Chinese steel producer Wuyang has produced the first slab on its ultra-thick slab casting line with 5,000 kilonewtons per roll. The casting line delivers slabs up to 460 millimetres thick and, according to plant manufacturer Primetals, is the most powerful continouos caster of its kind in the world.
Wuyang Iron and Steel has recently achieved a milestone with the production of the first slab on Wuyang’s new single-strand continuous caster at the plant in Wugang, Henan province, China. This caster, the most powerful of its kind worldwide, is engineered to produce ultra-thick slabs up to 460 millimeters thick – enabling Wuyang to meet the growing demand for advanced steel products in high-end industries like offshore wind power, nuclear power steel, pressure vessels, and engineering machinery.
With the new caster, Wuygang aims to meet the growing demand for advanced steel products in high-end industries like offshore wind power, nuclear power steel, pressure vessels and engineering machinery. By partially replacing traditional ingot casting with this advanced slab caster, Wuyang Iron and Steel will significantly cut operational costs, even when producing challenging steel grades. Wuyang plans to develop new steel grades for the ultra-thick casting plant in the coming years to expand its portfolio of high-quality steel products and meet the changing requirements of the energy, infrastructure and heavy machinery industries.
According to Primetals, so called Single Roll DynaGap (SRD) segments make it possible to dynamically adjust each roll gap as production parameters change – such as steel grade, cooling rate, and casting speed. These SRD segments deliver 5,000 kilonewtons of force per roll – the equivalent of 15 fully loaded trucks. This strong force helps create advanced internal microstructures in the slabs while maintaining consistently high mechanical properties.
The caster also features a new method from Primetals for setting up the ideal caster-roll geometry right from the design stage. This approach cuts unsteady bulging by 50 percent, allowing for faster casting speeds and greater productivity, Primetals said. Primetals’ Smart Segment, a continuous bending and straightening concept, works together with a dry-casting machine design that uses Eco-Star rolls to greatly improve slab surface quality. The Eco-Star rolls have an advanced internal cooling system, designed to handle the high temperatures needed to reduce surface defects during dry casting.
According to Primetals, Wuyang Iron and Steel, a subsidiary of HBIS Group, is a leader in the production of wide and thick steel plates in China. It also houses a key research centre within the steel plate industry. Wuyang Iron and Steel operates two technologically advanced double-stand production lines for wide and thick steel plates.
Source: Primetals Technologies
