Continuous Casting 133

Continuous Casting of Blooms and

Beam-Blank Shapes
by F. C. Muttitt and C. 0. Lawrence

Algoma's interest in the contin-
uous casting of blooms and shapes
arose out of the prospect of attain-
ing substantial gains in yield from
liquid steel to product, and also
of improving productivity on our
primary mills. We were approach-
ing the position where ingot pro-
duction would be greater than the
capacity of the two blooming mills;
these mills devoting a large part
of their time to rolling blooms and
shaped blanks for the rail mill-
wide Aange beam mill complex.
Thirteen of the 21 wide Aange
sections produced are most econom-
ically processed by rolling the ingots
to a shaped blank on one of the
blooming mills. Rolling rates on
these blanks are comparatively low,
with roll changes taking up an im-
portant part of mill time.
The requirements of the 18 in.
merchant mill would involve a large
' number of billet sections, were bil-
let casting to be considered; there-
fore, it seemed apparent that cast-
ing machines capable of producing
a range of bloom sizes and shaped
blanks would best suit our require-
ments. A four-strand bloom ma-
chine would allow casting times of
1 hr or less for 108-ton heats in the
range of sizes considered. Modifica-
tions to mill design and practices
permitted a reduction in the num-
ber of blank sizes required from 12
in conventional practice to five for
the casting machine. They would
have a common web thickness of
4 in. to simplify machine design,
and the smallest, at 131 sq in. area,
would allow a two-strand machine
to cast the oxygen furnace heats
in 1 hr.
It was therefore decided that the
casting plant would consist of a
four-strand bloom machine, produc-
ing blooms up to 10% x 14 in., and
a two-strand beam-blank machine,
which would cast the five blank
sections ranging from 131-224 sq
in, in size (Fig. 1 ) . The capacity of
the shop is estimated at 600,000 net
tons comprising structural grades,
dia, seamless tube grades, and rails.
The beam machine would also be
convertible to the production of
32 x 10 in. slabs for our narrow
strip mill.
Construction of the' plant began in
September, 1966. The casting plant
is located in a building formerly
occupied by an eight-furnace open
hearth shop (Fig. 2). It is supplied
with 108-ton heats by the three-
furnace basic oxygen shop, from
which it is separated by an operating
open hearth shop. The movement
of steel to the casting machines thus
involves placing of the ladle on a
pick up stand at the south end of the
BOF shop by the south crane in
this shop (Fig. 3). The ladle is then
picked up by a high level crane,
raised an additional 55 ft, a total
of 84 ft above grade, and transported
across the open hearth shop and
over one of the 300-ton furnaces, a
distance of some 330 ft. It is then
lowered 34 ft into position on the
ladle car. This movement, from
furnace to ladle car, requires an
average of 16 min. Obviously,
extensive modifications to the
roof structure of the BOF, open
I - ::
.I I . I b
n ::x,S
UY 11'4i91.
hearth, and casting buildings
were required; in addition, the Isley
stacks serving No. 25 open hearth
furnace were relocated (Fig. 4).
The operating floor of the casting
plant occupies as area of 125 x 140
ft, and contains the four-strand
bloom machine and two-strand
blank machine, located on 52-ft
centers (Fig. 5 ) . The operating floor
is divided by the 150-ton crane col-
umn line into a 90 ft wide casting
aisle and 50-ft tundish aisle. In addi-
tion to two of the four preheat sta-
tions, the tundish aisle provides
space for skulling, relining, and set-
ting up tundishes, preparation and
drying of stoppers, and some stor-
age of refractory and other sup-
plies.
Three ladle cars are provided, a
powered car serving each machine,
and an idle car which can be coupled
to either, permitting rapid ladle
switching for sequential or multiple
ladle casting.
The emergency ladle is located
between the machines on an inter-
mediate floor level; an overflow
chute off the end of the tundish
diverts metal from tundish to
I.. .k I

high carbon steels for grinding me-

F. C. M U T T I T T and C. 0. LAWRENCE are,

respectively, superintendent-continuous cost-
ing, ond assistant superintendent-continuous
costing, Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd., Soult Ste.
Marie, Ont., Conado.
Fig. I-Dog bone profile.
134 Open, Hearth Proceedings, 1968

