PROPELICA

Prediction Model of the Occurrence of Breakouts in the Continuous Casting of Steel

In the continuous casting process, liquid steel is solidified, giving rise to semi-finished products (slabs, billets, blocks, etc.). These will be reprocessed in later stages until the final product is obtained. The solidification of the liquid steel starts in the mold and ends in secondary cooling in the segments. In the mold, the heat is extracted by conduction through the contact between liquid steel and the walls of the cooled copper mold, forming a superficial layer, the solidified steel skin. Solidification advances from the surface to the center of the product during secondary cooling, predominantly by convection – by spraying the product’s surface with water jets or a mixture of water and compressed air, or by heat radiation.

After leaving the mold, the product still solidifying is supported by rollers arranged in segments. At this point, the product has a completely liquid interior that exerts a ferrostatic pressure, approximately 7 times greater than that of an equivalent water column, against the solid skin recently formed in the mold. The solidified steel skin must withstand the liquid steel contained within it until the product is completely solidified. The rupture of this skin results in the leakage of liquid steel contained within, causing production interruption in the machine, damaging the structure of the continuous casting machine, in addition to representing an enormous risk to operational safety, which is why it is the most serious event. related to the steel solidification process in continuous casting.

This project is being founded by ArcelorMittal R&D Brasil.