Optimal Use of Physical Heat in Slabs Issuing from CCM

A method of using sensible heat of hot steel slabs issuing from a continuous casting machine (CCM) in which it is possible to eliminate slab heating in furnaces prior to rolling. For this, hot slabs at a certain time are sent to a thermostat, where the temperature is equalized along their section and length, whereupon the slabs can be fed to the rolling mill. This achieves a significant savings of fuel and eliminates heating and oxidation of the metal in the furnace. To implement this method, one must first solve several problems: put the continuous casting machine on one technological line with the rolling mill and establish diagnostics for surface quality of the slabs directly on the exit from the continuous casting machine. In addition, it is necessary to have a fairly accurate mathematical model to calculate the slab temperature field for stationary and non-stationary modes of casting. The mathematical model proposed in the article is somewhat simplified and serves mainly for the communication of the main ideas.