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Pabitra Palai
Flat Product Technology Group (FPTG)
Tata Steel Ltd. Jamshedpur
Power Point Presentation : Employee Training Centre, Dt: 25/05/2011 (11.00 AM-1230 PM
Copyright 2011 Tata Steel Ltd., India. All rights reserved.
Outlines
Continuous casting and Definitions
Casting Defects : An overview
Solidification of Steel; Numerical Equations
Role of Constituents on casting characteristics
Defects from Casting
Sticker
Thin Shell
Crack, MLF, Hook Formation
Defects in Products
Surface and Sub Surface Defects
Segregation
Cracks
Shape Defects in Slab : Causes and Remedial measures
Slide 2
Key Definitions
Continuous Casting ; is the process whereby liq. metal is solidified into a "semi-
finished" billet, bloom, or slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. [Sir
Henry Bessmer-1958]
Slab Casting; The Huge slab casters solidify sections up to 250 mm thick and
2,600 mm wide at production rates of up to three million tons per year.
Sliver; The elongated line type surface defects, termed FeO sliver and found
on rolled coil/sheet. Sliver causes both cosmetic surface imperfection and
forming problem .
Slide 3
Sticker
Classification Thin Shell
Crack
Defects in Slab Process Defects
Air entrainment
MLF
Slab Defects Hook Formation
Slide 4
Casting Defect in Slab
CASTING DEFECTS
Steel Solidification models in Continuous Casting
Where, K is the thermal conductivity (W/m K), c the specific heat (J/kg K), the density
(kg/m3), q is the rate of energy generation (W/m3), T the temperature (K), t the time
(s), and x the rectangular coordinate (m).
where Tf is the melting temperature (K), Tl the liquidus temperature (K), and k0 the
partition coefficient
Slide 6
Shell Growth
Steel shell growth can be predicted using Ficks law
Fig. : Calculated and measured solidifying shell Fig.: The shell thickness vs length from meniscus for Al-
thicknesses [R. Pierer ,BHM, 150. Jg (2005)] 7wt % Si at different conditions of casting speed, (Q= 4
m3/hr, d = 5 cm) [Y. Rihan etal, OJMSW10-0025].
Slide 7
CE and Ferrite potential
C=%[C]+0.04[%Mn]+0.1[%Ni]+0.7[%N]-0.14[%S]-0.4[%Cr]-
0.1[%Mo]-0.24[%Ti]-0.7[%Si]
Fp=2.5(0.5-C)
Slide 8
Effect of Alloying elements
Sulphur (S):
Effects ductility at two temperature, near solidus and below 1200oC.
At Solidus S~0.03% reduces strength and ductility by half.
At 1200oC liquid sulphides at austenitic grain boundaries affect ductility
If Mn:S>60, steel is not embrittled ,as all S is tied to Mn.
Phosphorous(P):
Loss of ductility due to low MP liquid film in the interdendritic region
Responsible for hot tears
Calcium (Ca):
Mitigating influence on cracking sensitivity
Removes S by CaS formation, speeds up final solidification and reduces
Brittle temp range .Act as nuclei on which MnS precipitates
Aluminum(Al):
Precipitation of AlN at grain boundary in the form of a film reduces ductility
drastically
Cr, Ni: Worsen crack sensitivity
Silicon(Si): Improves crack susceptibility
Slide 9
Continuous Casting and Defects
Sticker
Thin Shell
Crack
Air entrainment
MLF
Hook Formation
Slide 10
Online prediction of Casting Defect
Fig-1
Slide 11
Sticker in Continuous casting
Sticker
Sticker is a casting abnormality during which solidifying slab
sticks to the mold wall and may lead to b/o if no precaution is
taken.
Restricted flow of slag between mold/strand gap leads to loss
of lubrication.
Fig.: Ripple mark s on slab surface due to sticker B/O, Steel making conference proceedings, 1993
Sticker Formation Mechanism
Inadequate/Insufficient Lubrication
Slag rim Formation
Mold level fluctuation
Biased Flow
Metal Chemistry
Slag Basicity & Fluidity
Fig.: Sticker formation stages, Steel making conference proceedings, 1993
Sticker Detection through BDS
Loss of Productivity
Drastic speed reduction to 0.15m/min
Associated damage to machinery due abrupt speed change
In case of break out
Local Thin Shell: In the process of continuous casting of steel, sometimes the
shell doesnt solidify to the required thickness. When shell thinning is limited to a
small area of the strand, it is referred to as Local Thin Shell.
Possible reasons :
Biased flow due to SEN port
clogging or alignment can locally
retard shell growth.
Uneven distribution and infiltration
of mould flux between the strand
and the mould wall.
