Continuouscastingofsteelbasicprinciples.docVIP

Continuous Casting of Steel: Basic Principles By Bruce Kozak, SMS Demag  Joseph Dzierzawski, SMS Demag Background | Production and Feasibility Study | Casting Overview | Liquid Steel Transfer Tundish Overview | Mold | Mold Oscillation | Secondary CoolingShell Growth | Strand Containment | Bending and Straigtening | Summary Background Continuous Casting is the process whereby molten steel is solidified into a semifinished billet, bloom, or slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. Prior to the introduction of Continuous Casting in the 1950s, steel was poured into stationary molds to form ingots. Since then, continuous casting has evolved to achieve improved yield, quality, productivity and cost efficiency. Figure 1 shows some examples of continuous caster configurations. Figure 1 - Examples of Continuous Casters Steel from the electric or basic oxygen furnace is tapped into a ladle and taken to the continuous casting machine. The ladle is raised onto a turret that rotates the ladle into the casting position above the tundish. Referring to Figure 2, liquid steel flows out of the ladle (1) into the tundish (2), and then into a water-cooled copper mold (3). Solidification begins in the mold, and continues through the First Zone (4) and Strand Guide (5). In this configuration, the strand is straightened (6), torch-cut (8), then discharged (12) for intermediate storage or hot charged for finished rolling. Figure 2 - General Bloom/Beam Blank Machine Configuration 1:Ladle Turret, 2:Tundish/Tundish Car, 3:Mold, 4:First Zone (Secondary Cooling), 5:Strand Guide (plus Secondary Cooling), 6:Straightener Withdrawal Units, 7:Dummy Bar Disconnect Roll, 8:Torch Cut-Off Unit, 9:Dummy Bar Storage Area, 10:Cross Transfer Table, 11:Product Identification System, 12:Product Discharge System Figure 3 depicts a Slab Caster layout. Note the extended roller containment compared to that for a Bloom/Beam Blank (as in Figure 2), required to maintain product shape through fi