CA1077233A - Continuous casting of steel - Google Patents
Continuous casting of steelInfo
- Publication number
- CA1077233A CA1077233A CA276,151A CA276151A CA1077233A CA 1077233 A CA1077233 A CA 1077233A CA 276151 A CA276151 A CA 276151A CA 1077233 A CA1077233 A CA 1077233A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- steel
- tundish
- heating
- casting
- channels
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22D—CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES
- B22D11/00—Continuous casting of metals, i.e. casting in indefinite lengths
- B22D11/10—Supplying or treating molten metal
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22D—CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES
- B22D11/00—Continuous casting of metals, i.e. casting in indefinite lengths
- B22D11/14—Plants for continuous casting
- B22D11/147—Multi-strand plants
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure A method and apparatus for true, uninterrupted continuous casting of multiple castings of steel is disclosed; the equipment includes particu-larly a heated tundish with multiple outlets whereby the heating insures uniformity in the temperature of the steel as it is poured through casting heads into the several molds. Each individual outlet can be interrupted, for example, electromagnetically, or through slide locks without however, interrupting the casting process as a whole. The casting heads are parti-cularly constructed for rapid exchange.
Description
~77Z33 The present invention relates to continuous casting of steel with emphasis on true continuity.
Generally speaking it is a known fact that for small cross sections of the casting the throughput of steel is correspondingly small; the through-put may be about 500 killograms per minute maximum. On the other hand, it has to be observed that the temperature of the steel in the ladle drops during the casting process so that the residence time of the steel is limited.
Therefore if relatively large quantities of molten steel are to be processed in that manner and involving particularly castings of small cross sections, it is necessary to cast a plurality of such small ingots simultaneously.
On the other hand it has to be observed that the number of castings cannot be increased arbitrarily because the distance between the point of charging, e.g., a tundish serving as a distributor for the steel, and the various locations of discharge into the respective molds may well be different for the different molds, for example, some molds are positioned relatively far from the charge points of the tundish and the temperature drop may be significant. One can, therefore, say that for a given casting machine there is a limit in the number of castings that can be produced, and for small cross sections the amount of steel processed in that manner is well below the maximum throughput of the concurrently operating steel converter.
In order to obtain the maximum possible use of a given casting machine a timing relation is necessary between the steel production and the casting operation. Any interruptions in the casting process provide detrimental feedback to the steel making process. From a different point of view, it has to be observed that if one provides a maximum number of cas*ings for a given throughput of steel then the resulting ingots and billets may be larger than needed or than can be processed, for example, within a particular time frame. This in turn will lead to a reduction in equipment use, the equipment will run at less than maximum capacity.
3Q Another problem, of course, is that in between two melts or in between two - 1.-. ~ ~
.
10~7233 sequences of continuous casting or both, the casting machine runs idle.Also, in most instances, the tundishes have to be changed from time to time.
All that amounts to an interruption in the production.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved continuous casting machine and method operating independently from the intermittency of steel production but permitting true, uninterrupted continu-ous casting as a whole, and permitting repairs and replacement of critical portions without shut down of the machine as a whole.
The invention provides method of continuous casting a plurality of castings in parallel using a tundish comprising the steps of, extracting a plurality of flows or steel from the tundish; individually controlling the flows of steel; and heating the tundish to obtain heating of steel as temporarily stored in the tundish.
From another aspect, the invention provides apparatus for continu-ous casting a plurality of castings in parallel which includes a plurality of molds for continuous casting, the improvement comprising a tundish having a plurality of feeder channels for respectively feeding the molds of the plurality; means for individually controlling the flow of steel in the feeder channels; and means for heating the tundish to obtain heating of steel as temporarily stored in the tundish.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a tundish is heated, preferably using strategically distributed induction heaters, and has a plurality of output channels or ducts each ending in preferably rapid-exchange type casting heads for feeding individual molds. The individual tundish outlet channels are separately and individually closeable so that an individual casting head-mold configuration can be operatively disconnected from the tundish without interrupting the casting process as a whole.
