Strip casting experiences at MEFOS

Continuous casting of flat products today is a mature technique for production of steel semis with an as-cast thickness of 200 mm. At present, the thin slab casting is developed to the extent of casting and in-line rolling of strips with a thickness of 1-2 mm. Up to now, it is reported that 27 thin slab production lines are under construction or in operation. The strip-casting technique is the next generation of production lines for steel to be developed for production of flat products. There are 2 main directions in the development of strip casting. The 1st is the twin roll casting technique, which so far has concentrated its efforts on production of stainless steel strips. The 2nd is the single-belt casting technique (DSC - Direct Strip Casting) which is aiming for high production volumes of flat products with the necessary hot reduction possibility to receive good material properties. The development of strip casting at MEFOS started in the late 80s with the joint efforts of a Nordic group of steel companies. The aim of the project was to built up know-how in the field of strip casting by the erection and operation of a strip easter at MEFOS. After a 1-year prestudy, the single-belt casting technique was chosen. The German machine-building company, Mannesmann Demag Metallurgy, and the Nordic consortium had complementary interests, and in 1991, a co-operation agreement was signed in the field of strip casting. At MEFOS, the emphasis is focused on the industrial application of casting 870 mm wide strips, while the focus of the development at Technical University of Clausthal (TUG) is devoted to casting and in-line rolling. Based on the potential of the process and the promising results obtained in the research facilities, the industrial partners are now in the position to decide on building a demonstration easter in a steel plant.