operations. They are equipped with

a manual adjustment for accurate
centering over the machine; it is
also possible to raise and lower the
tundish on the car for submerged
entry casting and for proper posi-
tioning for preheat.
Tundishes for the two machines
are similar in dimension, but differ
in nozzle and stopper location. They
are 23 ft in length overall, with an
interior length of 17 ft 6 in., width
of 14-24 in. bottom to top, and effec-
tive depth of 24 in. They are lined
with high alumina ladle brick; in the
impact area of the bottom, tar-im-
pregnated magnesia brick are used.
Nozzles a r e stopper-controlled, using
air cooled rods.
The castiug floor is located 37 ft
above grade and is serviced by the
150-ton hot metal crane and a pen-
dant operated 20-ton service crane.
t Fig. 6 ) . A second 20-ton crane scr-
vices the tundish aisle. An inter-
mediate floor houses, in addition to
the emergency ladle, the mold os-
cillation drives, spray exhaust, cool-
Fig. 2-Plan of continuous costing plant and surrounding area.
ing and combustion fans, and other
auxiliary equipment. The straight-
ener-runout floor, which is at grade,
is serviced by a 20-ton pendanl
emergency ladle in the event of machine, are localed east and west crane over the straighteners, and
ladle stopper failure. In addition, an of the machines, from which the a 30-ton magnet-equipped product
emergency pouring stand is located tundishes move on cars into casting handling crane for each machine.
jn the area; on occasions when it is position. Coke oven gas is used for The casting machines are both
not possible to empty the ladle on preheat, and a t 12 to 16 mm Btu per built on a 35-ft radius, the four-
t.he machine because of machine or hr, a temperature of 2000F can be strand bloom machine casts blooms
other problems, the remainder of the reached in 1 % - 2 hrs. with a common 101/2 in. radial di-
heat is poured into molds rather mension and in widths of 9, 12%,
Supplementary preheat burners and 14 -in., while t h e two-strand
than move the already opened ladle are provided at the machines to
back over the high level craneway. blank machine is equipped to cast
maintain preheat immediately prior the five sizes of beam-blank, all
The pouring stand is also used on to and during cast.
c~ccasionswhen steel temperature is having a four in, web thickness, and
Two electrically driven tundish varying in width from 17% to 301h
unsuitable for casting. cars on each machine support the in., in flange depth from 101h to 14
The preheat stations, two for each tundish during preheat and casting in.
Considering the bloom machine,
the four strands are positioned on
5 ft and 5 ft 6 in. centers. The molds
are of conventional plate construc-
tion, with 1%-in. copper plates, 28
in, in length, contoured to the 35-ft
machine radius. Corner radius is
3/8 in., and 0.060 taper is provided,
on the non-radial sides. Oscillation
is electrically driven single eccentric
,,,, ".." type, providing a 1: 1 ratio with
a stroke, which can be varied from

.
p ,,I..''

l, l . , C
3/16-1% in. Oscillator speed is ref-
erenced from t h e straightener
drives to give a 66% negative strip
p , , Y. 0 '
,piI, **a .' irrespective of stroke or withdrawal
speed. Mold lubrication is presently
gb 68 .Iso'
rapeseed oil, the rate varying from
,,,a, .I* c 20 to 30 cc per ton depending on

,!!,n .. .--
7--
CRANE GALLERV I
**'.'J US.- ..- II~-~'I?cI ) ?lPLI.%lll

STING AND BQSP

i I the grade being cast. Mold level
control has not been employed, al-
though provision has been made in
mold assemblies to accommodate
this device and it is planned to in-
stall it in the future.
The secondary cooling arrange-
ment consists of cooling plates
directly below the mold, followed
by five sections of roller apron. The
cooling plates a r e 18 in. in depth and
have 1/16-in. openings. The first
Fig. 3-Crone gallery between continuous costing ond B.O.S.P. apron section below the plates is