The inventive machine therefore permits a proper adjustment between steel production and the continuous casting proper whereby the heated tundish operates as a temporary store, reservoir, or buffer which maintains the steel at the necessary temperature even if the residence time for that steel is '~ ~
~07~233 relatively long. As a practiced rule, it was found to have the amount of steel stored in the tundish to be larger than the threefold amount that leaves the tundish per minute.
It was found that the pouring period of the ladle is much better utilized with such equipment and the steel has the same temperature in each of the outlets irrespective of the distance of any of the outlets from the charge point of the tundish. Therefore there is in particular no temperature .
-2a-differential among the several outlets and, most importantly, the temperature of the steel pouring into the individual molds is no longer dependent upon the residence time of the steel in the tundish even though the period of time between the extraction of such steel from the steel making process up to the time it is poured into the mold may vary greatly. Also, the heated tundish buffers the intermittency of steel production and ladle pouring.
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the in-vention, it is believed that the invention, the objects and features of the invention and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a lateral, section view through equipment improved in accordance with the present dimensions, Figure 2 is a top view of the device as shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a detail of the machine shown in Figure 1, in section view but on an enlarged scale, and Figure 4 shows a modification of the preferred embodiment of the present invention also in section view, analogous to Figure 1.
Proceeding now to the detailed description of the drawings Figures 1 and 2 show a tundish 1 with plural outlet channels or feed ducts, each duct or channel being covered by a cover 5. The tundish itself is covered by a top 3. Each of the outlet channels 4 is constructed as an upwardly sloping conveyor and steel is moved up against gravity by electromagnetism.
Turning the energization off amounts to a shu~ down of steel flow ir. the respective duct; the top of the conveyor will always be above the steel level in the tundish.
The ducts are releasably connected to tundish 1 and each is provided 3~ with a casting head 6 being of the rapid exchange variety. A plurality of -molds 6a are respectively disposed un~er the casting heads 6 and serve as outlets to feed the respective mold 6a.
The tundish 1 is, in addition, provided with a plurality of in-ductive heaters 2 which are more or less irregularly arranged along the bottom of vessel 1. The inductive heaters are in particular removably connected to tundish 1. The molten material, i.e., steel is fed by means of a siphon 16 into the tundish, and the arrangement of inductive heaters ensures a uniform heating of the molten steel in the tundish so that particularly the steel flows into the channels and into the molds at the same temperature.
The Figure 3 shows an individual casting head of the quick 7 change variety on an enlarged scale. The head 6 has a slide path or sliding guide 7 which is part of a slide lock having also a seal 8. This particular locking and connection mechanism is located away from the mold to facilitate rapid exchange of the casting head. The slide guide 7 and the seal 8 could have horizontal disposition instead of the vertical one illustrated.
The head 6 itself is comprised of a trough or channel shaped body 9 having a connection 10 at its inlet side for communicating with the top of the conveyor. Each head 6 has an opening 11 in which is inserted an immersion type feed pipe 12 which dips into the mold. The head 6 is addi-tionally provided with a lid or cover 13 having a closeable opening 14 being located opposite the outlet 11.
Figure 4 illustrates a mechanical slide lock and gate 15 for the molten material in a duct 41 leading from the tundish to the rapid change casting head 6'. The duct 41 can also be separated from this head as well as from the tundish. The steel flows in the ducts or channels 41 by the force of gravity.
