretization temperature and austenite phase
ferrite transition temperature, which just relates to the cool-
fraction under different expansion experiments are shown in
ing rate. Thus, since the type and content of matrix phase
Table 2.
have no longer change in the subsequent cooling process, the
Thus Eq. (10) is combined with above the discretization
structure combination of casting slab at arbitrary temperature
coordinates in Table 2 leading to
and cooling rate can be determined by Eqs. (15) and (16), which
8   is of guiding significance to avoid crack in continuous casting
>
> C1
>
> T 1
ðC Þ ¼ A  exp B þ process. In addition, the final phase fractions of each matrix
>
> g R 1 1
CR
>
>
> :::
> phases affects the properties of the final product and the
>
>  
< Cj subsequent processing. According to Eqs. (15) and (16), the
Tjg ðCR Þ ¼ Aj  exp Bj þ (14)
>
> CR final ferrite phase fraction faf(CR)and pearlite phase
>
>
>
> ::: fraction fpf(CR) of casting slab at arbitrary cooling rate can be
>
>  
>
> Cm
>
> expressed as:
: Tg ðCR Þ ¼ Am  exp Bm þ C
m
R The final ferrite phase fraction faf of casting slab
j
where T1g ðCR Þ; :::; Tg ðCR Þ; :::; Tm
g ðCR Þ represents the relationship faf ðCR Þ ¼ fa ðAint ðCR ÞÞ ¼ 1  fg ðAint ðCR ÞÞ (17)
between the corresponding characteristic temperature and
 
