#continuouscasting

The stability and efficiency of billet copper mould tube production essentially involve dancing with the laws of thermodynamics. Cooling water, this silent partner, must have its flow rate precisely controlled within an “optimal process window” verified through rigorous calculations and countless practical trials.

The formation of iron oxide scale in continuous casting is the result of a chemical reaction and physical diffusion between iron elements on the billet surface and oxidizing media. It causes cost waste and quality risks in steel production, directly impacting the entire process from continuous casting and rolling to subsequent processing.

Longitudinal cracks in continuously cast round billets occur when the thermal stress and phase transformation stress generated during the solidification process of molten steel exceed the load-bearing limit of the billet shell. Furthermore, the billet’s own crystal structure and composition weaken its crack resistance, ultimately leading to the formation and propagation of longitudinal cracks in the weak areas. The main causes are related to the non-uniformity of the molten steel solidification process, the characteristics of the steel grade, and the poor plasticity in the high-temperature brittle range.

This paper analyzes and studies the causes of abnormal stopping accidents of stoppers in tundishes during continuous casting machine production, based on production practice. Targeted optimization measures are proposed to effectively prevent such accidents.

The location of corner cracks in slabs varies depending on the steel grade. For most steel grades, corner cracks are distributed on the inner curved surface of the slab. For some steel grades, corner cracks are distributed on two narrow faces near the inner curved surface. 

In the continuous casting process of ultra-low carbon steel, carbonaceous materials in the protective slag penetrate into the surface of the cast billet, increasing the carbon content on the surface. Because the protective slag contains a certain amount of carbonaceous material, it easily causes carburization on the surface of the billet and carbon increase in the molten steel within the copper mould tube. 

Based on its function in the core process of continuous casting, mold flux can be divided into two stages: melting and solidification.