Fig. 4-Section showing modifications to lsley stacks to allow 150-ton crane gallery over
open hearth shop.
equipped with rolls on all four sides,
and, together with the mold and
plate assemblies, are removable
through the mold opening when
section changes are required. The
remaining four sections of apron
have rolls only on the radial sides
and are therefore common to all
sections cast.
Cooling water for molds and spray
aprons for both machines is supplied
by three pumps capable of pumping
5000 imperial gpm at 100 psi. Two of
OPERATING FLOOR
Fig. 5-Operating floor.
the pumps are equipped with diesel
standby units. Mold cooling water
is on a closed recirculating system,
while spray water is "once-
through." No water treatment be-
yond filtering through 0.010 screens
was originally provided. Distribu-
tion of spray water is controlled
through a system of loading valves
which permit an accurate metering
of flow to each of the four sides of
each zone, a total of 80 adjust-
ments for the machine. Two hun-
ELEVATION t 36L 6'
Continuous Costing 135
dred and fourteen nozzles per strand
are provided.
The bloom machine straighteners
are of six-roll design, consisting of
idle reaction and tangential rolls and
two sets of driven pinch -rolls of
22 in. diameter. Roll positioning is
hydraulically controlled. Straight-
ener rolls and frames are water
cooled.
Blooms are cut to length by means
of travelling oxy-propane torches,
which are automatically pro-
grammed through digital counting
devices. In this way, the operator is
required to initiate only the initial
cut at the dummy bar head; the
cutting sequence, together with the
operation of the runout tables and
hydraulic pushers then proceeds
automatically. Blooms are removed
from beds to cars or bolsters by
magnet.
Dummy bars are of link design
and are fed to the machine from a
storage ramp, which pivots to effect
the disconnect. The disconnect
mechanism is of the conventional
pin and link type, a 115-lb rail sec-
tion being used to form the connec-
tion between head and strand.
The beam machine molds are
block type and divided longitudi-
nally into two sections. The sections
can be rapidly separated by means
of a geared device operated by air
motor. In place of cooling plates; an
additional four-roll spray apron is
provided below the mold giving a
total of six sections in the secondary
cooling area. The upper two sections
are removable through the mold
opening for section changes; the
next two sections must also be re-
moved for adjustment at section
change, and they are mounted on a
carriage, which moves laterally on
tracks out of the spray chamber. All
of these four aprons support the
web and flange ends of the beam
sections. The lower two sections
support only the flange tips and
these are equipped with adjustable
rolls to accommodate varying sec-
tions.
The upper four sections of apron
are equipped with spray headers,
with a total of 406 nozzles per
strand. For blank casting, the lower
two sections have only roll cooling;
spray headers are provided in these
sections for use when casting slabs.
The straightener is a nine-roll ar-
rangement, of which six are driven.
Rolls are 25-in. diameter, except for
the 34-in. diameter tangent roll; all
rolls and frames are water cooled.
Like the lower spray aprons,
straightener rolls contact only the
flange tips.
The general operation o f , the
torch-cutting stations is similar to
that of the bloom machine, except
that two torches per strand are pro-
vided, both cutting inwards from
flange to web. The dummy bar ar-
rangement is also similar; however,
in this case, the chain must be sep-
arated and spacers installed to ac-
136 Open Hearth Proceedings, 1968

I 1

I I
Fig. &Sectional ~rrongenientthrough plant showing bloom machine.

co:mmodate the different blank represent yields from raw ladle steel ladle, the other 80% pouredto ingots
profiles. to good product of 94-95%. The net at the emergency pouring stand. The
The first cast was made on the yield includes only those heats production per turn has been influ-
bloom machine on September 5, which were completely cast on the enced particularly in more recent
1967. Prior to start up, supervisory machine, while the gross yield months by priorities for other uses
personnel trained for a 4-week refers to all ladles sent to the casting of raw steel, and by limitation of
period on multi-strand bloom ma- plant, including those which we grades and proven products from
chines producing a range of prod- were unable to cast because of tem- continuously cast blooms. To date,
uct.~ similar to those we proposed perature, ladle stopper failure, or the bulk of production has been in
to cast. This training period, to- mechanical problems, and those in- structura1,and in high carbon grind-
g'et.her with the several weeks dur- completely cast for similar reasons. ing media grades. Trails are being
ing which the supervisors partici- Of these, about 20% were returned conducted regularly on various
pated in the final assembly, testing to the furnace via the emergency seamless tube grades, but final prac-
and "dry-running" of' the machine,
was of major value in accomplish-
ing a reasonably satisfactory start
up. Supervisors manned the machine Toble I. Production and yield statistics.
on a one-turn basis, for the first (from Sept. 1967 to Feb. 1968)
week during which time the first
operating crew was training. For
the remainder of the first month, this Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
first crew operated on the same five
turns per week basis, with the Casting Turns 21 36 45 41 43 38
Casts Attempted 17 55 95 91 116 106
second crew training. One or two Product Tons 1420 5036 8889 8155 10901 10048
casts per turn were made while Tons per Turn 68 140 197 199 253 266
Net Metallic Yield 82.9 83.1 84.9 83.6 83.5 82.8
machine adjustments were made and Gross Metallic Yield 68.7 75.7 77.2 73.8 77.8 78.1
operating techniques developed. Fol-
lowing the 24th cast, a two-turn
operation was begun, and remained
at t.his level until start of operation Toble II. Costing machine performance.
of the two-strand machine on March (from Sept. 1967 to Feb. 1968)
12, 1968.
Table I details some of our pro- Sept. Oct. Nov. Dee. Jan. Feb.
duction data during the first six
- -
months of operation. The yield
figures quoted are based upon total Casts Attemoted 17 55 95 91 116 106
% ~omplete'~&ts 76.5 80.0 80.0 80.2 87.9 90.5
metallic charge to the basic oxygen % Complete 4 Strands 41.2 40.0 34.8 48.3 48.3 50.9
furnaces since we have no means of :; Strand Completions 66.2 71.9 75.9 76.7 85.7 84.3
Breakouts % Strand Starts 9.2 4.4 3.6 3.0 2.4 2.O
measuring ladle weight. Based upon Ladle Stopper Failure ';; 11.8 9.1 9.5 6.6 1.7 2.8
typical furnaces yields, these would