the cooling rate when the austenite phase fraction are fg1 ;:::;fg ;
j fpf ðCR Þ ¼ fpf Apf ðCR Þ ¼ 1  faf ðCR Þ (18)
:::fgm , respectively. Apparently, the characteristic temperature In particular, the prediction model mainly considers the
Ar3(CR) and Apf(CR), which the start and final temperatures of variation of ferrite, pearlite and austenite phase fractions in
austenite decomposition, can be represented by Tm g ðCR Þ and the casting slab. In order to ensure the accuracy of the pre-
T1g ðCR Þ in Eq. (14), respectively. Hence, combining Eqs. (12) and diction model, the cooling rate range is recommended not to
(14), a set of coordinates such as ðT1g ðCR Þ; fg1 Þ; :::; exceed the conditions of conventional slab continuous cast-
j j ing. The prediction model needs to be revised and supple-
ðTg ðCR Þ; fg Þ; :::; ðTm
g ðCR Þ; fg Þ
m
for characteristic temperature and
mented once other new phases (e.g. bainite, martensite, etc.)
austenite phase fraction can be obtained, which will be used appear during the continuous cooling process.
to determine austenite phase fraction at arbitrary cooling rate
CR and it is marked as fg(T, CR). 3.5. Crack sensitive temperature regions cooling rates
Further, the temperature regions of ferrite transformation
and pearlite transformation have been calibrated to calculate Slab cracking in casting slabs have been one of the main
the change of ferrite and pearlite phase fractions with tem- quality defects for many years, which is related to the prop-
perature at arbitrary cooling rate during austenite decompo- erty differences of each matrix phase during austenite
sition process. The intersection temperature Aint is generally decomposition. The ferrite content directly affects the ther-
considered to be the boundary of the two transformations in moplasticity of the slab, which determines the ability of the
current researches [8,9,40], and the method is still retained in slab to resist deformation during cooling. In the initial stage of
this study. In this case, the characteristic temperatures used austenite decomposition, the strength of film-like ferrite
to demarcate the temperature regions of two transformations, distributed along the austenite grain boundaries is low. It
such as the start temperature of ferrite transformation Ar3, the means that under the action of external force and deforma-
intersection temperature Aint, and the finish temperature of tion, the concentrated stress in the ferrite easily leads to the
ferrite transformation Apf, can be determined in combination formation and growth of pores, and finally cracks and prop-
with Eqs. (4) and (10), which are marked as Ar3(CR), Aint(CR), agates along the grain boundaries. In addition, due to the
Apf(CR), respectively. Thus, the fractions of ferrite and pearlite significant increase in dislocation density, effective nucle-
versus temperature at arbitrary cooling rate CR can be calcu- ation position, and interfacial energy during high temperature
lated by:
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7
deformation, ferrite can even precipitate near the Ae3 tem-
perature, which is deformation induced ferrite (DIF) [36,41,42].
Mintz et al. [43,44] believe that the precipitation of
deformation-induced ferrite near the A3 temperature is the
main reason for the reduction of slab plasticity, and the re-
covery of thermoplasticity is associated with a large increase
in the ferrite content, which the stress can be uniformly
distributed in the matrix. According to Liu et al. [45], the
plasticity of the continuous casting billet reaches the lowest
value when the ferrite content is 10%. In order to ensure high
thermoplasticity (RA>60%) of the slab at high temperature to
avoid crack defects, the content of ferrite should exceed 40%.
In order to ensure high thermoplasticity (RA>60%) of the slab
at high temperature, Mintz et al. suggest that the content of
ferrite should be greater than 40% to avoid cracks [36].
Therefore, the characteristic temperature T40% a (CR) corre-
sponding to the ferrite phase fraction of 40% and the start
temperature of ferrite transformation Ae3 in the equilibrium
state are used as the boundaries of the crack sensitive tem-
perature region in this study. Thus, the crack sensitive tem-
perature region at arbitrary cooling rate CR is calculated by
Eqs. (19) and (20):
Ae3 ¼ lim Ar3 ðCR Þ
CR /0
1
a ðCR Þ ¼ fa;CR
T40% ð40%Þ
In the production practice of continuous casting, the
casting slab should try to avoid applying large deformations
Fig. 4 e The LTEC curves of three experimental steels at various cooling rates: (a) Steel A; (b) Steel B; (c) Steel C.
1109
such as bending, straightening, and large reduction in this
temperature zone to avoid the occurrence of cracks.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Effect of cooling rate on expansion behavior of
austenite decomposition
In order to explore the effect of cooling rate on the expansion
behavior of austenite decomposition, the LTEC curves of the
experimental steel are measured at five different cooling rates
of 5e30  C min1. The LTEC curves corresponding to three
experimental steels during continuous cooling at various
cooling rates are indicated in Fig. 4. The experimental results
indicate that there are same variation trends for and LTEC
curves measured by different cooling rates. In the continuous
cooling process, the linear thermal expansion coefficient b
remains basically unchanged in the temperature region where
have no phase transformation occurred, such as regions (I)
and (III) in Fig. 4(a) and regions (I) and (IV) in Fig. 4(b) and Fig.
4(c). For the casting slabs of experimental steels, the average
LTEC b(I-Avg.) are basically stable -(2.23e2.28)  105  C1 in the
(19) high temperature austenite region, and the average linear
coefficient of thermal expansion are basically stable at around
1.55  105  C1 after the completion of austenite decompo-
(20)
sition, relevant details are shown in Table 3. However, one or
two significant independent peaks of b are usually observed in
1110 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7

