Accurate knowledge of the boundary conditions is essential when modeling the Direct-Chill (DC) casting process. Determining the surface heat flux in the secondary cooling zone, where the greater part of the heat removal takes place, is therefore of critical importance. Boiling water heat transfer phenomena are quantified with boiling curves which express the heat flux density as a function of the surface temperature. Compilations of boiling curves for the DC casting of aluminum alloys present a good agreement at low surface temperatures but a very poor agreement at higher surface temperatures, in the transition boiling and film boiling modes. Secondary cooling was simulated by spraying instrumented samples with jets of cooling water. Quenching tests were conducted first with a stationary sample, and then with a sample moving at a constant "casting speed" in order to better simulate the DC casting process. The ejection of the water film in quenching tests with a stationary sample and the relative motion between the sample and the water jets both lead to an Advanced Cooling Front (ACF) effect, in which cooling occurs through axial conduction within the sample rather than through boiling water heat transfer at the surface. The heat flux density and surface temperature were evaluated using the measured thermal history data in conjunction with a two-dimensional inverse heat conduction (IHC) model. The IHC model developed at the University of British Columbia was able to take into account the advanced cooling front effect. The effect of various parameters (initial sample temperature, casting speed, water flow rate) on the rate of heat removal in the film boiling and transition boiling regimes was investigated.