tices for these have not yet been
established.
Table I1 deals with some elements
of casting machine performance
during the start up period. The per-
centage of complete casts has grad-
ually improved to a level of 90%
or greater, the principal factors af-
fecting this performance being ladle
stopper failures, unsatisfactory tem-
peratures, and mechanical problems
involving the entire machine.
A considerable amount of devel-
opment work has been required to
reduce the rate of ladle stopper
failures from around 10% in early
months to 1-2% presently. A 7-in.
nozzle with 1%-in. bore is used, in
A , Cone 32-33 fireclay composition.
conventional quality 8-in. diameter
sleeves and heads are used, and
despite ladle temperatures of 100F
above normal practice, and retention
times averaging 80-85 min, we
haven't found it necessary to use
air cooled rods. A ladle preheating
facilities is under construction; if
ladles are to be preheated with
stoppers set, air cooling of the rods
may well become necessary. Since
ladles are used interchangeably be-
tween; 'conventional and continu-
ously.'cast heats, no evaluation is yet
available of the effect of higher
t e m ~ e ~ a t u r eand
s extended holding
times on lining performance. Lining
life on all oxygen furnace ladles
presently'averages 32 heats. It is also
too early to assess accurately the
influence of higher tapping tempera-
tures on 'oxygen furnace lining life;
however, at full production a loss of
20-25% on conventional lining ma-
terials might be expected, and will
have to be compensated for through
the use of higher quality refrac-
tories.
The percentage of casts completed
on four strands has remained below
50% up to the present. This figure
is not a precise measure of strand
losses during casting, since it also
includes the casts which were begun
on fewer than four strands. In the
course of the first 500 casts, for
example, 152 casts, or 30% were
started on three strands or fewer.
When a breakout or other strand
failure occurs early in an operating
shift, it is our normal practice to
cast the remaining heats on that
day on three strands, making repairs
on the down shift. Three-strand
casts typically required 75-80 min.
A second major cause of strand
losses is frozen nozzles, particularly
on outer strands. Ninety-nine such
losses were encountered in the first
500 casts. This problem appears to
be peculiar to very large tundishes,
even when stopper-controlled, and is
not altogether a result of inadequate
preheat. A large ladle nozzle should
improve end nozzle performance, by
reducing the time necessary to fill
the tundish. In addition, a tundish
redesign will remove these end noz-
zles from the extreme ends of the
tundish and provide a better metal
flow in the area of the nozzles.
Other more common causes of
strand losses have been loss of noz-
zle control, particularly in the latter
stages of multiple casts, equipment
failures i n , the oscillator-stqaight-
ener-dummy bar disconnect and
torch cut functions, and breakouts.
Nozzles used at present are con-
ventional casting pit quality fire-
clay with mullite inserts. Bore varies
from 3/4 in. to 1 in., depending upon
steel grade and strand size to pro-
vide a casting speed of 40 to 45 in.
in the 10% x 9 in. section, 30-35 in.
in the larger sections. Performance
of these nozzles has been satisfactory
for all high carbon grades, even on
multiple casts, and for single casts
of lower carbon structural grade
steels. The problem of nozzle qual-
ity, and of nozzle-stopper configura-
tion to provide fully reliable con-
trol for all grades and practices has
not been fully solved.
Equipment malfunctions in the
first months of operation accounted
for about 15% of all strand losses.
In the past two months, however,
as a result of modifications to both
equipment and techniques, these
failures have been reduced to less
than 3% of total strand losses.
While the trend in breakout fre-
quency has been generally. down-
ward, breakouts continue to be the
single most serious problem in
maintaining machine availability
and controlling maintenance costs.
In the first 500 casts, a total of 56
breakouts have occurred, a fre-
quency based on strand starts of
3.1%. In the early stages of opera-
tion, a large percentage of these
could be attributed to such operator
errors as packing failures, and ex-
cessive or variable speed, or to such
equipment malfunctions as prema-
ture disconnects and roll pressure
fluctuations. More recently, however,
the majority of breakouts appear to
be associated with temperature of
metal and with mould condition. As
indicated earlier, temperature stra-
tification in the ladle poses a prob-
lem in starting the cast without
nozzle freeze-up. In order to insure
a reasonable chance of starting
without such freeze-ups, a ladle
temperature greatly in excess of that
required for castability is necessary.
Typically, on 0.18-0.20 carbon
grades, a tap temperature of 3000F
is required to provide a ladle tem-
perature at the machine of 2925 to
2935F. At these levels, the tundish
temperature at start of cast will be
2800-282O0F, and in the first 20 to
25 min of cast, will peak at 2860-
2880F. A large percentage of break-
outs occurs in this peak temperature
period as indicated on the graph
(Fig. 7). The second graph illus-
trates the variations in tundish tem-
perature occurring on a multiple
cast involving four high carbon
heats (Fig. 8).
An argon stirring facility being
installed, together with ladle pre-
Continuous Casting 137
heating, is expected to be of benefit
in a number of areas. There is evi-
dence that tapping temperatures
may be considerably lower if tem-
perature stratification in the ladle
can be eliminated; this would im-
prove furnace operating conditions
by lowering refractory wear, tap
t o ' t a p times, and oxygen consump-
tion. Uniform temperature distribu-
tion in the ladle should greatly re-
duce the frequency of "cold starts,"
one of the major sources of strand
losses prior to, and during cast, and
