Continuous Casting Mold Bulges for Direct Rolling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of continuous casting plants and rolling trains is hindered by differences in throughput, speed, and temperature distribution, requiring additional heating and complex systems to maintain optimal rolling conditions, which increases costs and operational complexity.
Innovation Solution
The use of continuous casting molds with peripheral bulges that ensure uniform cooling and temperature distribution, allowing direct feeding of billets and blooms to the rolling train without additional heating, utilizing molds with cross-sectional enlargements that reduce arc heights as the strand travels, enabling homogeneous temperature and efficient casting speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the cast strand is fed directly into the rolling mill without additional heating, then energy consumption is reduced and operational costs are lowered, but the temperature distribution in the strand is non-uniform (cold edges) which prevents direct rolling
Solution Approach 1:
The mold cavity is designed with peripheral bulges that create non-uniform cooling during casting, pre-distributing temperature more evenly throughout the strand cross-section before it leaves the mold. This preliminary temperature equalization eliminates the need for subsequent heating operations while avoiding cold edges that would prevent direct rolling.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold cavity incorporates localized geometric variations (peripheral bulges) that create different cooling rates in different regions of the strand. The bulges cause enhanced cooling at specific peripheral locations while maintaining appropriate temperatures in the core, achieving overall temperature homogenization without uniform cooling that would create cold edges.
2Temperature
If additional heating devices are installed to equalize temperature distribution, then homogeneous temperature is achieved, but system complexity and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The casting process itself is modified to perform the temperature equalization function that would otherwise require separate heating equipment. The mold cavity geometry is designed to automatically create the desired temperature distribution through controlled cooling patterns during solidification, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for external temperature equalization devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold cavity geometry is changed by introducing peripheral bulges that modify the cooling parameters during casting. This geometric parameter change transforms the thermal field distribution, creating homogeneous temperature conditions without requiring additional heating equipment or process changes downstream.
3Productivity
If the continuous casting speed is increased to improve productivity, then output increases, but the temperature distribution becomes more non-uniform and direct feeding to rolling mill becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mold cavity is designed with peripheral bulges that create enhanced cooling at the edges during the brief casting process. This preliminary cooling action compensates for the reduced residence time at higher casting speeds, ensuring that even at increased productivity levels, the strand emerges with homogeneous temperature distribution suitable for direct rolling.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies the system configuration and reduces operational costs by enabling direct feeding of cast strands to the rolling train with homogeneous temperature distribution, eliminating the need for additional heating and maintaining favorable casting advantages, such as a square cross-section format, which allows for high-speed continuous casting and efficient rolling.
Implementation Method 1
the arc heights of the bulges decrease in the direction of strand travel in such a way that during the casting operation a strand shell forming in the mold cavity is deformed as it passes through the mold, and this ensures uniform cooling and shell growth
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
In a process for producing long steel products by continuous casting of steel into billets (5) and subsequent rolling of these billets and pre-cast billets, the liquid steel is poured into a continuous casting mold (3). The cast billets (5) are fed directly to a rolling mill (20) essentially without reheating. This results in a simpler plant configuration and enables more cost-effective operation.