Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Strand Solidification to Increase Productivity and Reduce Quality Defects - Online Course

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This course gives a practical and technical understanding of strand solidification to increase caster productivity and reduce quality defects.

The course is split into 3 modules:

Module 1 - Theoretical and practical understanding of primary and secondary cooling waters for optimum as cast product quality and faster casting

Module 2 - Methods used to calculate steel liquidus temperatures and the importance of accurate liquidus temperatures for reducing quality defects and increasing productivity

Module 3 - Practical methods to assess as cast product quality (sulphur prints, etch printing, surface quality and shape) to reduce quality defects.

And the learning aims are:

To understand practically the importance of strand solidification to increase caster productivity and to reduce as cast quality defects, that is, surface and internal
To have a technical understanding of the importance of strand solidification to increase caster productivity and to reduce as cast quality defects, that is, surface and internal

On demand and instant access to the full course consisting of three modules.

To maximise learning it is recommended that each module is completed in sequence.

Full Course

(save $40)

$185.00

Enrol Full Course

Module 1

Theoretical and Practical Understanding of Primary and Secondary Cooling Waters

$75.00

Enrol Module 1

Module 2

Methods Used to Determine Steel Liquidus Temperatures and the Importance of Accurate Liquidus Temperatures

$75.00

Enrol Module 2

Module 3

Practical Methods to Assess as Cast Product Quality

$75.00

Enrol Module 3

$40.00 discount available when you purchase the three modules together.
Certificate on completion.

Course Modules

The course consists of three modules which should be taken in sequence in order to complete the full course.

Module 1 – Theoretical and practical understanding of primary and secondary cooling waters

Content Includes

Importance of correct strand solidification
Primary Cooling of the Strand
Secondary Cooling of the Strand
Typical Secondary Cooling Water Issues

Module 2 – Methods used to determine steel liquidus temperatures and the importance of accurate liquidus temperatures

Content Includes

Importance of accurate determination of the steel liquidus temperature
The Fe-C Equilibrium diagram and the steel liquidus - solidus temperatures
Methods used to determine the steel liquidus temperatures: theoretical and practical
The Institute’s Liquidus Model
Practical determination of steel superheat
Effect of steel superheat on as-cast product quality and caster output

Module 3 – Practical methods to assess as cast product quality

Content Includes

Shell thickness and metallurgical length
Sulphur prints
Etch prints
Slab/bloom grading
As cast product shape

What the course covers

The course covers Caster primary and secondary cooling waters, determination and importance of steel liquidus temperatures and practical methods to assess as cast product quality.

Learning Outcomes

The casting of high-quality steels at high casting speeds requires optimum primary and secondary cooling waters
The design of secondary cooling water spray systems must be undertaken using strand solidification models, thereby ensuring the correct spray layout and spray water flows to give the desired strand temperature profiles
Secondary cooling water systems require constant checking and maintenance to ensure optimum performance
Poor secondary cooling water systems can result in significant additions processing costs or even scrapped slabs.
Accurate steel liquidus determination and therefore steel superheat is a prerequisite for
safe casting, that is, reduced risk of breakouts
increased production of prime as-cast product, that is, casting at COP speeds and casting within a temperature band
increased productivity, that is, reduced sequence breaks, reduced returned steel, reduced tundish freeze ups, reduced breakouts and the potential for faster casting
Accurate determination of steel superheat enables the making of proactive decisions at the casting machine by the caster operators
Liquidus determination is by calculation or direct in situ measurement
Thermodynamic liquidus calculations give the most accurate results compared to simple linear regression equations
The temperature of pure iron has reported values of 1534 – 1542degC, with 1536/37degC temperatures considered the most accurate
A through the wall temperature measurement system provides a safe, accurate and practical method for continuous temperature measurement compared to the traditional immersion thermocouple spot measurement
A perquisite when casting new steel grades is to have a complete understanding of the customer requirements, particularly internal quality specifications and dimensional tolerances
Sulphur printing and etch printing are excellent methods of determining the internal quality of as-cast slab, bloom and billet
The most widely used internal quality grading system, that is, the Mannesmann system, whilst qualitative and subjective, if used correctly, is the best method
Generally, dimensional defects are not routine issues, but when they do occur, root causes must be quickly identified
The use of various solidification formulas in conjunction with knowledge of segment positions in the machine, it is possible to calculate shell thicknesses, metallurgical lengths and exact location of inter columnar cracking

Who should access the course?

Practitioners in the Steel industry, such as scientists, researchers, technologists, technology managers and Operations and Operational management. Those who are, or who aspire to be senior leaders within the Steel industry or academia.

Course Duration

3 x 40 minute modules

Course Presenter

David Stamp

David Stamp B.Sc.
Senior Researcher

David’s background is over 40 years in the steel industry, primarily to research and develop new technologies and innovation in both steelmaking and casting operations. This has included:

A world first, in the commercial production of Spheroidal Graphite Iron by the injection of magnesium reagents via a ladle sliding gate, for the manufacture of cast iron ingot moulds
A world first in the use of a vacuum tundish system for the casting of slabs on a production casting machine

From 2001 to 2010 employed in the Steelmaking Technical Department on a 3MT a year production plant. Worked on bloom and slab casters, to improve casting practices, test new refractory products and day to day quality control of the as cast product.

At present, David is a Senior Researcher at the Materials Processing Institute, the project coordinator of a multi-national European project including comprehensive modelling, monitoring and control of solidification for optimisation of continuous casting processes.