INVESTIGATING THERMOPHYSICAL INTERACTION OF NARROW STEEL STRIP AND MELT IN CONTINUOUS-CASTING MOLD

The influence of steel superheating above the liquidus temperature, casting speed, and mould cross-section dimensions on the macrostructure of continuously cast curved slabs has been determined. It was found that defects in the axial part of the slab increase with increased superheating, and the use of narrow steel strip of 0.6-3 mm thickness as a coolant in the mould was therefore investigated. It was confirmed experimentally that the temperature of the liquid sump in the upper part of the mould was reduced, and a substantial local influence on the temperature field was also observed. An analytical relation was obtained for the appropriate speed of strip feed into the melt for different situations, and the quality improvement in both as cast and rolled products through the use of this technique with the optimum speed was demonstrated.