This invention relates generally to methods of billet casting. Steel is usually produced in a continuous casting process, which involves continuous delivery of molten metal to a caster during a casting campaign. In billet casting, the molten metal is delivered from ladle into a tundish and continuously fed into a mold which simultaneously creates several strands of steel, each strand shaped in a cross section of desired product. Generally, the tundish holds an amount of the molten metal so ladles can be changed without disrupting casting and controls the flow of said molten metal into the mold. After the mold, the strands are taken through guides that take the strands in a curvilinear path and horizontally orient the strands for further processing. The material may be sprayed with a cooling liquid at any point after exiting the mold. After the material has sufficiently cooled and is oriented on the runout table the billets are cut to the desired lengths.
Billet casting may be done in continuous casting the same as slabs with subentry nozzles, but that is generally product dependent and expensive. This method requires significant investment in both the continuous casting equipment and ongoing maintenance. There are also additional characteristics of continuous casting with a subentry nozzle which make it unsuitable for traditional billet casting. There is a need to provide a cost-efficient method of billet casting which produces billets of improved steel quality. Further, billet casting generally employs a mold or molds having a shape of the desired cross sections for the steel products produced. A cost effective method is needed which can eliminate or reduce the amount of waste of casting and improve the quality of a billet.
Disclosed is an efficient method of billet casting which produces billets of improved steel quality without using traditional slab continuous casting. The disclosed method of billet casting comprises the steps of: assembling a billet caster with a shroud extending from a tundish to just above a mold such that the shroud does not contact the molten metal in the mold, delivering the molten metal from a ladle and into the tundish, delivering the molten metal from the tundish through a shroud and to the mold, the shroud inhibiting contact between the molten metal and surrounding atmosphere, casting the molten metal into billets from the mold and cooling the billets below the mold with coolant spray to form cooled billets, and delivering the cooled billets to a runout table to be cut to length. In some examples, the shroud extends between about 1 and 55 mm above the meniscus of the molten metal in the mold. More specifically, the shroud may extend between 1 and 15 mm above the meniscus of the molten metal in the mold.
In methods of billet casting, the shroud comprises a passage for delivering the molten metal to the mold. The passage in the shroud may be tapered from a first shroud end near the tundish to a second shroud end near the mold and above the meniscus in the mold. Further, the passage at the first shroud end may be larger than the passage at the second shroud end and may be tapered. In other examples, the shroud may not be tapered.
In some methods of billet casting, the shroud is formed of refractory material. In particular examples, the refractory material is an alumina-based material. The refractory material may be entire shroud or a portion of the shroud. By example, the refractory material has a thickness of ⅛ inch or more. The refractory material may additionally or alternatively have a variable thickness. Further, the refractory material may be encased by a metal casing. In a particular example, the metal casing has a thickness of 1.5 mm.
In various methods of billet casting, the shroud comprises an upper portion located near the tundish and a lower portion located near the mold, where the upper portion is located above the lower portion. The upper portion may be formed of a material different than the lower portion. By example, the upper portion may comprise a pressed silica outer portion and a zirconia inner portion. One or both portions may be encased by a metal casing, such as previously described. In one example, the upper portion forms a nozzle with a nozzle passage extending from near the tundish to the lower portion. The nozzle passage may comprise a first nozzle end near the tundish and a second nozzle end near the lower portion, where the nozzle passage at the first nozzle end is larger than the nozzle passage at the second nozzle end. By example, the nozzle passage at the first nozzle end may have a diameter of 28.7 mm and the nozzle passage at the second nozzle end may have a diameter of 17.5 mm. Further, a passage of the lower portion may have a larger diameter than the passage at the second nozzle end.
The shroud extends from tundish to just above the meniscus of the molten metal in the mold. The molten metal in the shroud does not come into contact with the surrounding atmosphere. In this way, the steel composition of the molten metal is expected to absorb up to about 85% less oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements and compounds from the surrounding atmosphere. The shroud may extend to any selected height above the meniscus of the molten metal in the mold, and may extend to between 1 mm and 55 mm above the meniscus of the molten metal in the mold or to between 1 mm and 15 mm above the meniscus of the molten metal in the mold.
The method may further comprise assembling a dummy bar adapted to start casting of shrouds in the mold, and after starting casting, allows the billet casting campaign to proceed, or continue once started. The dummy bar may be a solid piece of metal billet stock with the same cross section as the desired end product. The dummy bar is positioned into the mold from below, to start casting. After the dummy bar is in position, molten metal is delivered from the tundish through the shroud and into the mold. The dummy bar then moves through a plurality of rollers to the run out table, allowing a next campaign of casting to begin.
After the dummy bar passes through the casting station, the dummy bar is removed from the newly formed cast strand. This removal may take the form of rolling the dummy bar through a series of separate rollers. The dummy bar may then stay in that position until the start of another casting campaign.
