Improvement of Steel Quality by Advanced Tundish Technology in New Slab Caster at Kakogawa Works, Kobe Steel, Ltd

摘要

Recently, continuously cast steel production is subject to complex user requirements and also to small lot sizes. To meet these requirements, a new tundish technology has been adopted in No. 4 slab caster in which a hot tundish is used repeatedly. As a result, refractory, energy and labor costs have been reduced, and higher productivity and higher quality have been achieved. These quality improvements have been achieved during the start and end of casting and also during the ladle exchange in unstable casting conditions. The countermeasures taken for quality, especially for inclusions, in unstable casting conditions are reported in this paper.