The machine as illustrated works as follows. Molten steel flows from the ladle through this externally disposed and exchangeable siphon 16 into the heated tundish 1. The particular steel may be metallurgically and/or thermally treated in the tundish and from there the steel flows through electromagnetical (Figure 1) or gravity ~Figure 4) conveyor channels towards individual exchangeable casting heads.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 1, etc., the tundish is constructed as an induction channel furnace of elongated configur-ation, basically being arranged in parallel to the row of molds 6a. The several inductor heaters 2 are independently controllable to obtain a constant temperature of the passing steel, being temporarily stored into the tundish whereby particularly a constant distribution of the temperature over the length of the tundish is obtained. Accordingly, the various castings as produced by the several molds are produced with steel having the same temperature. In particular the temperature of the steel as it pours into the mold being the farthest from the siphon is not, or only very insig-nificantly, different from the temperature of the steel flowing out of the casting head being positioned the closest to the siphon 16. Any temperature difference is really only the result of differences in operation of the controlled induction heaters, and has very little relation to the length of the flow path of the steel from the siphon to the respective casting heads and mold. It can also be seen that the tundish 1 can be made quite long and the number of molds being fed can be selected accordingly.
The fact that the tundish works as a heated, temporary store and reservoir permits an entension of the period of casting because any loss in temperature, e.g. in the ladle is readily compensated. The tundish serves also as a bufer to take up the difference in the timing of the steel-making process on one hand and the casting machine and its operation on the other hand. The storage capacity of the tundish should be about three times the rate of outflow per minute through all of the channels and molds. In other words, the heated, temporary storing of the molten steel permits a relative shortening of the ladle pouring period in relation to the total period of casting. In general, the period between extracting the molten steel from the 1~7Z33 steel-making facility and actual charging of the molds can be varied.
Utilizing the maximum permissible residence time of the steel in the ladle permits a further extension of the casting period as a whole, and it is for this reason that the tundish buffers the intermittency of steel-making to arrive at a truly continuous casting.
The particular casting and distributor channels 4 are conventionally used for the separation of slag from the steel. It will also ~e observed that the machine of Figure 1 exhibits a comparatively small almost ~eglible ferrostatic pressure at the outlet of the casting head which in turn means that the falling stream of poured steel penetrates very little into the casting ingot being formed in the molds 6a. The equipment is provided for automatically interrupting the flow of steel in the case of any interference and disturbance in the respective conveyor channels so that followup interference as it is conventional in stopper control equipment will not be observed here. Either the electromagnetic conveyor is turned off, or the slides ~15) are closed.
It is important to realize that the tundish is covered and contains a significant amount of steel. Due to the heating the upflow of non-metallic inclusions is enhanced, which in turn means a further increase in the quality of the castings. The particular tundish permits in addition metallur-gic treatment of the steel such as alloying de-sulphurization, etc. The treatment of course, must be controlled in dependence upon the rate of flow of the steel as it passes from the siphon to the various outlets.
A particularly advantageous side effect here is the thermally induced flow of the molten steel in the tundish on account of the operation of the induction heaters. This convection or convective flow can be used for treating the steel in the tundish. Moreover, one obtains a rapid homogeniza-tion and a rapid uniformity in temperature. Since each mold is fed individu-ally and since the flow of steel can be metered individually as to each mold and casting head one can also provide for individual metallurgic treatment, `'': , :
:: . .. :
~077Z33 for example, in the respective channel 4. In other words, it is not required that all of the castings result in the same kind of ingot. From an overall point of view, it will readily be appreciated that the inventive method and equipment amounts to a significant expansion of continuous casting as a technique and a particular machine permits optimized matching of the through-put in the steel-making process to the casting process under the inherent constraints which such a casting process poses particularly when the cross sections of the ingots are to be rather small.
The particular opening 14 in head 6 is provided for the purposes of control and supervision of the respective casting head so that the wear and tear of the head can readily be observed and monitored. If an exchange is needed, the flow of steel to this particular casting head is stopped without however, interrupting the operation of the other heads and molds and the particular head is being exchanged by a new one.
The utilization of electromagnetically operated conveyor channels for the steel replaces stopper control and permits individual shut down of the channels, e.g., for purposes of replacement or repairs of the casting heads, molds, etc., without interrupting the casting as a whole. Each channel, head and mold constituting a casting branch can individually be halted and started up again. Conventional equipment required simultaneous starting and stopping. This was particularly critical when "freezing" of any stopper had to be avoided, and was complicated and required extensive use of personnel.
