Continuous caster - main equipment and process technology

A modern steelmaking plant is a combination of various metallurgical units. After refining outside the furnace, the molten steel is poured into the continuous caster to solidify it into billets. The coupling machine starts to connect the important link between steel rolling and rolling. The solidification of molten steel in the continuous caster is affected by the interaction of various physical processes such as flow, heat transfer, mass transfer and stress. The comprehensive effect of this effect will determine the production efficiency and slab quality of the continuous caster.

Continuous casters can be classified in various forms

(1) classified according to structure and shape. Vertical continuous caster, vertical bending continuous caster, vertical bending continuous caster with multi-point bending, arc continuous caster with straight section, arc continuous caster, multi radius elliptical continuous caster and horizontal continuous caster. With the development of continuous casting technology, the research of wheel caster, especially thin slab caster, has been carried out.

(2) It is classified according to the section size and shape poured by the continuous caster. Continuous casters can be divided into slab caster, billet caster, bloom caster, round billet caster, special-shaped section caster and thin slab caster.

The square billet caster also includes the rectangular billet caster. Generally, the billet with pouring section or equivalent section area greater than 200mmx200mm is called bloom, the billet with section or equivalent section less than i6ommx160mm is called small billet, and the rectangular billet with width thickness ratio greater than 3 is called slab.

(3) If the continuous caster is distinguished by the number of billet flows that can be cast by one unit under the same tundish, it can be divided into single flow, double flow or multi flow continuous caster.

(4) On a continuous caster, according to the production requirements, the continuous caster that can cast slab and several streams of billet at the same time is called square slab composite continuous caster or composite continuous caster for short.