4. Metallurgy

Continuous casting of thin slabs requires casting at high speeds, in a narrow ingot mould, through a flat nozzle with a small opening. These unfavorable conditions increase the risk of internal defects (cleanliness) and surface defects, which are all the more serious as direct rolling prohibits any repair work on the slab.

This leads to specific processing requirements for this type of casting, and in particular to well-suited ladle metallurgy. In this respect, it should be noted that all new thin-slab continuous casting plants are associated with electric steel mills equipped with ladle furnaces (but nothing prevents the supply of liquid steel from an oxygen steel mill).

The following information is drawn mainly from Nucor's CSP plant in Crawfordsville