the austenite decomposition temperature interval, including a

Table 4 e The peak temperatures of ferrite transition and
strong peak at the higher temperature region represents the
pearlite transition peaks of experimental steels at
ferrite transition such as region (II) and a weak peak at the different cooling rates.
lower temperature represents the pearlite transition such as
CR( C$min1) 5 10 15 20 30
region (III) in Fig. 4(b) and (c). It is worth noting that due to the
lower carbon content, the ferrite is the main product of Steel A: T(II-Peak) ( C) 892.8 886.5 882.4 877.8 876.3
Steel B: T(II-Peak) ( C) 746.7 736.6 723.2 701.9 694.5
austenite decomposition of Steel A, and no significant inde-
Steel B: T(III-Peak) ( C) 630.9 623.4 618.6 611.5 602.8
pendent peaks of pearlite transformation appear on the LTEC Steel C: T(II-Peak) ( C) 729.3 727.2 723.2 720.9 717.6
curve indicated in Fig. 4(a). It is found that the cooling rate had Steel C: T(III-Peak) ( C) 627.6 617.7 616.2 613.8 610.0
a remarkable impact on the LTECs in the austenite decom-
position temperature interval. As the cooling rate increased
frequently changes in actual processes like continuous cast-
from 5 to 30  C$min1, the independent peaks of ferrite tran-
ing. In order to clarify the quantitative relationship between
sition and pearlite transition moved apparently toward the
cooling rate and characteristic temperature, the data pre-
lower temperature. Meanwhile, the maximal LTECs for two
sented in Table 5 are employed for regression analysis. Based
independent peaks and their corresponding temperatures
on the applicability and simplicity of the functional form, the
both decrease with increasing cooling rate, relevant details
relationship between characteristic temperatures and cooling
are shown in Fig. 4 and Table 4.
rates are fitted using Eq. (10). The quantitative relationship of
three typical characteristic temperatures with cooling rates
4.2. Effect of cooling rate on characteristic temperature
are given in Fig. 5. For comparison, the test results of the
of austenite decomposition
cooling rate of 100  C min1 and the thermodynamic calcu-
lation results by Jmatpro at equilibrium state are also plotted
In order to obtain the characteristic temperatures of the
in Fig. 5. Clearly, the relationship between temperature and
austenite decomposition process, the LTEC curves are pro-
cooling rate can be more accurately described by the growth
cessed using the peak separation method. On the basis of
function.
determining the number of peaks in a given region, the fre-
Meanwhile, Fig. 6 plots the differences and relative errors
quency and intensity of each peaks are estimated, and the
between the calculated three typical characteristic tempera-
individual peaks are finally fitted using a Gaussian function.
tures versus the experimental measurements. The results
To determine the goodness of fit criterion, the height error and
illustrate that the characteristic temperature calculated by Eq.
width error between the raw peak data and the separate peak
data are controlled to be below 5.0%, and the relevant details
are given in our previous study [15]. The separation results of
austenite decomposition characteristic temperatures at Table 5 e The characteristic temperatures of austenite
various cooling rates for the three experimental steels are decomposition at various cooling rates.
shown in Table 5. Apparently, the characteristic temperatures Steel CR( C$min1) 5 10 15 20 30
of austenite decomposition are retarded to lower temperature
Steel A Ar3 ( C) 911.3 905.5 902.3 901.8 897.7
with cooling rate increasing. In general, as the cooling rate
Aaf ( C) 879.6 873.9 870.0 863.9 860.4
increases, the effective times for the nucleation and growth of Steel B Ar3 ( C) 839.8 826.2 814.8 802.6 790.5
new phases during austenite decomposition are shortened, Ar1 ( C) 681.9 671.8 664.4 656.8 650.3
and the whole decomposition process causes a certain degree Aint ( C) 650.2 647.4 640.8 631.7 627.5
of hysteresis. Aaf ( C) 642.5 639.8 630.3 622.9 617.9
The characteristic temperatures of austenite decomposi- Apf ( C) 591.3 584.5 570.7 556.9 545.3
Steel C Ar3 ( C) 861.6 843.4 831.5 826.8 819.1
tion during cooling are of importance for planning and
Ar1 ( C) 677.6 675.1 670.8 667.3 664.4
designing industrial processes. Few publications focused on
Aint ( C) 657.5 652.1 649.7 648.8 647.5
the relationship between the characteristic temperatures of Aaf ( C) 650.7 648.3 645.6 643.9 641.7
austenite decomposition and the cooling rate, which Apf ( C) 580.3 567.6 556.2 553.3 545.8

Table 3 e The LTECs of experimental steels at different cooling rates.