also eliminate the tundish tempera;
ture "peaks" to which many break-
outs are attributed.
The original molds on the bloom
machine were of electrolytic tough
pitch copper. No provision was made
for supporting the bloom from thc
bottom of the mould through the
cooling plate area to the top apron
rolls. We experienced an extremely
rapid rate of mould wear in the
lower part of the plates, in which the
original 0.060-in. taper on the
straight sides was lost within 20
to 30 casts, and wear continued at
a rate of 2-3/1000's per cast. Ther~e
is little doubt that the resulting
"negative taper" results in erratic
cooling of the strand, and in irreg:
ular corner and wall thickness,
which manifests itself first as rhom-
boidity, later as longitudinal face or
corner cracks, and ultimately as
breakouts. It has also been our e x -
perience that the corner radius pro-
vided on the liner plates makes the
machining of the plates to restore
mould dimensions and geometry a
very difficult undertaking. Mainten-
ance of properly fitted corners after
machining has been almost impossi-
ble, and opening up of these cor,ners'
during cast, particularly during ex-
tended multiple casts, also lead's to
corner defects, cracks, and break-
outs.
There are many potential solutioris
to the problem of maintaining mould
geometry and tightness. It should
be possible to reduce the rate of
copper wear through the use of a
type of copper with greater strength
at operating temperatures or of a
higher strength surfacing material.
Early results on hard chrome plating
have been encouraging, the first
mold installed having some of the
original taper remaining after 150
casts; several similar trials are in
progress. Trials of silver-bearing
copper are planned. The first trial
of an attached foot-roll arrangement
also showed some improvement,
presumably by equalizing air gap
formation on all sides of the mold.
Maintaining the proper setting, and
alignment of a foot-roll is critically
important, and difficult to accom-
plish on a curved mold machine;
however, its potential value in re-
ducing mold wear and providing
more uniform cooling has led us to
pursue this aspect further with the
development of an infinitely adjust-
able assembly which will be much
138 Open Hearth Proceedings, 1968
Fig. 7-Relationships of breakouts to time and temperature.
more readily aligned than the orig-
inal arrangement.
The problem of corner tightness
can probably be corrected through
the elimination, or drastic reduction,
of corner radius; or through the
development of a one-piece mold
liner. While the large strand size
precludes the use of the conven-
tional extruded tube, other ap-
proaches such as welded construc-
tion are worthy of exploration.
.Although mold conditions are con-
Fig. 8-Fluctuation of
multiple casts.
sidered to .be the principal factor
affecting breakout frequency and
bloom quality, careful attention
must also be given to the quantity
and distribution of secondary cool-
ing water. The cooling plates are
potentially a highly efficient method
of removing heat, but only if they
are precisely aligned in relation to
the strand. Ideally a uniform gap
should exist between plate and
strand on all surfaces, to permit
proper flow of water from the
steel temperature in the tundish during
plates. If, however, because of mold
wear or of misalignment of mold
and plates, the strand is allowed
to contact the plates on one or
another side, the effectiveness of the
cooling is lost and distortion of the
bar results. The accurate alignment
of a mold, oscillating on a curved
path, with the stationary plate as-
sembly is a difficult and painstaking
job, and it is moreover question-
able whether even a perfectly
aligned assembly remains so during
an extended casting period. If it is
possible to develop a foot-roll, which
will maintain mold bottom dimen-
sions and eliminate the tendency of
the bar to "wander" upon leaving
the mold, cooling plates may be
more effective than conventional
sprays in the area directly below
the mold. Meanwhile, a number of
installations have been made ex-
tending the top spray aprons up-
wards to replace the plates; early
observations indicate an improve-
ment in strand geometry and in
wear rate on the mold, again pro-
vided the top apron rolls are ac-
curately aligned and sized with re-
spect to mold dimensions.
Considerable modifications of
cooling water flow rates have been
made on the bloom machine since
beginning operation. Mold water
flows have been varied from 300 to
550 imperial gpm, or from approxi-
mately 3-5% lb of mold water per
lb of steel. Our observations are that
within these ranges, heat removal
in the mold is relatively constant,
the temperature differential vary-
ing in inverse proportion to flow
rate. It is probable, however, that
very low mold water flows, while
not greatly affecting heat removal,
will contribute to more rapid copper
wear. Flows presently are in the
order of 4 lb per lb of steel.
Original secondary cooling flows
on 0.18 to 0.20 carbon steels were in
the region of 140 gpm (1.4 lb per lb
steel), and resulted in withdrawal
temperatures of 1500 to 1600F.
Severe central star-cracking oc-
curred under these conditions, and
has been largely eliminated by re-
ducing spray water rates to about
1 lb per lb steel. On high carbon
grades the rate is further reduced
to 0.75 lb per lb steel. Only sufficient
water is used on the lower two
sections of spray apron to cool the
equipment.
In many cases, such defects as
concavity, longitudinal face cracks,
and rhomboidity could be traced to
maldistribution of secondary cooling
water. Nozzle blockage has been a
continuing problem and is aggra-
vated through the use of either
smaller nozzles or lower pressures to
attain reduced flows. Considerable
production time has been lost
through the necessity to remove,
clean, and re-position large num-
bers of nozzles. and it is a ~ ~ a r e n t
that the single filter original& pro-
vided is not adequate to ensure re-

