The billet casters of Hoogovens Long Products at Umuiden produce top quality steel grades. In order to understand the influences of casting operations on quality, investigations were started with mould instrumentation. The mechanism of lubrication has been studied with a friction measurement system based on an accelerometer. The slip-stick phenomenon between mould and strand as well as the negative taper have been recognised. The influence of a number of casting parameters on lubrication could be studied using this method. However, the accelerometer system is more sensitive to the condition of the oscillation mechanism and the signal can be deteriorated. Additional measurements were performed by means of thermal monitoring: a mould equipped with thermocouples. In this way information could be obtained about the heat transfer. Thermal monitoring has revealed strong effects of casting parameters, steel grade and billet support below the mould.
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