Steel CR( C$min1) 5 10 15 20 30 Mean StDev
5  1
Steel A b(I-Avg.)  10 ( C ) 2.29 2.28 2.29 2.26 2.30 2.28 0.06
b(II-Peak)  105( C1) 14.93 12.36 10.83 10.18 9.28 e e
b(III-Avg.)  105( C1) 1.55 1.55 1.56 1.52 1.54 1.54 0.08
Steel B b(I-Avg.)  105( C1) 2.22 2.25 2.24 2.24 2.25 2.24 0.05
b(II-Peak)  105( C1) 2.99 3.42 2.65 2.05 1.78 e e
b(III-Peak)  105( C1) 0.22 0.15 0.25 0.00 0.09 e e
b(IV-Avg.)  105( C1) 1.54 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.57 1.55 0.09
Steel C b(I-Avg.)  105( C1) 2.17 2.22 2.25 2.25 2.26 2.23 0.07
b(II-Peak)  105( C1) 3.70 3.20 3.53 2.75 2.21 e e
b(III-Peak)  105( C1) 0.26 0.40 0.60 0.58 0.70 e e
b(IV-Avg.)  105( C1) 1.58 1.55 1.51 1.51 1.52 1.54 0.07
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7 1111

Fig. 5 e The quantitative relationship of Ar3, Aint, and Apf with cooling rates: (a) Steel A; (b) Steel B; (c) Steel C.

Fig. 6 e Calculated characteristic temperatures from Eq. (10) versus experimentally measured characteristic temperatures:
(a) Steel A; (b) Steel B; (c) Steel C.
1112 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7

Fig. 7 e Influence of the cooling rate on the phase fraction of ferrite and pearlite: (a) Steel A; (b) Steel B; (c) Steel C.

Fig. 8 e Prediction results for change of phase fractions versus temperature at 100  C min¡1: (a) Steel A; (b) Steel B; (c) Steel C.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7
(10) is in good agreement with the test results, and the
maximum relative errors of the three steels are 0.3, 2.2 and
2.0%, respectively.
4.3. Prediction for variation of phase fractions versus
temperature and cooling rate
In the current study, the separated phase transformation
peaks in the austenite decomposition zone have been used to
evaluate the phase fraction of ferrite and pearlite using peak
area method. The variations of ferrite and pearlite phase
fraction with temperature for the three test steels at various
cooling rates are shown in Fig. 7. It is found that the ferrite
phase fraction fa and pearlite phase fraction fp both increased
with the decrease of temperature at various cooling rates. In
addition, as the cooling rate increases, the ferrite phase frac-
tion gradually decreases at the end of austenite decomposi-
tion, while the pearlite phase fraction increases significantly.
When the cooling rate is increased from 5  C min1 to
30  C min1, the final ferrite phase fractions of Steel B and
Fig. 9 e Microstructure of dilatometric specimens of Steel B under various cooling rates: (a) 5  C min¡1; (b) 10  C min¡1; (c)
15  C min¡1; (d) 20  C min¡1; (e) 30  C min¡1; (f) 100  C min¡1.
1113
Steel C are reduced from 82.0% and 84.8% to 73.8% and 81.4%
respectively. On the other hand, the higher cooling rate led the
more pearlite phase fraction to be achieved after the
completion of austenite decomposition.
Based on the prediction model constructed in Section 3, the
changes in phase fractions of the three testing steels during
continuous cooling are quantified at 100  C min1 cooling rate,
and the results are shown in Fig. 8. Apparently, the prediction
model is able to achieve the purpose of predicting the variation
of phase fraction with temperature at an arbitrary cooling rate.
Combined with previous study [12], the ability of the casting
slab to resist external forces and deformation at arbitrary
temperatures in austenite decomposition process can be eval-
uated, which is a guide to prevent cracking. Meanwhile, at a
cooling rate of 100  C min1, the microstructure of Steel A is full
ferrite after the austenite decomposition, while the ferrite
content of Steel B and Steel C is 71.6 and 80.3%, respectively.
In order to evaluate the accuracy of the calculated results,
the results of the microstructure analysis after dilatometric
experiments at different cooling rates are shown in Fig. 9. The
1114 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7

