US3349837A - Continuous casting apparatus with means supporting only outer portions of non-uniformingot - Google Patents

Continuous casting apparatus with means supporting only outer portions of non-uniformingot Download PDF

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Publication number
US3349837A
US3349837A US472820A US47282065A US3349837A US 3349837 A US3349837 A US 3349837A US 472820 A US472820 A US 472820A US 47282065 A US47282065 A US 47282065A US 3349837 A US3349837 A US 3349837A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
ingot
mold
belt
concavity
starting plug
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 - Lifetime
Application number
US472820A
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English (en)
Inventor
Kenneth J Brondyke
Richard T Craig
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Alcoa Corp
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Aluminum Company of America
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Aluminum Company of America filed Critical Aluminum Company of America
Priority to US472820A priority Critical patent/US3349837A/en
Priority to GB32026/66A priority patent/GB1126125A/en
Priority to NO163975A priority patent/NO118187B/no
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3349837A publication Critical patent/US3349837A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • 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
    • B22D11/12—Accessories for subsequent treating or working cast stock in situ
    • B22D11/128—Accessories for subsequent treating or working cast stock in situ for removing
    • B22D11/1284—Horizontal removing

Definitions

  • the solidified ingot when it reaches the support means, is out of alignment and tends to settle downwardly to the support means thereby flexing the ingot axis which, in turn, results in a serpentine appearance along the ingot length and necessitates excessive scalping and material waste.
  • This difliculty is alleviated if the support means is arranged to support only the outermost portion of the ingot width, that is those portions of the ingot width where the concavities run-out does not ex ceed 50% of the total concavity run-out.
  • This invention relates to the continuous casting of metal ingots in horizontaly disposed open ended molds, and especially to casting ingots of the light metals, alu' minum and magnesium, together with their alloys.
  • molten metal is provided in a reservoir most often separated from an open ended horizontal mold by a partial barrier having an opening to conduct liquid metal from the reservoir to the drastically chilled mold from which the solidifying metal is continuously withdrawn in a horizontal direction.
  • Means are provided for withdrawing and supporting the ingot emerging from the mold, and, accordingly, an endless belt, a series of rollers, or the like, is disposed to bear against the bottom surface of the ingot.
  • the belt or other support can be powered to serve the dual functions of supporting and withdrawing the ingot.
  • an ingot 10 cast in a mold having a rectangular opening 12 will exhibit a concave surface condition 14 which necessitates removal of a large amount of metal to provide a flat ingot for hot rolling or the like.
  • This non-uniform or disproportionate shrinkage or contraction in the vertical dimension is attributed to a non-uniform heat extraction condition in that more heat is extracted from the metal in the outer portions of the ingot width.
  • the bottom and top surfaces, and sometimes the side surfaces, of the mold opening are shaped to provide a concave wall configuration as shown in FIGURE 2.
  • the ingot 10 is cast in a mold having concave inside top and bottom surfaces 20 to produce an ingot cross-section 12 which is substantially flat surfaced.
  • a starting plug 74 as shown in FIGURE 3, of suitable size and configuration is used to close the mold outlet, generally by being inserted thereinto.
  • the casting run is initiated by permitting molten metal to fill the mold and withdrawing the starting plug with the solidified, or partially solidified, ingot connected thereto. A'fter withdrawal of the starting plug, the mold outlet is closed to the flow of liquid metal by the solidified ingot metal.
  • FIG. 1 is a representation of a rectangular mold opening and the ingot cross-section obtained from it
  • FIG. 2 is a representation of a concave mold opening and the rectangular ingot cross-section obtained from it
  • FIG. 3 is an elevation, partially in cross-section, of a horizontal casting apparatus
  • FIG. 4 is an elevation in cross-section of an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 3 Suitable apparatus for continuous casting in a horizontally disposed mold is illustrated in FIG. 3 wherein molten metal reservoir 30 is provided on one side of an insulating barrier or closure 32. On the opposite side of the closure is a horizontally disposed mold 34 which is chilled by suitable cooling means such as water headers 36 provided with holes 38 to permit spraying water 40 against the surfaces of the mold and the ingot emerging therefrom.
  • suitable cooling means such as water headers 36 provided with holes 38 to permit spraying water 40 against the surfaces of the mold and the ingot emerging therefrom.
  • An opening 44 is provided in closure 32 for passage of liquid metal from the reservoir 30 to the chilled mold.
  • the reservoir is enclosed by suitable insulating members 48, and the molten metal surface 31 is maintained at. a higher elevation than that of the emerging ingot, such that any liquid metal 51 within the mold 34 is under a positive liquid metal head.
