Abstract: The soft reduction process in continuous casting was investigated. The mechanical equilibrium equation was derived for each finite element in slab. Furthermore, the stress and deromation during soft reduction were analyzed by combining the temperature distribution of slab. Results indicate that, the stress on the edge of slab is higher than that on the center of wide face, and the maximum value exceeds 100 MPa. With the proceeding of reduction, the stress on the surface of slab decreases. For the center of slab, the stress and the deformation increase during reduction.When the total reduction amount is given, the deformation on the center of slab is almost independent with the steel grade and the reduction position. However, the steel grade and the reduction position have an important effect on the stress. During soft reduction, the force exerted on stainless steel is much higher than that on general carbon steel at the position with a fixedd solid fraction, and the value increases when approaching the end point of solidification.

Key words: continuous casting, soft reduction, thermalmechanical coupled model, stress of soft reduction