Method to produce a metal strip, and production plant implementing said method

Abstract

Method to produce metal strip that comprises the casting of a cast product through a casting machine provided with a crystallizer to obtain a slab, and the hot rolling of the slab in a rolling station to obtain metal strip. The casting machine, during casting, exerts an action of reducing the thickness of the cast product exiting the crystallizer.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention concerns a method to produce a metal strip and the production plant implementing said method.[0002]In particular, the method according to the present invention allows to define the modes to obtain a metal strip and a constructive layout of a plant for producing hot-rolled metal strip.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]In the iron and steel industry, plants for producing metal strip are known which usually comprise a mold configured to cast slabs, extraction devices provided to extract the slabs from the mold, and a rolling line located downstream of the extraction devices, configured to reduce the overall thickness of the slab until a metal strip of the desired thickness is obtained.[0004]Depending on the thicknesses of the metal strip to be obtained, as well as on the overall productivity that the plant needs to have, it is known to suitably size the entire plant so that it complies with the required parameters, at least with regard t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0024]This solution allows to modulate the thickness of the slab exiting the casting machine, as a function of the final strip thicknesses to increase the efficiency of the strip production plant and increase the quality of the strip produced.

[0025]In particular, with the present invention it is possible in some applications to also reduce the number of rolling stands of the rolling station by at least one unit with the same productivity as a known plant. This determines an economic and efficiency advantage of the entire production plant.

[0026]The action of reducing the thickness induced on the strip, produced on each occasion, is divided partly in the casting machine and partly in the rolling station, improving efficiency and increasing the quality of the strip produced.

[0027]If, with the same productivity, the number of rolling stands of the rolling station is substantially the same as that of a known plant, with the present invention it is in any case possible to reduce the number of rolling compressions, since part of the reduction in thickness is carried out directly by the casting machine and not only in the rolling station as occurs in the state of the art.

[0028]This expedient allows to obtain energy savings thanks to a reduction in the pressure of the compression on the slab being rolled, and to obtain a higher quality of the strip because, for example, the profile and the flatness thereof are improved, and the risk of scale impressed onto its surface is reduced.

[0029]Moreover, with the present invention it is possible to reduce maintenance interventions at least in the rolling station.

Problems solved by technology

This sizing, that is, the preparation of the strip production plant, however, sometimes does not allow to reach an effective compromise between the investments required for the construction of the plant, also called Capex, and the operating transformation costs, also called Opex.

There are therefore situations in which the investments incurred for the construction of the production plant are too high compared to the revenues, and therefore a production plant is supplied that is oversized with respect to the client's productivity, or alternatively, situations arise in which the production plant is undersized and therefore does not allow to reach the production capacity required by the client.

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