- -
Table I l l . Multiple cajts and distribution by grades.
(from Sept. 1967 to Feb. 1968)
Sept. Oct.
Casts Attempted 17 55
Sb Cast Multiple - -
Tundishes Used 17 55
Tons per Tundish 83.5 91.6
:L Heats < 30 C 100.0 100.0
Heats > 60 C - 2.1
liable spray patterns. As a result of
our experience on the bloom ma-
chine, secondary cartridge-type fil-
ters were installed on the blank
machine where the much larger
number of very small nozzles, many
of them inaccessible for routine in-
spection and cleaning, would be an
even greater problem. It is planned
to provide similar 25-micron filters
on the bloom machine as well.
Some of the statistics relating to
multiple casting are shown in Table
111. It is considered essential that
this procedure be used on a regular
basis if the rated capacity of the
plant is to be realized. Although
the average casting time for four-
strand casts is 57 min, the overall
average including casts on fewer
than four strands is 67 min. Simi-
larly while the average time from
finish cast to "machine ready" is
53 min, the actual average from
finish cast to start cast is 77 min.
The difference of course lies in the
fact that ladles cannot be scheduled
to arrive exactly when required;
no steelmaking shop can be expected
to make ladle deliveries with such
precision, when the cycle time
varies by up to 30 min, without
incurring serious production delays.
Thus, the potential of the machine
is limited to 3.3 casts per turn on
single casts, and while some im-
provements in times and sequencing
can be expected, these are likely to
be more than offset by production
delays arising out of mechanical
failures, tundish delays, breakouts,
and the like. It can be seen that if
it is possible to average three ladles
per tundish, the cycle time reduces
to 96 min and the output potential
rises to five casts per turn. Cleanout
of tundishes, together with setting
of nozzles, preparation and setting
of stopper rods, and preheating is
costly and time-consuming; fre-
quently operations are delayed by
Continuous casting has altered for
many of us the concept that cast-
- - - -
G. H. WOODHOUSE is operations mbnager,
Manitoba Rolling Mills, Selkirk, Manitoba,
Canada.
- - - - - - -- - -
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
95 91 llG 106
23.2 50.6 75.0 48.2
84 67 61 75
105.8 121.7 178.7 134.0
95.8 52.8 33.6 51.9
45.1 60.3 40.6
tundish availability. If a tundish can
be used for even two casts on a
regular basis, the tundish aisle bot-
tleneck can be eliminated, and re-
fractory and fuel costs sharply re-
duced.
The ladle car arrangement de-
scribed allows changing of ladles to
be achieved rapidly. On many oc-
casions the interval from emptying
one ladle to opening the next has
been 40 sec or less, and rarely over
1% min, while tundish capacity even
at normal level will allow 3-4 min
of casting.
There are a number of factors in-
fluencing the success of multiple
casting.
1. Careful co-ordination between
steelmaking and casting operation
to ensure accurate arrival time of
ladles without delaying furnace se-
quences; normally it is possible to
cast successive heats from the same
furnace though delays in either shop
occasionally dictate changing fur-
naces. Immediately the cast begins,
steelmaking personnel are advised
of the anticipated completion time
and subsequent ladle arrival times
established.
2. Performance of tundish refrac-
tories, principally nozzles and
stopper rods. The mullite insert noz-
zles currently in use have been dis-
cussed earlier; erosion of these noz-
zles over extended casting times has
limited multiple casting to two heats
in the case of structural grades.
Throttling of stoppers to control
speed when nozzles become enlarged
is not a satisfactory solution, since
sustained throttling causes rapid
damage to stopper heads and also
results in undesirable stream char-
acteristics. The use of stoppers ne-
cessitates rather large nozzles in
order to provide reliable seating of
the head and to produce an accept-
able stream. In nozzles of this size,
by G. H. Woodhouse
ing of steel is to be regarded as a
function secondary in importance to
the conversion of steel in the fur-
nace. The paper this afternoon on
the casting of blooms and beam-
blank shapes is another major step
forward in the development of con-
Continuous Casting 139
there are decided advantages, eco-
nomic and otherwise, in the insert
rather than the solid type. As noz-
zles of improved design and refrac-
toriness become available, we would
hope to be able to cast all grades
on a multiple basis in the same way
that high carbon grades are pres-
ently handled. On these latter
grades, three or more heats are cast
