CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW VERTICAL CONTINUOUS CASTER AT DILLINGER-HUTTENWERKE-AG

Objective. In September 1996 Dillinger Huttenwerke AG placed an order with SMS Schloemann-Siemag AG for a new continuous slab easter, Beside s the required diversity of sections ranging from 1400 mm x 230 mm to 2200 mm x 400 mm, the design has had to take account of product qualit y demands relating to internal cracking, cleanness and centre segregat ions. Summary. The optimum concept to meet these requirements is a two -strand easter of vertical design in which bending takes place after c omplete solidification. Internal cracking is avoided because the stran d shell is not strained by bending or straightening with a liquid core . The clean ness is characterised by a low number of inclusions and a statistical distribution over the entire cross-section: there are no s trand top-side accumulations typical for curved-mould casters respecti vely vertical bending machines. Macro segregations are minimised by in tensive cooling in combination with the soft reduction technique, To g uarantee optimum product quality even under non-steady casting conditi ons, a new type of segment featuring a hydraulically positionable loos e side has been developed, The segments make it possible to optimally adjust the soft reduction parameters, such as position and rate, to th e prevailing casting conditions during casting under load (dynamic sof t reduction).