  • the ingot 60 may be solidified some time prior to reaching the support means which, in this case, consists of an endless belt 64 supported by belt rollers 66 and the belt support plate 68.
  • the belt rollers 66 are about 20 to 25" in diameter and spaced about 6 to feet apart.
  • the belt width is most often at least as wide as the ingot.
  • the distance between the mold outlet and the initial contact between the belt and the ingot generally ranges from 10 to 30".
  • some means such as overhead roller 70 may be provided to urge the ingot against the ingot support means to assure intimate ingot contact with the belt.
  • the belt rollers 66 can be powered as by motor 67, so that the belt performs both the functions of supporting the ingot and withdrawing the ingot.
  • the power transmission preferably includes a variable speed feature to allow for the different casting or ingot withdrawal speeds. Another advantage here is that when starting the casting run, the starting plug is best brought up to the desired casting speed somewhat gradually.
  • rollers may be used in lieu of belts; the prime mover for ingot withdrawal may be something other than the support means, for instance hold down roller 70 may be driven by motor 71.
  • Various schemes here will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, although the powered belt shown in FIG. 3 has been found to perform quite reliably.
  • the ingot support surface of the belt must be aligned with the ingot as it reaches the belt to avoid causing the ingot deflection, but an alignment problem is encountered in that the bottom surfaces of the ingot and starting plug reach the support belt at different elevations.
  • the severity of the alignment problem in terms of ingot waviness is related to the size and shape of the ingot cross-section.
  • a relatively small symmetrical crosssection, such as a 6" square poses a relatively minor problem in this respect, although a 6 thick by 30 wide section may have a misalignment equal to dimension x in FIGURE 2, of V1".
  • the misalignment between the emerging ingot and the support means is not critical so long as it is significantly less than A". However, as the condition approaches Ma" and increases,
  • the invention is concerned with the condition where mold bottom surface exhibits a substantial concavity, but more particularly where this concavity is A" or more, and especially where it is A" or greater, in which case the resulting ingot waviness can cause extremely costly metal scrap losses.
  • the solution to the alignment problem in accordance with the invention contemplates supporting both the starting plug and the -ingot connected thereto only at the outer portions of their respective widths. Such can be accomplished by the provision of two narrow belts in lieu of the single wide belt 64, or the positioning of two such belts upon an existing single belt. For instance, referring to FIG. 4, the substantially fiat-bottomed ingot 60 is supported only on the outer. portion of its width by narrow belts 65, as is also the starting plug 74.
  • a practical limit in accordance with the invention is that the ingot and starting plug not be supported by more than that part of the outer width portion which corresponds to a maximum concavity run-out of of the total concavity.
  • this value is further limited to a maximum of /8".
  • one side of the ingot is supported at any point between the outer edge 16 and point 18 which corresponds to a concavity run-out y of not more than 50%, or half, of x, or across this entire outer band, as by a belt or roller band of suitable width to support the side of the ingot from point 18 to point 16, the other side of the ingot width being similarly supported.
  • each belt 65 supports the ingot and the starting plug 74 at the outer portion of their respective widths, the support provided thereby not extending inward, toward the center of the ingot width, beyond that portion of the ingot corresponding to a mold bottom surface run-out of 50% of the total concavity.
  • y in FIG. 2
  • the belt support plate 68 may be wide enough to support both belts or it can comprise two separate plates to provide separate support for each belt, although the former may be preferred in that it assures that the belts will describe a common plane. While extensive reference to supporting the ingot by an endless belt has been described, rollers or the like can also be used within the scope of the invention.
  • bands may be positioned about their periphery to provide the same support in5 accordance with the invention as furnished by the belts 6
  • the dimensions of the belt cross-section can vary considerably in that any thickness which permits the starting plug bottom to clear the belt support plate 68 will suffice.
  • a thickness of to /1" has been found to be highly satisfactory in that it is of sufficient thickness to be used with molds having a bottom surface concavity of /2" which should include almost all ingot sizes of current commercial significance.
  • a fabric and rubber composite belt of this thickness also generally exhibits sufiicient resiliency to compensate for the very minor shrinkage that does occur at the outer portions of the ingot width.
