Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH (Linz, Austria):

Pennerstorfer P., Mag. Eng., Head of Technology Continuous Casting
Thöne H., Mag. Eng.
Wimmer F., Mag. Eng., Product Development & Simulation, e-mail: wimmer.franz@siemens.com

Casting technology originally began with vertical machines and took a big portion of ingot steel production achieving conside rable cost savings. By improving the new continuous casting technique, the bow-type caster emerged and became more and more important due to further savings. But in terms of very special steel grades and highest quality demands, the ingot and the vertical continuous cas ting route are still the preferred solutions. Their outstanding features include the prevention of bending and straightening forces, optimal cleanness, and symmetry and homogeneity of the produced slabs or blooms. In addition to continuous improvements and upgrading with modern technological packages, this paper presents some examples. Principal scheme of a vertical continuous caster allows to cast practically all steel grades, especially those that are characterized by instabi lity at the bow-type casting machines. The only one restriction is concluded in presence of suitable slag-forming mix, because its absence requires lowering of liquidus temperature during casting or varying of special physical parameters or chemical composition of cast special steels. Such undesirable restrictions for special steels are connected with technological flexibility of the continuous casters. Updated enginee ring methods use the most recent technological tools (such as physical-mathematical simulation) and are capable to provide the new level of productivity on the base of such continuous casting machine.

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