Information/Definations About Different Steel Products: Training Session

INFORMATION/DEFINATIONS
ABOUT DIFFERENT STEEL PRODUCTS

TRAINING SESSION
Important definitions
• Refractory :
• Tapping temperature :
• Meniscus level : Control of height of liquid steel in the mould is crucial for the success of the continuous casting machine.
This is done by controlling the steel level (meniscus level). The solidification begins from the meniscus of steel level in the
mould. Mould level sensors are used to control the meniscus level in the mould. Its advantage is that it prevent from
cracking of material.
• Turbulence:
• Abrasion:
MOLD TUBES
• Mold Tubes used in CCM are for billet casting.

• Billet casting is the process in which pouring molten metal or other material into
a mold for giving it a specific size and shape.
• The mold tubes are made of copper and surrounded by a stainless-steel jacket
and through the gap cooling water flows.
• Mold is tapered to reduce the air gap formation. Taper is typically 1 % of the
mold length.
• For smooth stripping of solidifying steel from mold wall a lubrication mechanism
is used in mold.
Mold tube top view

Tube material:
Due to high thermal conductivity copper is selected as primary constituent of mold tubes. To prevent distortion of tubes alloying elements such as
phosphorus, silver and Chromium-Zirconium are added. The inner wall of tube is plated with Chromium of 0.1 to 0.12mm thickness to impart high
temperature abrasion(+) resistance and is for extending the life of copper molds.
Tube length:
Tube lengths are normally used in the range of 500mm to 1200mm. The meniscus level(+) of liquid steel is kept usually in the range of 45mm to 200mm from
top. It depends on length of submerged entry nozzles (SEN) dipping into liquid steel inside the mold. A deep meniscus level implies less SEN depth causing
turbulence(+) in the meniscus and lubrication powder entrapment in the product.
Tube wall thickness and corner radius:

The tube thickness is estimated on the basis of its structural distortion due to temperature rise and optimal heat transfer. The thickness of the wall of mold
tubes varies with size of casting. For billet casting of square sections of 100mm to 150mm the wall thickness is in the range of 10mm to 13mm whereas for
bloom casting of square sections of 200mm it is 20mm. For casting a section size of 350mm x 240mm, 26mm thick tube is used at Durgapur Steel Plant, SAIL.
Corner radius of mold tubes are given to control heat transfer at corner region to reduce air gaps. Parket. al [18] explained that with higher corner radius
susceptibility of formation of longitudinal corner cracks in the cast product increases. With low corner radius due to off corner thinning of solidifying shell the
probability of off-corner cracks rises. Normally 3mm to 4mm corner radius is used for billet casting up to size of 150mm square [16]. For bloom casting of
section 200mm x 200mm and 350mm x 240mm rectangle, 6mm and 10mm corner radius is used respectively.
Tube Taper:
Tapering in the inner wall of mold tubes are given to ensure contact between solidifying steel shell and mold wall to maintain the heat flow rate and thus to improve
billet quality.9the greater air gap the lesser heat flow in between steel shell and mold square 250 *250 and rectangular 320 * 250 cross section molds are used .these
molds are provided taper towards the bottom 327*255top and 324*252.5 bottom in case of 320 *250 bloom. A shrinkage study of steel shell formed during
solidification is done to predict the ideal taper. Taper can be single, double, triple, quadruple or parabolic, depending on casting speed, tube length and grade
of steel cast. Solidification model along with shrinkages is solved in a 3D slice analysis domain as mentioned in the previous section without mold boundary to
get the free displacement at the periphery of casting, which in turn predicts the ideal taper for the mold. Tube exit dimension are calculated considering
shrinkages to get the final product dimensions. 5.5
Tube fixation and cooling water channel:

Tubes are surrounded by stainless steel jackets and a water gap is ensured between mold and jacket by supporting the tube against rivets. The arrangement is
shown schematically in Fig. 6. The number of rows of rivets depend on tube length and heat flux through the tube. Structural analysis of tube with increased
temperature is performed to decide the position of rivets. In cold condition a gap, normally in the range of 0.4mm to 0.6mm, between mold tube outer walls
and rivets are kept to allow thermal expansion during casting. In industrial practice the water channel gap is kept about 3mm. The water velocity through the
channel is kept in the range of 10m/s to 14m/s to avoid nucleate boiling of water at the cold face of the tube. The hot face temperature is kept below boiling
temperature of oil in case of oil lubrication and to reduce thermal distortion of the casting tube.
Mold properties:
High thermal conductivity
High strength and hardness to ensure (i) wear resistance, (ii) creep resistance, (iii) fatigue resistance, and (iv) resistance to cracking
High softening temperature (maintaining desired properties at high temperatures)
drawings
• Drawings are below
Mold body
Temperatures at different stages
Tapping temperature :
Temperature at furnace
Temperature of mold in ladlle.
Temperature of mold in tundish.
Temperature of mold in mold tube.
Temperature of billet after cooling process starts
Slide gate mechanism
Slide gate plates
Oscillation table in CCM

Information/Definations About Different Steel Products: Training Session

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Information/Definations About Different Steel Products: Training Session

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Information/Definations About Different Steel Products: Training Session

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INFORMATION/DEFINATIONS

ABOUT DIFFERENT STEEL PRODUCTS

• Mold Tubes used in CCM are for billet casting.

Mold tube top view

Tube wall thickness and corner radius:

Tube fixation and cooling water channel:

You might also like