The fact that the connection and joining to the respective channel is located fairly remote from the respective mold facilitates the rapid exchange. Due to individual channel shut down a head can be exchanged regardless whether or not steel just pours into the tundish. Extensive personnel is not needed because the heads will be exchanged one at a time, so will be any maintenance of any channel.
For purposes of head exchange, the head is lifted, i.e., slid up, in the centering connection 7 so that the casting pipe 12 is lifted out of the ' ~07~Z33 mold, and the head is then removed as is convenient for such an operation.
If the casting head is not provided with an immersion pipe, the head may be slid off laterally using suitable lifters.
As stated such an exchange of the several casting heads will be carried out independently so that the machine as a whole can continue to runJ and casting in the branch which was interrupted for any reason can be resumed immediately following, e.g. J the exchangeJ replacement, repair, etc. It can thus be seen that the entire casting machine operates on a continuous basis and intermittency is introduced only in one particular mold at a time, while casting continues in the other molds. It can also ~ -be seen that the periodic exchange and renewal of equipment before excessive wear has begun to pose problems with regard to the quality of the casting are possible without any interruption in the overall operation. It should be noted, that this independence of the individual branches is independent also from the sequence of tundish charging.
The particular device illustrated could be modified, in that the feeder path from the heated tundish to the individual molds is carried out on the basis of gravity (Figure 4) whereby the flow is in effect driven by the ferrostatic pressure in the tundish. In this case, of course the steel will
Generally speaking it is a known fact that for small cross sections of the casting the throughput of steel is correspondingly small; the through-put may be about 500 killograms per minute maximum. On the other hand, it has to be observed that the temperature of the steel in the ladle drops during the casting process so that the residence time of the steel is limited.
Therefore if relatively large quantities of molten steel are to be processed in that manner and involving particularly castings of small cross sections, it is necessary to cast a plurality of such small ingots simultaneously.
On the other hand it has to be observed that the number of castings cannot be increased arbitrarily because the distance between the point of charging, e.g., a tundish serving as a distributor for the steel, and the various locations of discharge into the respective molds may well be different for the different molds, for example, some molds are positioned relatively far from the charge points of the tundish and the temperature drop may be significant. One can, therefore, say that for a given casting machine there is a limit in the number of castings that can be produced, and for small cross sections the amount of steel processed in that manner is well below the maximum throughput of the concurrently operating steel converter.
In order to obtain the maximum possible use of a given casting machine a timing relation is necessary between the steel production and the casting operation. Any interruptions in the casting process provide detrimental feedback to the steel making process. From a different point of view, it has to be observed that if one provides a maximum number of cas*ings for a given throughput of steel then the resulting ingots and billets may be larger than needed or than can be processed, for example, within a particular time frame. This in turn will lead to a reduction in equipment use, the equipment will run at less than maximum capacity.
3Q Another problem, of course, is that in between two melts or in between two - 1.-. ~ ~
.
10~7233 sequences of continuous casting or both, the casting machine runs idle.Also, in most instances, the tundishes have to be changed from time to time.
All that amounts to an interruption in the production.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved continuous casting machine and method operating independently from the intermittency of steel production but permitting true, uninterrupted continu-ous casting as a whole, and permitting repairs and replacement of critical portions without shut down of the machine as a whole.
The invention provides method of continuous casting a plurality of castings in parallel using a tundish comprising the steps of, extracting a plurality of flows or steel from the tundish; individually controlling the flows of steel; and heating the tundish to obtain heating of steel as temporarily stored in the tundish.
From another aspect, the invention provides apparatus for continu-ous casting a plurality of castings in parallel which includes a plurality of molds for continuous casting, the improvement comprising a tundish having a plurality of feeder channels for respectively feeding the molds of the plurality; means for individually controlling the flow of steel in the feeder channels; and means for heating the tundish to obtain heating of steel as temporarily stored in the tundish.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a tundish is heated, preferably using strategically distributed induction heaters, and has a plurality of output channels or ducts each ending in preferably rapid-exchange type casting heads for feeding individual molds. The individual tundish outlet channels are separately and individually closeable so that an individual casting head-mold configuration can be operatively disconnected from the tundish without interrupting the casting process as a whole.