The invention may be more fully illustrated and explained with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Once in the tundish 110, the molten metal is delivered in a controlled flow from tundish 110 through shroud 120 into mold 130 at a generally controlled rate. A tundish 110 may perform one or more other functions in the steel casting process. For example, the molten steel may reside in tundish 110 for a time sufficient to reduce or eliminate fluid turbulence in the molten metal before delivery through shroud 120 for casting. The tundish 110 may contain a relief on the upper portion, which enables over flow of molten melt to be deposited into the spillover box 115 when the tundish 110 is near full capacity, either by intentional or unintentional means.
Shroud 120 extends from tundish 110 to just above mold 130, and the molten metal in the shroud 120 does not come into contact with the surrounding atmosphere. In this way, the steel composition of the cast billets is of desired quality. The quality of the steel composition is not inhibited by pick up of oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements or compounds from the surrounding atmosphere.
Shroud 120 substantially encloses the space surrounding the molten metal as it moves between tundish 110 and mold 130. The shroud 120 then inhibits contact between the molten metal and surrounding atmosphere. In addition, allowing the shroud 120 to extend from tundish 110 to just above the meniscus of the molten metal in mold 130 ensures that the shroud 120 does not come in contact with the molten metal delivered into the mold 130.
Shroud 120 may, at least in part, be made of a refractory material, such as a refractory alumina-based material, and may be of any suitable thickness. Shroud 120 may have a thickness of about ⅛ inch or greater, and shroud 120 may have a thickness of about 1 inch or greater. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, shroud 120 may be made of other materials and with different thicknesses, according to the particular specifications of billets being cast, within the scope of the present disclosure.
Mold 130 receives molten metal from the shroud 120 into and casts at least one strand. There is generally a plurality of strands for cast simultaneously, such as two, three, four, five, or more. The mold 130 can provide initial cooling of the molten metal so that at least an outer portion, or shell, of the cast strands cool and are solidified to provide solid structure to the strand, even though inner portions of the strands may remain molten or mushy as casting proceeds. Guide section 165 may have one or more internal tubes to circulate cooling water to cool the molten metal. The copper tube or tubes may have a distinct cross-sectional shape, such as a rectangular cross-section, L-shape cross-section, circular cross-section, or other cross-sectional shape as desired. Additionally, the billet caster 100 may include a mold oscillation unit 135 to prevent adherence of molten metal to the mold 130. The mold oscillation unit 135 can oscillate the mold at a pre-determined frequency and amplitude to ensure that molten metal does not adhere to the mold. The mold may also be lubricated, such as with an oil or a mold powder, to prevent the molten metal from sticking to the mold 130.
Billets are conveyed out of mold 130 through guide section 165 in the desired product cross-sections and are cooled by coolant sprays from spray risers 150. Spray risers 150 may be deployed along a portion of guide section 165, providing cooling for a length of guide section 165 between about 0.5 m to about 5 m. The coolant spray may be water forced through nozzles of the spray risers 150, which break the water into droplets that efficiently cool the strands. Spray risers 150 may deliver coolant spray in a partial or full cone pattern over the cast strands to assist in cooling of the strands as they move along guide section 165.
As noted above, shroud 120 may comprise an alumina-based material 121. As illustrated in
Referring to
The alumina-based material 121, or other refractory material, may have a varying thickness. As
Referring again to
The mold 130 enables the strands to be cooled to have a solidified outer surface and move out of the mold 130 and through the guide section 165. The guide section 165 may contain a curved portion to enable partially cooled strands from the caster to pass out of mold 130 and move into a horizontal orientation, at the run out table. The cooled strands move onto runout tables 170 and 180, where a cutting torch 185 cuts the billets to length. Generally, it is desirable to provide finished billets that are straight, billets being guided by a curved guide section 165 and generally remaining internally mushy and semi-solid until conveyed horizontally onto runout tables 170 and 180.
Cooled billets may be delivered from guide section 165 to runout tables 170 and 180. Cooled billets may also pass through a straightener 160 prior to being delivered to runout tables 170 and 180 for cutting. As the strands are conveyed along runout tables 170 and 180, the billets are cut into a desired length. In one embodiment, a cutting torch 185 may cut the billets. The cooled and cut billets are gathered from runout table 180 after cutting occurs.
The chart of
As
The chart of
A reduction of re-oxidation inclusions would manifest itself in an improved steel product. An internally cleaner steel product leads to the finished product with more consistent properties, and with less risk of premature failure during use.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the foregoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown and described, and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention described by the following claims are desired to be protected. Additional features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the description. Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/628,024 filed on Jun. 20, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,478,890, which claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/352,660 filed on Jun. 21, 2016, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15628024 | Jun 2017 | US |
Child | 16601973 | US |