Phase 5 (2000 present)

The modernization stage of comprehensive development

By 2000, the global continuous casting ratio had reached 86%, with over 90% of countries reaching over 40. In the new century, the development of materials science has promoted the progress of the steel industry, and the improvement of steel strength, toughness, fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance and other performance has put forward higher requirements for clean steel production and defect free casting billets. The improvement and popularization of sensing and detection technologies, as well as the rapid development of computers, networks, and intelligent technologies, have endowed continuous casting technology with greater vitality.

Refinement and differentiation

The development and progress of continuous casting technology complement each other, and the requirement to reflect integrated and comprehensive overall technology is becoming increasingly evident. There are many technologies related to continuous casting, and the differences in billet shape, steel grade, and production scale are reflected in the refinement and differentiation of technology applications. Some technologies and basic experiments appeared many years ago, but popularization and comprehensive commercialization generally take about 10 years or even longer.

The development of dynamic secondary cooling technology, dynamic soft reduction, and hydraulic vibration technology fully reflects this characteristic.

Dynamic secondary cooling technology

In the past, the amount of secondary cooling water was adjusted through manual adjustment valves, which was static; Change to an electronically controlled control valve that can be dynamically adjusted, and achieve dynamic control of water volume with changes in the process - dynamic secondary cooling technology. The dynamic secondary cooling technology of slab combines the wisdom of metallurgical experts and metallurgical criteria based on multiple variables such as steel grade, cross-section, ladle temperature, and casting speed, to develop different target temperatures and achieve refined control. A small billet continuous casting machine used for producing ordinary wire rods, establishing a corresponding relationship between casting speed and water volume, and achieving dynamic secondary cooling control, which is simple and reliable. The number of variables that affect the water volume of secondary cooling can vary depending on the demand situation. The emergence of wide and thick slabs has led to three-dimensional dynamic water distribution to solve the problem of uneven edge cooling.

Dynamic soft reduction technology

Dynamic soft reduction of slabs is an essential equipment for the production of medium and thick plates. It has been about 10 years since its first production application to widespread acceptance by users. During this period, it went through a process of continuous improvement, optimization, and parameter accumulation. With the emergence of large-scale production of thick and wide slabs, the technology of large and heavy pressing has begun to be tested and applied.

Hydraulic vibration technology

With the popularization of hydraulic technology and the reduction of costs, hydraulic vibration has gradually been applied to conventional continuous casting machines. Electric cylinders with simpler maintenance have started to be tested on slabs and gradually popularized and applied on square billets. After around 2010, especially after 2015, hydraulic (electric cylinder) vibration has almost become a conventional configuration for continuous casting machines.