The inventive machine therefore permits a proper adjustment between steel production and the continuous casting proper whereby the heated tundish operates as a temporary store, reservoir, or buffer which maintains the steel at the necessary temperature even if the residence time for that steel is '~ ~
~07~233 relatively long. As a practiced rule, it was found to have the amount of steel stored in the tundish to be larger than the threefold amount that leaves the tundish per minute.
It was found that the pouring period of the ladle is much better utilized with such equipment and the steel has the same temperature in each of the outlets irrespective of the distance of any of the outlets from the charge point of the tundish. Therefore there is in particular no temperature .
-2a-differential among the several outlets and, most importantly, the temperature of the steel pouring into the individual molds is no longer dependent upon the residence time of the steel in the tundish even though the period of time between the extraction of such steel from the steel making process up to the time it is poured into the mold may vary greatly. Also, the heated tundish buffers the intermittency of steel production and ladle pouring.
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the in-vention, it is believed that the invention, the objects and features of the invention and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a lateral, section view through equipment improved in accordance with the present dimensions, Figure 2 is a top view of the device as shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a detail of the machine shown in Figure 1, in section view but on an enlarged scale, and Figure 4 shows a modification of the preferred embodiment of the present invention also in section view, analogous to Figure 1.
Proceeding now to the detailed description of the drawings Figures 1 and 2 show a tundish 1 with plural outlet channels or feed ducts, each duct or channel being covered by a cover 5. The tundish itself is covered by a top 3. Each of the outlet channels 4 is constructed as an upwardly sloping conveyor and steel is moved up against gravity by electromagnetism.
Turning the energization off amounts to a shu~ down of steel flow ir. the respective duct; the top of the conveyor will always be above the steel level in the tundish.
The ducts are releasably connected to tundish 1 and each is provided 3~ with a casting head 6 being of the rapid exchange variety. A plurality of -molds 6a are respectively disposed un~er the casting heads 6 and serve as outlets to feed the respective mold 6a.
The tundish 1 is, in addition, provided with a plurality of in-ductive heaters 2 which are more or less irregularly arranged along the bottom of vessel 1. The inductive heaters are in particular removably connected to tundish 1. The molten material, i.e., steel is fed by means of a siphon 16 into the tundish, and the arrangement of inductive heaters ensures a uniform heating of the molten steel in the tundish so that particularly the steel flows into the channels and into the molds at the same temperature.
The Figure 3 shows an individual casting head of the quick 7 change variety on an enlarged scale. The head 6 has a slide path or sliding guide 7 which is part of a slide lock having also a seal 8. This particular locking and connection mechanism is located away from the mold to facilitate rapid exchange of the casting head. The slide guide 7 and the seal 8 could have horizontal disposition instead of the vertical one illustrated.
The head 6 itself is comprised of a trough or channel shaped body 9 having a connection 10 at its inlet side for communicating with the top of the conveyor. Each head 6 has an opening 11 in which is inserted an immersion type feed pipe 12 which dips into the mold. The head 6 is addi-tionally provided with a lid or cover 13 having a closeable opening 14 being located opposite the outlet 11.
Figure 4 illustrates a mechanical slide lock and gate 15 for the molten material in a duct 41 leading from the tundish to the rapid change casting head 6'. The duct 41 can also be separated from this head as well as from the tundish. The steel flows in the ducts or channels 41 by the force of gravity.
