Quality Aspects of AISI 304 Stainless

Steel Sheets by Twin Roll Strip Casting

Presented at
The Iron and Steel Societys
Near Net Shape Casting Symposium-Part IV
in St. Petersburg Beach, Fl., USA
November 1-3, 1998

by
D. K. Choo, S.I. Jeong, J.T. Choi,
S. H. Kim, J.M. Song, M. J. Ha, T. J. Lee*
Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology
* Pohang Iron and Steel Company Limited

POSCO/RIST Twin Roll Strip Casters

Ladle
Tundish
Twin Roll

Pinch Roll

Discharge
Line

Coiler

Strip

Loop Pit

Casting Operation with Caster 2 in Pohang works

Pilot
PilotPlant
Plant

Caster
Caster11

Caster
Caster22

Roll
RollDiameter
Diameter
Roll
RollWidth
Width

750mm
750mm
350mm
350mm

1250mm
1250mm
1300mm
1300mm

Roll
RollMaterial
Material
Ladle
LadleCapacity
Capacity

Steel,
Steel,Cu
Cu
1,1,55Te
Te

Steel,
Steel,Cu
Cu
5,5,10
10Te
Te

Casting
CastingSpeed
Speed
Strip
StripThickness
Thickness

50m/min
50m/min
2-6mm
2-6mm

132m/min
132m/min
22-6mm
-6mm

Cast
CastMaterial
Material

Stainless
Stainless&&Carbon
CarbonSteel
Steel

Casting Scene and As-Coiled Coil

As-Coiled Coil (AISI 304,10 ton)

Cast Strip Exiting Roll Bite

(Caster 2, AISI 304,1300mmW, 2.8t)

Key Technologies in Twin Roll Strip Casting

- Pour Box : Inert Gas Shrouding

- Tundish : Inclusion Removal
- Feed Nozzle : Flow Control
M

- Level Sensor : Melt Level Control

- Meniscus Shield : Scum/Skull Prevention
- Edge Dam : Material, Loading, Oscill.
- Roll : Cooling, Coating, Crown, Texturing
- Brush Roll : Roll Surface Cleaning
- Control : RSF/Speed, Level, Gap, E/D

Quality Aspects of As-Cast Strip

Class
Surface
Defects

Internal
Defects

Item

Aim

Status

Scum/Skull

None

Negligible

Crack

None

None

Porosity
/Micro-segregation

None

Negligible

Profile

Wedge < 60um

Crown < 100um
Thick. Devia. < 5%

Edge Trim

< 15mm/edge

< 12mm/edge

Mech. Properties

Equi. to CC-HR

Equivalent

Shape

Property

Wedge < 50um

Crown < 30um
Thick. Devia. < 3%

Typical Microstructure of As-Cast Strip

Strip Cast Coil

(3t x 1300W, 320m )

Columnar Zone
Equiaxed Zone
Columnar Zone

Classification of Microstructure

Vermicular (Cr/Ni(eq) = 1.58)

Mixed (Cr/Ni(eq) = 1.65)

Acicular (Cr/Ni(eq ) = 1.84)

AISI 304 Stainless Steel

C
0.047
0.039
0.048

Si
0.465
0.479
0.525

Mn
0.97
0.97
0.86

P
0.025
0.023
0.023

S
0.004
0.004
0.003

Cr
18.25
18.33
19.73

* POSCOs formulae for Cr(eq) and Ni(eq) : (in wt%)

Cr(eq) = %Cr + %Mo + 1.5x%Si + 0.5x%Nb
Ni(eq) = %Ni + 30x%(C+N) + 0.5x%Mn

Mo
0.22
0.33
0.19

Ni Cr/Ni(eq)
8.58
1.58
8.46
1.65
7.93
1.84

Remarks
Vermicular
Mixed
Acicular

Delta Ferrite Distribution and Cooling Rate

Cooling Rate Estimation

16

D-Ferrite Amount (vol% )

14

Cr/Ni(eq)=1.58

S 2 = a R -n

Cr/Ni(eq)=1.61

12

Cr/Ni(eq)=1.72

10

Cr/Ni(eq)=1.75

S 2 : 2ndary Dendrite Arm Spacing(um)

R : Cooling Rate(o C/sec)
( a = 100, n = 0.35 )

8
6
4

SDAS

Cooling
Rate

0
Surface

Quarter

Center

Thickness Direction

Steel Roll

Cu Roll

7 ~ 12

4~7

500
~ 2000

2000
~ 9000

Modified Delong plot

18
0% 5% 10%
17
15%
16
20%
15
14
13
12
11
1.5
1.9
10
5.1
3.4
9
8
7
6
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Cr equivalent
5.1

14
Calculated D-ferrite (vol%)

Ni equivalent

Prediction of Ferrite Distribution of As-cast Strip

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Measured -ferrite (vol%)

: Measured ferrite (%) in cast strip

Delta Ferrite (vol.%) = 3.3 Cr(eq) - 3.54 Ni(eq) - 18.8

Uniformity of Columnar Zone Thickness

Uniform Solidification

Roll Surface Texturing

Roll Surface Brushing
Precise Melt Level Control
Optimum Roll Separating Force

Thickness(fraction)