Steel chemistry, Superheat and
solidification behaviour
Mould flux thermal behaviour
Argon flow rate
Casting Speed
Fig. Schematic of thermal profile in continuous casting mold Mould condition and life
Temperature distribution in Cu mold
Slide 17
Solidification and Shrinkage of Steel
1. Liquid shrinkage,
2. Liquid-to-solid shrinkage or Solidification Shrinkage
3. Solid shrinkage-Thermal contraction
* Shrinkage is decided by composition and Liquidus temperature of steel.
Linear expansion coefficient (TLE) & Shrinkage:
1. Phase transformation processes dependent upon the carbon content
2. Large difference in the shrinkage behaviour between the various grades of steel wrt to C
content
3. TLE for Low carbon steel (0.05% C) is calculated to be 213 10-6 K-1, while the TLE of
0.60% carbon steel is shown to be 19.88 10-6 K-1.
Fig. : Solidification shrinkage curves in the round billets along the height of mould
Slide 19
Mould Taper
Mould taper
12CrMoV, X42) Mould taper in
(B72LX, ER70S6)
SC 104 grade (Ultra Low Carbon ) reported without any LTS in 23 heats cast with 1.2% taper.
In SA413, % of LTS increased with 1.2% taper.
Steel Chemistry and Solidification
Temperatures in bottom region of the mould are higher for IF steel grades
because of high liquidus temp. around 1537C which is around 10C higher
than peritectic grades. Temperatures of bottom layer T.C.s are around 132C
at higher speeds.
Temperatures of some T.Cs increased more than others because they are
located at the place where hot metal from SEN impinges on the shell.
Fig.: Steel chemistry and surface crack in slab [C.Genzano etal. ISS conference2002]
Slide 22
Temperature variation across Con-cast Mold
Fig. Temperature variation across the Cu mold during continuous casting of Steel
Slide 23
Air Entrainment
1. Inclusions, bubbles, slag and other particles during solidification of steel products is a
critical quality concern leading to rework or rejection of slab
2. Open-stream pouring produces the worst air entrainment problems
3. Leaks, cracks, inadequate sealing between the nozzle joints /porous nozzle material
4. The internal pressure in the nozzle below atmospheric pressure tends to aspirate outside
air and can be identified by nitrogen pickup and dendritic inclusions from reaction in a
high-oxygen environment
Fig.: Oxygen content along the slab Fig.: Optimizing argon gas injection (for a 78-mm bore
centerlines (100-m inclusions). nozzle with 90 slide gate). Bai.H 2000
Slide 24
Mold Level Fluctuation & Solidification
Fig.: Events during a severe level drop (20 mm for 0.6 second)
that lead to a transverse surface depression.BG Thomas96
Slide 25
Hook Formation
SURFACE DEFECTS
Surface and Sub surface Defects
Slide 28
Crack Formation Mechanism
The usually adopted strategy is reduction of the stresses by keeping the thickness
of the shell to a minimum. This is achieved by reducing the horizontal heat transfer.
Reduction in heat transfer is achieved by:
Proper Mould Powder selection: -increase thickness of the solid layer of slag-
crystallinity of the solid slag layer. Crystalline powder reduces conductivity of
heat-high basicity of powder increases crystallinity and increases softening
point.
Effect of LFC
Slide 32
Transverse Crack
Mechanism
Generated by longitudinal tensile strains at the surface in the mould due to
high friction or in the sub mould during straitening or bending.
Cause
Stress generation in the depressed portion of oscillation mark. Often
found along deep oscillation mark.
Uneven variation of heat flux in the longitudinal direction due to
improper mould powder
Excessive mold taper.
Mold level fluctuation
Steel composition
Remedy
Proper choice of flux and higher flux consumption.
Proper mold taper.
Control of mold level fluctuation
Proper uniform cooling to avoid the low ductility temperature range.
Slide 33
Effect of Transverse Crack
Slide 34
Star Crack
Star cracks appear in star pattern on the slab surface. It can be single or in
cluster (spider web type). These are visible only after light scarfing i.e., after
removal of 2-3mm of surface.
Mechanism
Preferential concentration of elements such as Cu on the surface of the
strand due to pick up from the mould.
Embrittlement of the austenite grain boundary due to liquid copper in
conjunction with tensile stresses.
Cause
High Cu levels (>0.15%)
Remedies
Coating of mould walls
Adjust mould alignment
Slide 35
Internal Cracks in Slab
Slide 36
Internal Cracks
Segregation
Steel Composition
Improper Cooling
Super heat
Diagonal Cracks
Causes
Asymmetric cooling in mould and sprays
High Superheat
Predominant in billets
Remedies
Install Corner rolls at the bottom of the mould
Check alignment between mould and roller apron
Look for plugged nozzles
Slide 39
Casting defect in steel slab
SHAPE DEFECTS
Bulging
Definition
It is the distortion of the slab giving rise to concave surface/surfaces. This
occurs usually due to inadequate support of the skin against the effects of
Ferro static pressure.
Causes
High casting speed
High casting superheat and high mold temperature
Improper mold taper leading to poor cooling
Inadequate roll pressure
High teeming rate and biased flow
Inadequate mold design
Distortion or wear of mold
Fast or uneven cooling in the mold as well as secondary cooling
Bending or straightening of slab at too high or too low temperature
Taper
Definition
A convex shape that narrows toward another end of the slab. It is generally
observed in slab due to online width change and some times due to improper
mold design or cooling pattern. Optimum taper in mold is provided in order to
compensate the ingot shrinkage.
Causes
Online width changes made by the continuous caster 'W1-W2 15mm
Remedies
Selection of optimum width change technology
Proper width measurement
Rhomboidity
Definition
Rhomboidity is a shape defect mainly appears in slabs and billets when one diagonal of
the rectangular section is longer than other one. This is formed due to asymmetrical
cooling of the strand. Reduction in shell thickness at meniscus level may reduce
rhomboidity due to equal stress development at all 4 sides, It can be reduced, by
reduction in intermittent heating at any face inside the mold . Flushing can improve the
even cooling all the 4 sides
Cause
Mold deformation
Different water gap between Cu tube and water jacket for opposite or adjacent faces
Mold water quality
Too high casting temperature
Susceptibility to a rhomboidal shape is enhanced in the case of high carbon content,
peritectic grades and high level of tramp elements ( S,P,Cu,Sn)
Bad centering of casting stream in the mold
Inadequate mold taper
Misalignment in mold / foot rolls area
Remedies of Rhomboidity
Long Bow
L
LB 0.01L
LB
Definition
The long bow is a one piece design and occurs when the split roll bearing are
offset from roll to roll they are inline down the whole of the casting bow. The
reduced heat extraction at the bearing position resulted the heat variation in
stripped pattern.
Causes
Uneven temperature distribution across the slab width
Slab surface temperature variation 100 oC approx. which is visible as stripes on the
strand surface.
Peaks in temp coincided with the split roll bearing positions
Reduced water density in the non optimal spray overlap area
Remedies Ray Boyle2004
Monitoring the Slab surface temp variation on the casting bow before entry into
straightener
Ideal nozzle positions and spray heights
Adequate heat removal from roll bearing area and intensify the strand surface
temp. deviation.
Support at Centre , Both ends and Three points of the slab
Out of shape
S 0.01W
Kokubo et al
Definition
When the axes of both edging rolls are perpendicular to the advancing direction of
the slab, the slab tends to ascend on one side becoming tilted. slab geometry
resulted is called as out of shape or out of square cross section which is shown in fig.
1. Also shown a typical out of shape defect in Fig.-2.
Causes
The main cause of an out-of-square slab cross-section is the ascension of one side
of the slab. slab Distortion takes place either due to temperature gradients,
loading or a combination thereof.
Improper slab cutting /problem in TCM
Differences in temperature between the top and bottom surfaces of the slab will
cause the slab to curl. Since slab weight and contact with the base restrict its
movement, stresses are created.
Load stress. Loads on a slab will create both compressive and tensile stresses
within the slab.
Shrinkage and expansion. In addition to curling, environmental temperatures
will cause PCC slabs to expand (when hot) and contract (when cool), which
causes change of slab shape
Remedies
This is generally prevented by using either grooved rolls or tapered rolls with a
bottom collar.
To prevent this ascension, the edging roll at this side is tilted at the angle q
toward the same direction as the advancing direction of the slab. For a
reversing pass, the edging roll is tilted at the angel q0. This action creates a
component of the roll tangential force that pushes the slab down against the
table rolls.
Trapezoid Shape
TRAPEZOID
Definition
'2ED 20mm
T
ED
Trapezoid shape defect mainly appears in slabs when width at one surface is larger
than other one. This is takes place due to slab withdrawal through curved path by
curvature and straightening of slab with the liquid core. This results difference in
guiding the curved and subsequent straightened slab between the two wide side of
the same slab. As a result the end surface of the slab were inclined relative to each
other rather being parallel which is called as the trapezoid shape. This is also formed
due to asymmetrical cooling of the strand.
Causes
Mold deformation to trapezoidal shape in curved mold casting
Inadequate mold and machine design
Inadequate mold guide and slab acquiring curvature from the mold
Misalignment in mold / foot rolls area
Remedies
Causes
Gap between the copper plate in mold
High casting superheat
Loosened/untight bolt during mold assembly
Prolong use of mold
Inadequate mold vibration
Remedies
Flame cutting.
Roll edging.
Pressing
Concavity
Causes
Remedies
Definition
Longitudinal depression
Uneven lubrication
Very rapid cooling
Low casting superheat
Mold level fluctuation
Remedy Transverse depression
Avoid the reasons of the defect
Thank You
DISCUSSIONS
Slide 55