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ORGANIZER;CN=ESTAD 2023:mailto:info@metec-estad.com
LOCATION:Room 16b
SUMMARY:Casting length extension at Hospet Steel caster through stopper design improvement
DESCRIPTION:The production of Re-Sulphurized steel, and other clogging prone grades is a challenge in terms of limited sequence length thus impacting both productivity and sustainability. The efficient production of these grades requires optimized tundish vessel functioning, which has historically been addressed through shaping tundish furniture -impact pad like. Turbostop® pad, dams, weirs and baffles. The design of these refractory components has shown significant impact on steel cleanliness in continuous casting. Tundish to mold steel can also be further improved by modifying flow controlling refractory designs like the stopper. 
In long product casters, generally argon injection through the stopper nose into the casting channel is avoided to prevent observed boiling in mold, which can cause operational and quality issues.
This paper describes the improvement in the flow performance from the tundish to mold. The novel stopper design of Multi-Channel Argon injection through the stopper nose resulted in reduction in clogging occurrences near the stopper regulating surface and the SEN seat. This helps in achieving a stable stopper position throughout the tundish sequence and leading to a significant reduction in the rate of stopper rise required for extended sequence casting.
Multiple trials were successfully carried out showing reduction in stopper rise rate as well as reduction of stopper flushing counts compared to conventional stopper design. Thanks to the stopper rise rate reduction, the sequence length could be extended from 2 heats/Tundish to 2.91 Heats/Tundish in average, thus improving productivity and caster yield leading to cost reduction and sustainability improvement - reduced tundish consumption, lower fuel costs. Additionally with this new stopper design quality of the final product also improved.

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DTSTART:20230615T092000
DTEND:20230615T094000
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