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000110012001300
Width(mm)

Evenness of Columnar Zone Thickness

Microstructure and Segregation Around Crack

Microstructure Around Crack Area

P Mapping Analysis Around Crack Area

by SMA

Roll Surface Texturing Effect on Crack Formation

Roll
Roll Texturing
Texturing Techniques
Techniques

crack

--Knurling
Knurling
--Photo-Etching
Photo-Etching
--Shot
ShotBlasting
Blasting
--EDT
EDT
1300 mm width

As-Ground
Roll Surface

Textured
Roll Surface

--Laser
LaserAblation
Ablation
Strip Surface Temperature

Cleanliness of As-Cast Strip (Inclusion Distribution)

Cleanliness(%,JIS G0555)

100000

S/C Strip : 0.035

H/R(Total [O]=50ppm)

10000

H/R Strip : 0.07

No. of Inclusions (ea/cm2)

S/C(Total [O]=58ppm)
1000

100

10

0.1

0.01

0.001
0.1

SEM micrograph of inclusion

(Al-Mn-Si-Cr-Ti-oxide, globular
, 7um )

10

100

1000

Inclusion size(um)

Inclusion Distribution in As-Cast Strip

Meniscus Shielding with Inert Gas

Inert Gas : Ar, N2, He, CO2, NH3, Mixed Gas
Function of Inert Gas
- Shielding
- Moderate Cooling

30

O2 % in atm.

0.8
Target O2
Value<0.5%

0.6
0.4
0.2

2nd
(2 min after
start-cast)

No. of Scum Defects (ea/m)

25
1

Open Atmosphere
O2(%)=7.2
20
Ar Atmosphere
O2(%)=0.6
15
Ar Atmosphere
O2(%)=0.2
10

Ist

Tundish
M/S Center
M/S NDS

(1 min after
start-cast)

0
5

10

20

50

100 200

Scum Size (mm)

10

10

Typical Microstructure of Cold Rolled Strip

Strip Cast

Hot Rolled

Grain Size = ASTM 8.5

Grain Size = ASTM 7.5

Properties of Cold Rolled Strip

Material Properties

Mechanical

Strip Cast
Strip

Hot Rolled
Strip

24.58

24.39

Y.S. (kg/mm2)
Properties

T.S. (kg/mm2)

63.91

64.01

Formability

Elongation(%)

61.22

63.08

LDR

2.01

2.02

- 0.20

- 0.54

Anisotropy( r)
Corrosion

EPR(%)

0.22

0.07

Resistance

Weight Loss(g/m2hr)

7.15

7.30

Pitting Potential(V vs. SCE)

0.278

0.258

455

495

Glossiness (60 o)

Scale Structure & Pickling Property of Cast Strip

Fe
Cr
Ni
Mn

mm
Fe(69.5)
Cr(10.7)
Ni(4.5)
O(15.3)

Fe(77.4)
Cr(5.6)
Ni(1.7)
O(15.3)

Fe(81.9)
Cr(2.1)
O(15.9)

Pickling Condition

10m

Strip Cast Strip

Hot Rolled Strip

1st Step

Partially removed

Not removed

2nd Step, 1min

2nd Step, 2min
2nd Step, 7min
2nd Step, 12min

Almost removed
Completely removed

Not removed
Partially removed
Almost removed
Completely removed

Pickling Procedure
1st step : H 2SO4, 40 sec
2nd step : HNO3 + HF, 1 min - 12 min

Si
O

Shape Profile & Thickness of As Cast Strip

2.4
2.3

C
B1

B2

2.2

Thickness(mm)

- Strip crown : A - 1/2(B1+B2)

- Strip wedge : | B1 - B2 |

2.1
2
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.5
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 110012001300

A : Center gauge, B1, B2 : Edge drop or feather thickness

width(mm)

Transverse Thickness Profile, Caster 2

2.5
2.4

Profile

Crown < 60um

Thick. Devia. < 3%

Edge Trim

< 12 mm/edge

2.3

Thickness(mm)

Wedge < 40um

2.2
2.1
2.0
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.5
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

length(m)

Longitudinal Thickness Profile, Caster 2

500

Cold Rolling of Strip Cast Coil in the POSCOs Z-Mill

S/C AS-CAST Coil , t = 2 ~ 4 mm

CPL - HAPL

Cold Rolling (Z-Mill)

Red. : 60 ~ 80%

Bright Annealing (BAL)

1150 C,1.4min,H2+N2

( SPM - TLL)

S/C C/R Coil, BA

t = 0.4 ~ 1.6 mm

Cold A & P Line(CAPL)

1150 C, 1min

( SPM - TLL)

S/C C/R Coil , 2B

t = 0.4 ~ 1.6 mm

End Products from Strip Cast Cold Rolled Coil

Large Kitchen Sink

Kitchen Wares, Pipes,

Post Card, Name Card

AISI 304
Mirror