SMS Group Commissions Revamped Slab Caster at ArcelorMittal Asturias
SMS group has successfully put back into service the two-strand slab caster No 2 at ArcelorMittal Asturias in Avilés in Spain, after completion of a comprehensive revamp. Thanks to the revamp carried out by SMS group, the continuous caster is now able to produce slabs with thicknesses of 235, 300 and 365 millimeters, 235 and 280 mm before the modification, and widths of 800 up to 2,200 millimeters, up to 1,600 millimeters before the modification. The caster is designed for an annual production capacity of up to 2.9 million tons of steel slabs.
Just one month after the 14-week revamping period, the continuous caster had been ramped up to a daily production rate of over 100,000 tons of steel slabs. From the curved mold down to the runout section, the continuous caster has been completely rebuilt. Its metallurgical length has been increased from 33.2 to 36.7 meters. The modernized caster is designed for a maximum casting speed of 1.6 meters per minute.
The slab caster has been fitted with the X-Pact Width Control system. This enables the width to be adjusted and the mold taper adapted automatically during production, without having to reduce the casting speed. In the process, the system takes into account the steel grade cast and the current casting speed. The original mechanical oscillator has been replaced with a hydraulic oscillation system, which enables the stroke length and the frequency to be modified during the casting process.
The straightening segments and the segments in the horizontal section have been equipped with an online gap control system with position-controlled clamping cylinders.
The new No 2 continuous slab caster operates with various X-Pact Level 2 process models for enhanced quality control. X-Pact Tech Assist monitors the temperature distribution in the strand shell. In this way, stickers can be detected and the risk of break-outs eliminated early in the process. In conjunction with the Dynamic Soft Reduction process model, X-Pact® Gap Control enables the slab to be specifically compressed in the final solidification zone to improve the internal microstructure.
The cooling circuits for the mold, the casting machine and the spray cooling system have been completely renewed; the hydraulic equipment has been adapted and extended.
Source : Strategic Research Institute