  • the width of the belts is not particularly critical although from the standpoint of commercial practice it is best to select a width and spacing combination compatible with as many ingot sizes as possible. This, of course, minimizes the extent of belt repositioning necessary when changing mold sizes. For instance, positioning two belts each 8" in width and A5" in thickness so as to provide a spacing or gap of about 24" between the belts will accommodate most ingots having widths ranging from 30 to 45". However, it is obvious that many deviations can be made to accommodate the individual circumstances posed by the particular continuous casting apparatus involved and those skilled in the art will have no trouble in utilizing the invention in their particular schemes. For instance, ingot size, composition and casting speed are among the predominate factors to be considered as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
  • Ingots are horizontally cast of an aluminum base alloy having a nominal composition of 4.5 weight percent magnesium, the balance being aluminum and incidental impurities.
  • the ingots have a predetermined cross-section of 16" in thickness by 39" in width with substantially fiat top and bottom surfaces and are intended to be used as stock in a hot rolling mill.
  • the mold has an opening conforming to the crosssection of the ingot except that the top and bottom inner surfaces have a concavity of almost /2".
  • Ingots are cast in an apparatus as generally illustrated in FIGURE 3 and described hereinbefore.
  • a fiat belt is provided to Withdraw the ingot and an overhead hold down roller is employed to assure intimate contact therebetween.
  • the support belt and the bottom surface of the mold are aligned to facilitate withdrawal of the staring plug which, by the way, has a cross-section substantially identical to that of the mold opening except for a small peripheral gap or clearance of, say, or M
  • the starting plug is inserted ino the mold and molten metal is introduced into the molten metal reservoir and thence into the mold. Withdrawal of the starting plug is initiated immediately upon molten metal filling the mold in order to avoid massive freezing of the metal in the mold and reservoir which would then prevent a successful casting run.
  • the ingot immediately adjacent to the starting plug conforms roughly to the convex section thereof, but after a short distance of about acquires very flat surfaces at the top and bottom.
  • the bottom surface of the ingot is disposed /2" above the support belt.
  • This misalignment unless compensated for as described herein, causes the ingot to defleet downwardly /2" to rest upon the belt.
  • the deflection is permanent which causes the axis of the ingot between the mold and support belt to be inclined downwardly toward the belt.
  • the ingot metal emerging subsequently must also deflect downwardly toward the support belt surface. This creates a series of waves or undulations along the length of the ingot.
  • Casting is initiated as before, and here the flat-bottomed ingot misalignment is practically nil such that there are no significant deflections along the ingot length.
  • This ingot can be prepared for hot rolling by the removal of only A" metal from the top and bottom surfaces as opposed to the previous practice of removing A. This savings in metal scrap is highly significant in a commercial operation.
  • An apparatus for the continuous casting of a metal ingot comprising a horizontally disposed open ended mold, the inside surface of the bottom mold wall exhibiting a concavity of at least A3" to compensate for non uniform ingot contraction in the vertical dimension, a starting plug having a cross-section to substantially match that of the mold opening such that it may be positioned within the mold opening to substantially close the same, means for withdrawing said starting plug and the ingot connected thereto from the mold and for supporting only the outer portions of the widths of the starting plug and the connected ingot corresponding to those outer portions of the mold width having a maximum concavity runout of 50% of the total concavity run-out.
  • An apparatus for the continuous casting of a metal ingot comprising a horizontally disposed open ended mold, the inside surface of the bottom mold wall exhibiting a concavity of at least A1" to compensate for nonuniform ingot contraction in the vertical dimension, a starting plug having a cross-section to substantially match that of the mold opening such that it may be positioned within the mold opening to substantially close the same, means for withdrawing said starting plug and the ingot connected thereto from the mold and for supporting only the outer portions of the widths of the starting plug and the connected ingot corresponding to those outer portions of the mold width having a maximum concavity run-out of 50% of the total cavity run-out, but not to exceed /8 3.
  • the supporting means comprises one or more endless belts.
  • the supporting means comprises two endless belts each positioned to support one side of the ingot width.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Continuous Casting (AREA)
US472820A 1965-07-19 1965-07-19 Continuous casting apparatus with means supporting only outer portions of non-uniformingot Expired - Lifetime US3349837A (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US472820A US3349837A (en) 1965-07-19 1965-07-19 Continuous casting apparatus with means supporting only outer portions of non-uniformingot
GB32026/66A GB1126125A (en) 1965-07-19 1966-07-15 Process and apparatus for horizontal continuous casting
NO163975A NO118187B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1965-07-19 1966-07-18