light phase is ferrite, while the dark phase is pearlite. It is
found clearly that the ferrite grains are refined with the in-
crease in cooling rate. Additionally, as the cooling rate
increased, the finer pearlite size and the more pearlite area are
observed. In all analyzed samples, a large number of micro-
structure pictures were counted using image analysis soft-
ware to determine the mixed values of ferrite and pearlite.
The quantitative analysis results for ferrite phase fractions
and the calculated ferrite phase fractions are listed in Table 6.
Fortunately, the calculated results are essentially consistent
with the results of the microstructure analysis, which reflects
the accuracy of the prediction model.
In general, the microstructure combination of slab at the
end of continuous casting is of interest and is directly related to
the final mechanical properties. The final ferrite phase fraction
versus cooling rate and the relative error are illustrated in
Fig. 10. The maximum relative error between the predicted and
experimental values for the two experimental steels are just
1.64 and 0.64%. These compared results prove that the
prediction model can accurately reflect the actual phase frac-
tion change after austenite decomposition. Meanwhile, the
final ferrite phase fraction of the slab gradually decreases with
the increase of the cooling rate, and the relationship between
the final ferrite phase fraction and the cooling rate for two
experimental steels is shown in Eqs. (21) and (22), respectively.
faf ;Steel B ðCR Þ ¼ 83:24620  expð2:59364  13:72283 = CR Þ
faf ;Steel C ðCR Þ ¼ 85:07143  expð1:71320  15:82244 = CR Þ
where the faf ;Steel B and faf ;Steel C are the final ferrite phase
fraction of Steel B and Steel C, which is only a function of
cooling rate.
4.4. Prediction for variation of crack sensitive
temperature region versus cooling rate
In the process of continuous casting, crack defect is always
one of the important factors affecting the quality of casting
slab. In present study, the crack sensitive temperature regions
under different cooling rates are obtained by the prediction
model in Section 3. Fig. 11 (a)-(c) plot the variation of the crack
sensitive temperature zones for the three experimental steels
at different cooling rates. There is a significant effect of cool-
ing rate on the crack sensitive region, which expands as the
cooling rate increases. When the cooling rate increased from
0 to 200  C min1, the temperature ranges of the crack sensi-
tive regions expanded from 24.6, 96.5 and 148.0  C to 42.7,
197.0 and 166.3  C for different experimental steels, respec-
tively. In comparison, the temperature range of crack sensi-
tive region of Steel B is the larger, and the crack sensitivity is
relatively higher. Moreover, the relationships between the
critical temperature T40%
a (CR) of the crack sensitive region and
the cooling rate are shown in Eq. (23e25).
T40%
a;Steel A ðCR Þ ¼ 890:35731  expð2:99719  20:67781 = CR Þ (23)
T40%
a;Steel B ðCR Þ ¼ 745:87462  expð4:83056  44:18511 = CR Þ (24)
T40%
a;Steel C ðCR Þ ¼ 729:46168  expð2:96621  12:21949 = CR Þ (25)
(21)
In order to evaluate the accuracy of the prediction model,
thermoplastics of experimental steels at 100  C min1 cooling
(22)
rate are given in Fig. 11 (d). If the possibility of casting slab
crack generation is evaluated by 60% of the reduction of area,
the low ductility zones for Steel B and Steel C at 100  C min1
cooling rate are 831.8e661.7  C and 872.4e717.7  C,

Table 6 e The characteristic temperatures of austenite decomposition at various cooling rates.

