Rotating flow improves continuous casting

Using a simulator, Swerim has developed a method that improves steel flow during continuous casting. The method reduces the risk of disruptions in the process, thus improving efficiency.

About 95 percent, i.e. 1.4 billion tonnes per year, of all steel produced globally is continuously cast. Continuous casting is a process by which molten steel solidifies as it passes continuously through various types of moulds whose shapes depend on the final product. The transfer system (including the tundish and entry nozzle) and the mould are the heart of the casting machine, but also the part of the machine that is most sensitive to disruptions.

High mass flow rates and closed volumes can cause instability, which impairs productivity and has a negative effect on the quality of the final product. With the aid of a continuous casting simulator, Swerim has developed a patented method that has a positive effect on stability and pressure conditions.

Publications in international journals have demonstrated the advantages of a rotating flow: greater stability and fewer process disruptions. After several stages of development, the method is now being tested, with promising results, in industrial scale in a Swedish steelworks.