- First ever 3-strand slab casting concept for achieving higher capacity while keeping the same space used for casting at the steel plant
- Investment will significantly increase production capacity
Recently, Chinese steel producer Tangshan Donghua Iron and Steel Enterprise Group placed an order with Primetals Technologies to supply a new 3-strand continuous slab caster for its plant in Tangshan, Hebei province, China. The machine will supply slabs to a recently installed hot rolled rolling mill. Startup is expected for December 2022.
Unique design
This caster will feature a unique design of the segment roller drives and the protective shields for the middle strand. It is the first ever 3-strand slab casting solution. Tangshan Donghua will benefit from a higher capacity compared to employing a 2-strand slab caster – at lower space requirements in comparison with the installation of an extra caster.
The 3-strand slab caster will be equipped with the latest casting technology. Straight cassette-type Smart Molds ensure optimized primary solidification of the strand. The DynaWidth mold-width adjustment system is used for flexible and fast slab-width changes. The DynaFlex hydraulic oscillator flexibly adjusts the mold-oscillation parameters, resulting in improved strand-surface quality of the slabs. The secondary cooling features DynaJet spray cooling with a center/margin setting for an even more precise cooling of the slab edges, which reduces corner cracks when casting advanced steel grades.
Sophisticated casting automation solutions
In addition, the 3-strand caster will be delivered with a sophisticated automation package. DynaPhase, Dynacs 3D, and DynaGap Soft Reduction 3D are dynamic secondary cooling and soft-reduction packages that significantly contribute to quality improvements during the continuous casting process by taking into account thermodynamic effects such as shrinkage and phase transitions. LevCon is a system for automatic mold-level control, with "autostart" casting functions and auto-adaptive dynamic bulging compensation. Mold Expert helps to prevent caster-mold breakouts and digitally monitors the mold in real time.
Wide business scope
Established in 2009, Tangshan Donghua’s wide scope includes sintering, ironmaking, steelmaking, and bar and high-end wire rod rolling. As a business open to new technologies geared toward increasing their domestic footprint in steel production, Tangshan Donghua has found a valuable partner in Primetals Technologies. Since 2017, Primetals Technologies provides Donghua with metallurgical services and offline maintenance for their continuous casting machines.
Key facts: 3-strand slab caster
- Radius: 8 meters
- Metallurgical length: 40 meters
- Thickness of slabs: 210 millimeters
- Width range of slabs: 750 to 1,100 millimeters
- Casting speed: up to 2.5 meters per minute
Key facts: Expert systems implemented at Donghua’s slab caster
Several expert systems will be implemented at this slab caster:
- Nozzle Expert checks the condition of the secondary cooling system and detects any clogged nozzles and leakages with high accuracy.
- Quality Expert tracks, controls, and supervises quality related data and quality prediction for the cast products.
- Speed Expert calculates the optimal casting speed in any casting situation while considering factors like superheat and heat pacing.
- Yield Expert is a cut length optimization system which considers scrap portions, quality defects, weight restrictions, and width changes in order to minimize scrap and optimize yield.
