RFCS - Kinetics of Precipitation during Continuous Casting of Plate Steels

01.07.2011 - 30.06.2014
Research funding project
Plate steels represent an important sector of the European steel industry. Plate products are used for line pipes, off-shore structures, wind power plants and many other important applications. Slab casting is the most relevant process step during manufacturing of plates. Continuous casting has evolved into a mature technology. However, the problem of surface cracking still persists. Surface cracks imply cost-intensive slab conditioning or even exclude promising alloying concepts from production. Precipitation is known as the main cause of surface cracking in continuous casting. Micro-alloyed steels involve several chemical constituents, which can precipitate, such as Ti, Nb, V, Al, Cr or B. They form nitrides and carbides. The general target is to design caster operation and alloying in such a way that cracking is excluded or minimized. This requires full knowledge on the times and location of precipitates and their size distribution. It is essential to develop numerical models, which predict the precipitation progress in the caster. They should consider the cooling patterns as well as deformation due to bending or unbending. Such models can be used to adjust casting and alloying schemes. Experimental work in the laboratory is used to gain empirical data; several characterization and simulation methods will be applied. Results will be translated into a physical model and the relevant kinetic or microscopic parameters will be determined. This is complemented by studies and detailed investigations on industrial materials.

People

Project leader

Institute

Grant funds

  • European Commission (EU) Research Fund for Coal and Steel European Commission Call identifier RFSR

Research focus

  • Materials Characterization: 100%

Keywords

GermanEnglish
Ausscheidungenprecipitates
Stranggießencontinuous casting
Rissbildungcrack formation
ThermodynamikThermodynamics

External partner

  • Voestalpine Stahl GmbH
  • Dillinger Hütte GTS
  • Politecnico di Milano

Publications