The machine as illustrated works as follows. Molten steel flows from the ladle through this externally disposed and exchangeable siphon 16 into the heated tundish 1. The particular steel may be metallurgically and/or thermally treated in the tundish and from there the steel flows through electromagnetical (Figure 1) or gravity ~Figure 4) conveyor channels towards individual exchangeable casting heads.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 1, etc., the tundish is constructed as an induction channel furnace of elongated configur-ation, basically being arranged in parallel to the row of molds 6a. The several inductor heaters 2 are independently controllable to obtain a constant temperature of the passing steel, being temporarily stored into the tundish whereby particularly a constant distribution of the temperature over the length of the tundish is obtained. Accordingly, the various castings as produced by the several molds are produced with steel having the same temperature. In particular the temperature of the steel as it pours into the mold being the farthest from the siphon is not, or only very insig-nificantly, different from the temperature of the steel flowing out of the casting head being positioned the closest to the siphon 16. Any temperature difference is really only the result of differences in operation of the controlled induction heaters, and has very little relation to the length of the flow path of the steel from the siphon to the respective casting heads and mold. It can also be seen that the tundish 1 can be made quite long and the number of molds being fed can be selected accordingly.
The fact that the tundish works as a heated, temporary store and reservoir permits an entension of the period of casting because any loss in temperature, e.g. in the ladle is readily compensated. The tundish serves also as a bufer to take up the difference in the timing of the steel-making process on one hand and the casting machine and its operation on the other hand. The storage capacity of the tundish should be about three times the rate of outflow per minute through all of the channels and molds. In other words, the heated, temporary storing of the molten steel permits a relative shortening of the ladle pouring period in relation to the total period of casting. In general, the period between extracting the molten steel from the 1~7Z33 steel-making facility and actual charging of the molds can be varied.
Utilizing the maximum permissible residence time of the steel in the ladle permits a further extension of the casting period as a whole, and it is for this reason that the tundish buffers the intermittency of steel-making to arrive at a truly continuous casting.
The particular casting and distributor channels 4 are conventionally used for the separation of slag from the steel. It will also ~e observed that the machine of Figure 1 exhibits a comparatively small almost ~eglible ferrostatic pressure at the outlet of the casting head which in turn means that the falling stream of poured steel penetrates very little into the casting ingot being formed in the molds 6a. The equipment is provided for automatically interrupting the flow of steel in the case of any interference and disturbance in the respective conveyor channels so that followup interference as it is conventional in stopper control equipment will not be observed here. Either the electromagnetic conveyor is turned off, or the slides ~15) are closed.
It is important to realize that the tundish is covered and contains a significant amount of steel. Due to the heating the upflow of non-metallic inclusions is enhanced, which in turn means a further increase in the quality of the castings. The particular tundish permits in addition metallur-gic treatment of the steel such as alloying de-sulphurization, etc. The treatment of course, must be controlled in dependence upon the rate of flow of the steel as it passes from the siphon to the various outlets.
A particularly advantageous side effect here is the thermally induced flow of the molten steel in the tundish on account of the operation of the induction heaters. This convection or convective flow can be used for treating the steel in the tundish. Moreover, one obtains a rapid homogeniza-tion and a rapid uniformity in temperature. Since each mold is fed individu-ally and since the flow of steel can be metered individually as to each mold and casting head one can also provide for individual metallurgic treatment, `'': , :
:: . .. :
~077Z33 for example, in the respective channel 4. In other words, it is not required that all of the castings result in the same kind of ingot. From an overall point of view, it will readily be appreciated that the inventive method and equipment amounts to a significant expansion of continuous casting as a technique and a particular machine permits optimized matching of the through-put in the steel-making process to the casting process under the inherent constraints which such a casting process poses particularly when the cross sections of the ingots are to be rather small.
The particular opening 14 in head 6 is provided for the purposes of control and supervision of the respective casting head so that the wear and tear of the head can readily be observed and monitored. If an exchange is needed, the flow of steel to this particular casting head is stopped without however, interrupting the operation of the other heads and molds and the particular head is being exchanged by a new one.
The utilization of electromagnetically operated conveyor channels for the steel replaces stopper control and permits individual shut down of the channels, e.g., for purposes of replacement or repairs of the casting heads, molds, etc., without interrupting the casting as a whole. Each channel, head and mold constituting a casting branch can individually be halted and started up again. Conventional equipment required simultaneous starting and stopping. This was particularly critical when "freezing" of any stopper had to be avoided, and was complicated and required extensive use of personnel.
