RAPID THICK STRIP CASTING--CONTINUOUS CASTING WITH MOVING MOULDS

摘要

Moving mould for the future... Due to mechanical reasons, conventional lubricated oscillating moulds limit the casting velocity. If the friction in the mould grows too strongly, the thin strand shell can tear, in a worst case followed by a breakout. However these constraints are not applicable to moving moulds. RTSC (Rapid Thick Strip Casting) is an innovative concept for the production of hot strip. The particular innovation of the mechanism consists in replacing the stationary oscillating mould with a mould performing a caterpillar motion. A new mould design is able to eliminate former failures and problems. The key factor in the new design consists of a parallelogram-shaped strand cross section. Straight below the caterpillar-mould, a shaping machine is placed with a secondary cooling zone. This is where the conventional rectangular shape is formed by inline-shaping with liquid core. RTSC is a new technology offering the option of high productivity. Studies indicate that a casting speed in a range of 20 to 30 m/min at a final as-cast cross section of e.g. 20 mm x 1600 mm is possible. The strand width is easily adjustable and the final product only requires low metal forming degrees in comparison to conventional slabs.