in sequence regularly, and are rarely
terminated as a result of refractory
problems. On one occasion, six heats
totalling 620 net tons were cast on
four strands with a total casting
time of 6 hr, 38 min. The longest
casting period was 7 hr, 6 min, when
five heats were cast on three strandsl
3. Operator fatigue. When more
than two ladles are cast consecu-
tively, it is necessary to provide
spell operators to relieve the strain
and monotony of extended casting
periods. It is in such circumstances
as these that mold level contro,l
equipment becomes attractive on
large strand machines, in reducing
the degree of concentration required
of the operators. At the relatively
low casting speeds employed, there
is some doubt of its justification for
single ladle casting.
The potential value of argon stir-
ring has been discussed earlier. The
elimination of wide variations an?
excessive peaks in tundish tempera-
tures would increase the reliability
of multiple casting through reduced
nozzle and stopper erosion. It may
well be that the better starting con-
ditions resulting from uniform ladle
temperature, together with possible
improvements in metal fluidity at-
tainable by modifications in deoxi-
dation practice, will permit us to
eliminate some or all of the stopper
rods. Improvements in tundish re-
fractory costs and tundish avail-
ability, as well as in stream char-
acteristics, would be possible if
stopper rods were not required.
The process for the continuous
casting of blanks for symmetric,al'
H-Section and I-Section beams (dog
bones) and certain other similar
shapes was developed jointly by A1-
goma and The British Irori & Steel
Research Association (BISRA) . Pat-
ents for this process have been ap-
plied for in Belgium, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Nor-
way, Sweden, and the United States
and patents have already been is-
sued for the process in Belgium,
France, and Italy.
tinuous casting. Algoma Steel is to
be congratulated on their initiative
foresight in undertaking the devel-
opment of procedures for casting
beam-blank shapes. Common to
most developments, a number of ad-
justments to the process remain to
140 Open Hearth Proceedings, 1968
be solved; but the results achieved mately 12%. Gentlemen, this is not
to date are most encouraging. a unique experience. Higher tap-
In discussing this paper emphasis ping temperatures, prolonged ex-
or attention is drawn to several posure on occasions, and the neces-
factors which we feel are of par- sity to preheat the ladle to higher
ticular importance. Questions have temperatures all contribute to this
been raised as to the ideal design problem. Anyone contemplating
of the mould. The effect of the continuous casting would do well
corner radius has been sighted. Ex- to pay careful attention to the
perience would indicate that large changes that must be made to pit
radii have a tendency to fail by procedures. A significant cost in the
cracking at the top of the quadrant, start up of casting machines has
whereas small radii result in crack- been the loss of metal to t h e , pit
ing at the end of the quadrant. Little and in some cases, damage to the
information is available on the use casting machine caused by stopper
of square corners with virtually no failures. Another aspect of the prob-
radius, but it is our personal feel- lem concerns the quality of the ma-
ing that such a design would op- terials used in the production of
erate very satisfactorily. We appre- casting ladle stoppers. The need ex:
ciate, however, that mill men nor- ists to develop better quality' con-
mally prefer a radius on the corner trol procedures and, if possible, a
but there are a number of desirable practical method in inspection of
features from the point of view of the stoppers to determine those that
casting. With a corner joint, some are faulty.
of the difficulties experienced in the Excessive temperature gives rise
joints opening up during casting to a delay in the solidification and
would be eliminated. In this latter a rise in the temperature of the
regard, we experienced the same solidifying shell. Normally, in solidi-
problem of the corner opening up fying the shell, the mould will ex-
and appear to have achieved some tract around 10% of the total heat
s,uccess by machining a taper on the content in the steel. A 50 degree
joint to key it in. rise in temperature increases the
( Recognizing the fact that the ideal total heat content of the steel by
mould is one with taper; we would an amount that represents approxi-
question the advisability of only mately 20% of the total heat ex-
tapering the straight sides. It would tracted by the mould. On the other
