Claims
- 1. An apparatus for continuously casting steel slabs, comprising:
- a mould having two longitudinal sides comprising copper for holding liquid steel, the mould being adapted to hold a predetermined amount of liquid steel to form a top surface at a predetermined position in the mould;
- a plurality of cooling pipes each having an end disposed proximate to the mould, the ends of the cooling pipes collectively defining an ideal envelope surface;
- a feeding nozzle having an outlet end adapted to be submerged in the liquid steel in the mould;
- wherein the geometry of the nozzle and the mould as measured along a cross section taken along the top surface at the predetermined position satisfies the equation:
- 0.9.ltoreq.((A1/S1)/(A2/S2)).ltoreq.1.1
- wherein:
- A1 is the area between the outlet end and the longitudinal sides bounded by two lines extending generally perpendicularly between the longitudinal sides of the mould and each intersecting one of two lateral ends of the outlet end;
- S1 is twice the length of one longitudinal side of the mould as measured between the two lines;
- A2 is the area enclosed by the mold not including A1 and not including the area of the outlet end;
- S2 is the entire perimeter of the mould less S1; and
- wherein a normal distance measured between the ideal envelope surface and a corresponding mould wall is generally constant.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the geometry of the nozzle and the mould as measured along the top surface at the predetermined position satisfy the equation:
- 0.95.ltoreq.((A1/S1)/(A2/S2)).ltoreq.1.05.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the geometry of the nozzle and the mould as measured along the top surface at the predetermined position satisfy the equation:
- ((A1/S1)/(A2/S2))=1.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the normal distance is in the range of between about ten millimeters to about twenty-five millimeters.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an oscillator attached to the mould for generating a stationary wave in the liquid metal, the stationary wave having an average amplitude of between about two millimeters and about ten millimeters.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a ratio between the amplitude of the stationary wave as measured in millimeters and a casting speed of the apparatus as measured in meters per minute is less than or equal to about five.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the standard deviation of a height of an upper surface of the liquid metal in the mould is in the range of between about 0.7 millimeters and about 1.5 millimeters from the predetermined position.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
- an oscillator attached to the mould for generating a stationary wave in the liquid metal; and
- a controller operatively engaged with the oscillator for varying an amplitude of the stationary wave in the range of between about two millimeters and about ten millimeters.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the oscillator includes a plurality of springs that are operated at a natural frequency of the oscillator.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
MI96A2336 |
Nov 1996 |
ITX |
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of International Application PCT/IT97/00276, filed Nov. 12, 1997, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2 005 784 |
Apr 1971 |
FRX |
1 558 376 |
Mar 1970 |
DEX |
41 42 447 A1 |
Dec 1992 |
DEX |
43 41 719 C1 |
Apr 1995 |
DEX |
44 36 990 C1 |
Dec 1995 |
DEX |
60-247451 |
Dec 1985 |
JPX |
62-040962 |
Feb 1987 |
JPX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCTIT9700276 |
Nov 1997 |
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