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US472820A US3349837A (en) 1965-07-19 1965-07-19 Continuous casting apparatus with means supporting only outer portions of non-uniformingot

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GB (1) GB1126125A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NO (1) NO118187B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3461197A (en) * 1963-03-22 1969-08-12 Jerome H Lemelson Method for producing composite articles
US3598173A (en) * 1968-10-17 1971-08-10 Olin Mathieson Continuous casting machine having a variable mold length and adapted for casting in a variety of sizes at high speed
US3773099A (en) * 1971-11-18 1973-11-20 I Rossi Continuous casting of strands using thermal stress reinforcement
US4222431A (en) * 1977-07-04 1980-09-16 Alcan Research And Development Limited Continuous casting with resilient strip-edge gripping means

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US944668A (en) * 1908-09-09 1909-12-28 Mathieu Douteur Apparatus for the continuous production of ingots.
US2121280A (en) * 1936-04-06 1938-06-21 Stewarts & Lloyds Ltd Manufacture of steel or other metal billets, bars, or the like
CA531090A (en) * 1956-10-02 Rossi Irving Mold for continuous casting
US2890560A (en) * 1957-10-22 1959-06-16 Ralph W Johns Case flap opener
US3250376A (en) * 1964-01-06 1966-05-10 Nat Biscuit Co Cross collectors for multiple packaging

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA531090A (en) * 1956-10-02 Rossi Irving Mold for continuous casting
US944668A (en) * 1908-09-09 1909-12-28 Mathieu Douteur Apparatus for the continuous production of ingots.
US2121280A (en) * 1936-04-06 1938-06-21 Stewarts & Lloyds Ltd Manufacture of steel or other metal billets, bars, or the like
US2890560A (en) * 1957-10-22 1959-06-16 Ralph W Johns Case flap opener
US3250376A (en) * 1964-01-06 1966-05-10 Nat Biscuit Co Cross collectors for multiple packaging

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3461197A (en) * 1963-03-22 1969-08-12 Jerome H Lemelson Method for producing composite articles
US3598173A (en) * 1968-10-17 1971-08-10 Olin Mathieson Continuous casting machine having a variable mold length and adapted for casting in a variety of sizes at high speed
US3773099A (en) * 1971-11-18 1973-11-20 I Rossi Continuous casting of strands using thermal stress reinforcement
US4222431A (en) * 1977-07-04 1980-09-16 Alcan Research And Development Limited Continuous casting with resilient strip-edge gripping means

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NO118187B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1969-11-24
GB1126125A (en) 1968-09-05

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