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There are two different types of rotary continuous casting process on the market, which although they have the same name, are entirely different in concept. Both employ rotating moulds, but there the similarity ends. The technical details of both processes are outlined below.
A continuous casting process based on a wheel-type mould has been developed in Japan and widely used for non-ferrous metals. Two plants have also been successful in steel casting with this equipment, and the speeds obtained mean that a direct link with a rolling mill is considered possible.
Korf Engineering GmbH, Düsseldorf, earlier in the year acquired a world-wide licence for a new continuous casting process for steel.
This process is carried out with a Rotary Continuous Casting Machine (RCCM) similar to the type of equipment used successfully in casting copper and aluminium. The further development for steel applications has been carried out by a Japanese company and it has been brought to maturity in two Japanese production units. In one of these plants, in Nagoya, currently approximately 150,000t/year are being cast in structural steel quality.
Conventional continuous casting machines and horizontal casting machines are operated with stationary moulds. Although these moulds oscillate they may be regarded as static when seen in relation to the billet movement. Problems with the mould arise when the speed is increased. For the RCCM this problem was solved with a revolving mould. This mould encloses the strand over a length of about 1.8m and both mould and strand move forward at the same speed. The srand is cooled by the mould cooling during die whole period of enclosure in the mould, which is about 2.5 times as long as in conventional continuous casting machines. After leaving the mould...