Continuous Casting of Steel

The continuous casting process has grown into the biggest casting method for steel, exceeding the conventional ingot casting route in the mid-1980s. Today, the ingot casting route constitutes a very small percentage of the global steel production. It is used only for some special steel grades and for special applications. Continuous casting not only offers a high level of productivity and yield but also improved quality. The research and development work in the continuous casting field is continuing intensively because the requirements for steel quality from customers become all the time stricter and the energy efficiency, productivity, and ecological aspects are of increasing importance. One aim of the development has been to construct lower and simpler machines with smaller needs for space, low investment costs, and high flexibility in production and maintenance. An example is the “near net shape” casting method which means casting close to the final form and dimension so that the deformation (rolling) process can be minimized and so energy saved. Today, we have quite a good knowledge of the complex phenomena taking place in continuous casting. Computational simulation and modeling of different phenomena in casting have greatly helped to solve practical problems in industrial casters and to improve process practices and control. Altogether, we still need a deeper understanding of the complex solidification phenomena and transformations of microstructure in continuous casting to meet the increasing requirements. This chapter will attempt to overview the continuous casting method including machines, solidification phenomena, defects formation, and modeling aspects.