The fact that the connection and joining to the respective channel is located fairly remote from the respective mold facilitates the rapid exchange. Due to individual channel shut down a head can be exchanged regardless whether or not steel just pours into the tundish. Extensive personnel is not needed because the heads will be exchanged one at a time, so will be any maintenance of any channel.
For purposes of head exchange, the head is lifted, i.e., slid up, in the centering connection 7 so that the casting pipe 12 is lifted out of the ' ~07~Z33 mold, and the head is then removed as is convenient for such an operation.
If the casting head is not provided with an immersion pipe, the head may be slid off laterally using suitable lifters.
As stated such an exchange of the several casting heads will be carried out independently so that the machine as a whole can continue to runJ and casting in the branch which was interrupted for any reason can be resumed immediately following, e.g. J the exchangeJ replacement, repair, etc. It can thus be seen that the entire casting machine operates on a continuous basis and intermittency is introduced only in one particular mold at a time, while casting continues in the other molds. It can also ~ -be seen that the periodic exchange and renewal of equipment before excessive wear has begun to pose problems with regard to the quality of the casting are possible without any interruption in the overall operation. It should be noted, that this independence of the individual branches is independent also from the sequence of tundish charging.
The particular device illustrated could be modified, in that the feeder path from the heated tundish to the individual molds is carried out on the basis of gravity (Figure 4) whereby the flow is in effect driven by the ferrostatic pressure in the tundish. In this case, of course the steel will
2~ not be metered in the channel, but passes from the tundish through fireproof pipes 41 or ducts, which are also releasably connected to the bottom of the tundish and have an~outlet that can be opened and closed through a slide lock and of course, they are also connected to rapid exchange types of casting head being of the variety outlined above. The steel flow is metered preferably through metering equipment in such a head and may include a stopper 62 or the like in order to control the flow of steel into the mold without being dependent upon the possibly varying ferrostatic pressure in the tundish system.
Finally it should be mentioned that the invention arose of course, in an environment and from a problem inherent in the requirement of having 1(;~77233 to process particular amounts of steel within certain periods of time while casting machines have certain constraints as to throughput, particularly if the ingots are perhaps small in cross section. That problem is solved and particularly the casting can be matched to the steel production. Moreover, the casting of billets of small cross sections can be carried out more economically. ~owever, the particular mode of heating the tundish is applicable also to casting machines having but a few or a single casting outlet.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but all changes and modifications thereof not constituting departures from the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included.
Finally it should be mentioned that the invention arose of course, in an environment and from a problem inherent in the requirement of having 1(;~77233 to process particular amounts of steel within certain periods of time while casting machines have certain constraints as to throughput, particularly if the ingots are perhaps small in cross section. That problem is solved and particularly the casting can be matched to the steel production. Moreover, the casting of billets of small cross sections can be carried out more economically. ~owever, the particular mode of heating the tundish is applicable also to casting machines having but a few or a single casting outlet.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but all changes and modifications thereof not constituting departures from the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included.
Claims (21)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Apparatus for continuous casting a plurality of castings in parallel which includes a plurality of molds for continuous casting, the improvement comprising a tundish having a plurality of feeder channels for respectively feeding the molds of the plurality; means for individually controlling the flow of steel in the feeder channels; and means for heating the tundish to obtain heating of steel as temporarily stored in the tundish.
2. Apparatus as in Claim 1 wherein said means for heating includes means for inductive heating.
3. Apparatus as in Claim 1, wherein said means for heating includes a plurality of heaters spaced at different distances from a feed and charge point of the tundish.
4. Apparatus as in Claim 1, wherein said means for heating provides for constant temperatures of the steel in the several outlets.
5. Apparatus as in Claim 1, wherein said feeder channels include means for electromagnetically moving the steel from the tundish to the molds of the plurality.
6. Apparatus as in Claim 1, wherein said tundish has a capacity in excess of the threefold amount of steel flowing through all of said channels.
