9532021 Young The proposed project will examine the continuous casting of steel, the horizontal Ohno continuous casting of pure and cored fibers, and the photocopolymerization of multiple monomer systems into optical fibers. The general goals of the models are to determine the process sensitivity to the operating conditions, describe the scientific phenomena of heat, solute, and momentum transport within the system, and to elucidate the coupled dynamics of these transport mechanisms. A combination of asymptotic techniques coupled with practical computational methods will be used to simulate these systems. Primary emphasis will be placed upon the development of approximate analytical solutions to the systems of equations governing these processing techniques. In instances where this is not practical, an asymptotic approach will be used to reduce the governing set of equations to a simpler set of evolution equations. Numerical simulation of these equations will be conducted. The proposed project will examine mathematical models of several material and manufacturing processes. In particular, the continuous casting of steel, the horizontal Ohno continuous casting of pure and cored fibers, and the photocopolymerization of multiple monomer systems into optical fibers will be investigated. The proposed solution methodologies enable one to represent the general trends that material and system parameters have on the system performance. This approach also allows one to investigate a variety of models in response to changing technologies, and can be modified to new areas of application. Further, the design of real-time controllers, real-time optimization methods for complex, multi-stage, manufacturing processes, and the desire for quick evaluation of a large number of alternative process designs, require models which capture system trends and are not computationally intensive.