be our feeling that this would rise hand, this 50 degree rise in tempera-
to uneven cooling. Was it difficulty ture of the metal only gives rise
:in manufacturing that resulted in to an increase heat extraction by
the decision to taper only the the mould of approximately 3%.
straight sides? Do you feel the taper Under the ferrostatic pressure of
on the straight sides is essential? the liquid steel, the stress in the
'Was wear on the outside radius of shell is increasing while the shell
the mould also a problem? strength is decreasing. The tendency
The results indicated with hard to longitudinal surface cracking
chrome plating are significant. These giving rise to breakouts increases.
results are similar to our experience. Careful control of those factors
Chrome plating ' increases 'the re- which influence the temperature of
sistance to wear; but we have also the metal in the tundish is essential.
seen some indication that chrome Referring to the graph which
plating permits better penetration shows the relationships of break-
of the lubricating oil to the bottom outs to time and temperature, the
a.reas of the mould. conclusion is drawn that the peak
The difficulties experienced in the incidence of breakouts occurs at the
use of the cooling ,plates is noted.
' time the temperature in the tundish
There is no question that cooling reaches a maximum. The graph
plates give rise to more rapid cool- clearly indicates that the frequency
ing and, hence, the possibility of of breakouts is less as the tempera-
increased casting speed. The prob- ture decreases. The critical period
lems associated with the accurate in continuous casting is, however,
alignment of the plates, and the during the beginning of the cast,
nlould wear due to lack of support, as a number of conditions are un-
would indicate that at the present stable at this period. A contributing
time, cooling plates cannot be con- factor to breakouts is also cold
sidered an economic operational starts. This situation may also be
component for casting billets and a contributing factor to the shape
blooms. of the curve obtained. There is some
Stopper rod failures at the start indication that the peak incidence
up ran at a frequency of approxi- of breakouts occurs ahead of the
peak temperature. Was this latter
factor assessed in arriving at the
conclusions stated?
Efforts at reducing tapping tem-
perature through preheating of the
ladle to higher temperatures or re-
moval of temperature stratification
in the ladle through argon stirring
give every indication of being very
beneficial. The graph showing fluc-
tuations of steel temperature in the
tundish during multiple casts indi-
cates a wide variation-in tempera-
ture. Were these multiple casts made
using argon stirring and is this tem-
perature variation typical of the
results obtained with argon stirring?
Argon stirring is also effective in
inclusion removal as is evidenced
by measuring the total oxygen con-
tent in the steel. Unfortunately, at
the present time, we do not have
a practical method for continuously
measuring free oxygen in the steel,
but it is hoped that developments
in this area may give us such a tool
in the near future. Small volumes
of argon help in the removal of the
large inclusions, which can become
trapped on the mould wall thus
reducing the strength of the shell.
One of the most significant costs
in continuous casting is the cost
of lining and repairing the tundish.
Some of the wroblems associated
with the cost of the tundish lining
lie in the severe erosion of the re-
fractories at the point of entrance
of the steel from the ladle. A hard
wearing refractory in this area is
essential. Tundish design including
such factors as shape, capacity, and
metal head have a very significant
bearing on tundish costs and tun-
dish stream control.
The question of ideal steel tem-
perature, cooling procedure as re-
lated to grade of steel being cast,
is a problem which most steel plants
have learned through trial and er-
ror. This area has been indicated
as a critical one in this paper. The
fact that piggy-backing of heats has
been difficult on all grades of steel
is an indication of this fact. Mea-
surements of the liquid core by ul-
trasonics, beta gage, or other
methods, coupled with heat balances
arrived a t by measurement of heat
extraction of the cooling media,
should provide data that, when pro-
cessed in a computer, will give a
better indication of ideal casting
conditions. Knowledge and the ap-
plication of continuous casting in
the steel industry is progressing
rapidly. The paper presented here
today has made a major contribu-
tion to this field.