7. Apparatus as in Claim 1, said channels being connected to the tundish near the bottom thereof.
8. Apparatus as in Claim 1, wherein each of said feeder channels includes an exchangeable casting head.
9. Apparatus as in Claim 8, wherein each of said heads includes a chute connected to the respective feeder channel.
10. Apparatus as in Claim 8, each of the casting heads includes means for connection to the feeder channels.
11. Apparatus as in Claim 10, wherein said means for connection includes a slide lock.
12. Apparatus as in Claim 10, wherein said means for connection is located away from said mold.
13. Apparatus as in Claim 10, wherein said means for connection includes means for sealing.
14. Apparatus as in Claim 10, wherein said means for connection includes means for orienting and sealing the head in relation to the channel.
15. Apparatus as in Claim 8, wherein said heads respectively include immersion pipes.
16. Apparatus as in Claim 8, wherein said head includes a closable opening for inspection.
17. Apparatus as in Claim 1, wherein said means for heating is a plural-ity of independently placed heaters.
18. Apparatus as in Claim 1, wherein said tundish includes releasable connections for a charge inlet, and for said outlet channel.
19. Method of continuous casting a plurality of castings in parallel using a tundish comprising the steps of, extracting a plurality of flows or steel from the tundish; individually controlling the flows of steel; and heating the tundish to obtain heating of steel as temporarily stored in the tundish.
20. Method as in Claim 19, wherein said heating provides for constant temperatures of the steel in the several flows.
21. Method as in Claim 19, wherein the heating is accompanied by metallurgical treatment of the steel.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE19762617263 DE2617263A1 (en) | 1976-04-15 | 1976-04-15 | PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR FULLY CONTINUOUS STEEL PASTING IN CONTINUOUS CASTING PLANTS |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1077233A true CA1077233A (en) | 1980-05-13 |
Family
ID=5975794
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA276,151A Expired CA1077233A (en) | 1976-04-15 | 1977-04-14 | Continuous casting of steel |
Country Status (7)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS52126620A (en) |
| AT (1) | ATA114577A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1077233A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2617263A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2347998A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1581069A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1077791B (en) |
Family Cites Families (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE713584C (en) * | 1937-01-16 | 1941-11-10 | Siegfried Junghans | Plant for pouring straights |
| FR1129402A (en) * | 1949-10-12 | 1957-01-21 | Pouring gutter | |
| CH439603A (en) * | 1966-05-25 | 1967-07-15 | Olsson Ag Erik | Casting vessel for metallic melts |
| FR2077767A1 (en) * | 1970-02-12 | 1971-11-05 | Lectromelt Corp | Transporting crucible for conveying molten - metal from furnace to moulds |
| US3525506A (en) * | 1968-09-05 | 1970-08-25 | Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp | Tundish-tundish roof assembly |
| SE357686B (en) * | 1969-05-21 | 1973-07-09 | Asea Ab | |
| FR2364719A1 (en) * | 1976-09-20 | 1978-04-14 | Kuhn Sa | Vessels for molten metal for casting or treatment - which are surrounded by short induction heating coil to maintain correct temp. |
-
1976
- 1976-04-15 DE DE19762617263 patent/DE2617263A1/en active Pending
-
1977
- 1977-02-21 AT AT114577A patent/ATA114577A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1977-03-17 JP JP2975577A patent/JPS52126620A/en active Pending
- 1977-03-18 GB GB1161977A patent/GB1581069A/en not_active Expired
- 1977-04-13 FR FR7711051A patent/FR2347998A1/en active Pending
- 1977-04-13 IT IT2243177A patent/IT1077791B/en active
- 1977-04-14 CA CA276,151A patent/CA1077233A/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPS52126620A (en) | 1977-10-24 |
| IT1077791B (en) | 1985-05-04 |
| FR2347998A1 (en) | 1977-11-10 |
| ATA114577A (en) | 1980-11-15 |
| DE2617263A1 (en) | 1977-10-20 |
| GB1581069A (en) | 1980-12-10 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |