CONTINUOUS CASTING OF STEEL: A REVIEW

Abstract
The continuous casting of steel is a highly successful process. One of the
main factors underlying this success is the efficient performance of the
mould flux. It is also known as “strand casting”, in which a metal is
heated until it liquefies and then the molten metal is allowed to solidify
until it becomes a semi-furnished slab that can be later rolled in a
finishing mill or a lathe machine and can be converted into any object of
desired shape with ease[1]. This article covers the basic outline of
continuous casting of steel. Why this method is preferred over the
conventional technique and what are the advantages of this mechanism.
The basic structure of the mechanism is also briefly discussed.

Introduction
Continuous casting has been widely accepted as the most vital
production process in the steel industry till date. The method was first
suggested by Henry Bessemer in 1856 and it came into common practice
by industries in the late 1950s. Prior to it the molten form of steel was
directly poured into the mould to form “ingots” of the steel[2].
Continuous casting produces semi-furnished billets, slab or sheets. It
proved to be of great advantage due to the fact that it yielded pure
quality of steel in comparison to the ingots. Today 95% of the steel is
manufactured by this process.[2]
Literature
The mechanism:
Molten metal is poured into a ladle from furnaces. Then from a
refractory pipe it is transferred to a container called tundish. The tundish
acts as a reservoir to feed the casting machine with an unobstructed
flow, meanwhile the ladle is switched and hence it acts as a buffer of hot
metal.
Now the metal is drained from the tundish to the open base copper
mould through a similar refractory pipe. The height, width and depth of
mould depends on the rate of solidification of steel. The mould is
surrounded by water which works as a coolant to solidify the hot metal
directly in contact with it; this is termed as the “primary cooling
process”. A lubricant (either powder that melts on coming with contact
with the metal, or liquid) is added to the metal in the mould to prevent
sticking, and to capture any residual slag particles—including oxide
particles or scale—that may be present in the molten metal and bring
them to the top of the pool to create a floating layer of slag which can be
removed in regular periods.
In the mould, a thin layer of metal next to the walls of mould solidifies
before the middle section, now called a strand, and exits the base of the
mould into a spray chamber. To increase the process of solidification of
the steel strand, large amount of water is sprayed as it passes through the
spray-chamber; this is called the “secondary cooling process”. Now
remaining solidification of the strand may take place after the strand has
exited the spray-chamber. Finally, the strand is cut into predetermined
lengths by mechanical shears and taken for further modifying if
required.[3]

Advantages of continuous casting:

Continuous casting is the best method for the manufacturing of semi-
finished products of long sizes and it allows the production of huge
quantities within a short period of time.
Compared to casting in moulds, continuous casting heavily reduces the
cost as, for mass production, each ingot required its own mould so the
cost for these mould is omitted and the energy required is also less for
continuous casting.[4]

Gap in research
We saw that how continuous casting of steel brought a great impact on
the steel manufacturing industries by being so energy and cost efficient.
But a precise research needs to be done on few facts. A large portion of
steel remains hot for a considerable amount of time due to which
particles present in the air can react with the hot surface of the steel
hence making it impure and the resulting impurity will make the whole
process useless. Hence to prevent this, the hot metal should be properly
insulated with shroud and the molten metal with a thin layer of slag. It
will minimize the reaction on the surface of metal but absolute
perfection is not possible.
Another anomaly is that the thin strand, that first solidifies while coming
out of the primary cooling process, may break and result the molten
liquid inside it to spill out and damage the machinery and the
surrounding and if there is a human contact it may even lead to death. To
prevent this disaster the cooling sprays can be enhanced and use of
proper lubricant on the insides of the mould to prevent the strand to get
stuck and tear thereby pouring all the molten metal.

References

1. https://www.calmet.com/basics-of-continuous-casting-of-steel/.
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/continuous-
 casting.
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_casting#Problems.
4. https://www.expometals.net/en-gb/metal-working-
basics/continuous-casting-process.