Steel CR( C min1) 5 10 15 20 30 100
Steel B Microstructure analysis fa (%) 81.9 79.7 78.5 75.3 74.2 72.1
Calculated result fa (%) 82.0 80.6 78.7 75.7 73.8 71.6
Steel C Microstructure analysis fa (%) 84.6 83.4 83.1 82.2 81.9 80.8
Calculated result fa (%) 84.8 83.8 83.7 82.4 81.4 80.3

Fig. 10 e Final ferrite phase fraction versus cooling rate and relative error: (a) ferrite phase fraction; (b) relative error.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7
Fig. 11 e Relationship between crack sensitive temperature region and cooling rate of casting slab: (a) Steel A; (b) Steel B; (c)
Steel C; (d) the reduction of area for three experimental steels.
respectively. Meanwhile, the predicted crack sensitive tem-
perature regions for Steel B and Steel C are 842.4e665.3  C and
877.5e712.3  C, which is generally consistent with the low
ductility zones measured by experiments. In addition, the
temperature areas in the low ductility zones for Steel B and
Steel C are 170.1 and 154.7  C, with relative errors of about 4.1
and 6.8% from the model predictions. It is not ignored that
Steel A has a better thermoplastic better at high temperatures
(RA > 70%) compared to Steel B and Steel C, but there is still a
significant low ductility zone. Moreover, Steel A is mainly used
for the production of automotive panels, due to extremely
stringent quality requirements. Therefore, it is recommended
that Steel A should be straightened in the temperature zone of
RA > 80% during continuous casting to avoid micro-crack.
Then, the width of the crack sensitive temperature region of
Steel A is about 44.8  C when the cooling rate is 100  C min1.
In this sense, in the process of continuous casting, the change
of cooling rate and temperature at different positions of the
slab should be pay attention to avoid straightening the slab in
the crack sensitive temperature zone.
5. Conclusions
The austenite decomposition behavior of slabs in the range of
continuous casting cooling rates has been investigated by
finite number of experiments. A model to predict the phase
fraction variation and crack sensitivity temperature region of
1115
slab at different cooling rates has been developed. The
following conclusions are drawn:
(1) The prediction model can accurately calculate the crack
sensitive temperature regions, the variation of phase
fractions with temperature, and the final microstruc-
ture composition of the casting slabs at arbitrary cooling
rates for continuous casting.
(2) During austenite decomposition, the cooling rate has a
significant impact on the development of the LTEC
curve. With the increase of the cooling rate, the
austenite decomposition temperature range moves to-
ward the low temperature region and the intensities of
the independent peaks of ferrite transition weakens
gradually. The LTEC in the single austenite phase region
have been stable around -(2.23e2.28)  105  C1, while
the LTEC of slab is about 1.55  105  C1 after austenite
decomposition.
(3) The characteristic temperatures of austenite decom-
position and cooling rate are in accordance with the
growth function TC(CR) ¼ Aexp(B þ C/CR), and the
maximum relative errors of the three experimental
steels are 0.3, 2.2 and 2.0%, respectively.
(4) During continuous cooling, the ferrite phase fraction
increases with decreasing temperature; while the final
ferrite phase fraction is inversely proportional to
the cooling rate. The final ferrite content at
different cooling rates for two experimental steels are
1116 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 1 1 0 3 e1 1 1 7
faf ;Steel B ðCR Þ ¼ 83:24620  expð2:59364 13:72283 =CR Þ
and faf ;Steel C ðCR Þ ¼ 85:07143  expð1:71320 
15:82244 =CR Þ, respectively.
(5) The crack sensitive temperature regions predicted by
the model completely coincides with the low ductility
zones measured by experiments, and the predicted re-
sults can be used to provide guidance for continuous
casting production process. The critical temperature
T40%
a (CR) of the crack sensitive regions for three experi-
mental steels at different cooling rates are
T40%
a;Steel A ðCR Þ ¼ 890:35731  expð2:99719  20:67781 =CR Þ,
a;Steel B ðCR Þ ¼ 745:87462  expð4:83056 44:18511 =CR Þ
T40%
and T40%
a;Steel C ðCR Þ ¼ 719:46168  expð2:96621  12:21949 =
CR Þ, respectively.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This work is financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (No. 51874059).
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