Technical development of double-clad process for thin strip casting of carbon steel

Abstract

This report documents the technical development for a patent disclosure of a double-clad process for the continuous casting of thin-strip carbon steel. The fundamental idea of the disclosure is to form a product strip by depositing molten steel between two, cooled, clad strips of the same material. The claimed benefits include: (a) the conservation of energy in steel making through the elimination of soaking pits and reheat cycles, and (b) an improved surface on both sides of the as-cast product such that it will be suitable for direct feed to a cold-reduction mill. However, the process as conceived is not necessarily limited to the casting of carbon steel, but may be also applied to other metals and alloys. The work is described under three headings as follows. Preliminary Considerations and Scoping Analysis presents the basic idea of the double-clad, thin-strip casting process; the energy conservation potential; scoping heat transfer calculations for the casting process; and independent review of this work. Thermal Analysis for Roller Configuration of Double-Clad Process, presents the development, results, and independent review of a finite-element thermal analysis for the casting process as originally conceived (using only chilled rollers in direct contact with the clad material of the product strip). Further Considerations for Belt Configuration of Double-Clad Process deals with a modified equipment design which interposes two product support belts, one on each side of the product, between the clad strip and the rollers. In addition to the process description, this section presents the preliminary mechanical calculations for the endless metal belts and the work scope and results for the computer model revision and thermal analysis for the modified concept.