Thin-slab casting continues to evolve quickly as steelmakers work to increase throughput and quality. Compared with Nucor's first SMS thin-slab caster in Crawfordsville, Ind., the next generation of casters arc longer, use thicker molds combined with liquid-core reduction (LCR), and have more sophisticated oscillators and cooling systems (see table). The caster at Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) in Butler, Ind., is the first of the second-generation SMS machines to come on-line (see related story, this issue). The caster has electromagnetic braking (EMBR) on the variable-width mold to reduce turbulence, and therefore slag entrainment, as well as a submerged entry nozzle (SEN) designed by SDI. Mold thickness can range from 40 to 80 mm, and slab thickness can be reduced below the mold by an additional 20 mm to a minimum size of 40 mm. The minimill has not installed the LCR section yet.
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