In the converter shop of the Azovstal metallurgical plant of the Metinvest Group, the technology of smelting and out-of-furnace processing of steel is being improved so that the manufactured products meet the highest customer requirements. The division has already implemented a number of effective measures to improve product quality.
So, along with the use of narrow walls with "whiskers", on one of the streams of the continuous casting machine No. 6 of the converter shop, experimental tests of a crystallizer with a modified taper have been carried out since March, which is responsible for optimizing heat transfer during the passage of the ingot and the surface quality of the continuously cast slab.
"In the future, we are considering the possibility of combining wide walls with a modified taper and narrow walls with a" mustache ". This will not only eliminate the “rib crack” defect, but will also significantly improve the surface quality of the slabs as a whole, ”explains Gennady Filin, Leading Process Engineer for Continuous Casting of Steel at the Converter Shop of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works.
In addition, in the converter shop, the technologies of steel smelting and secondary processing of steel are being improved. For example, for a customer from Poland, products were manufactured with increased requirements for the geometric dimensions of slabs. During the initial stages of the execution of orders for this client, a tendency towards the formation of surface defects was identified. Longitudinal cracks were formed, which led to the need for additional work to identify and remove them. The existing technology has been adjusted. The requirements for the technological characteristics of liquid steel at different stages of its production and processing, as well as for charge materials, have been strengthened. Their quality characteristics and consumption are regulated depending on the heat content of cast iron. New schemes for deoxidation and alloying of steel have been introduced. A more advanced and efficient technology for refining liquid steel in a ladle during its out-of-furnace treatment was put into operation.
According to Dmitry Zotov, Director for Technology and Quality at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, work on the development of this product has not yet been completed. The production technology continues to be improved to achieve one hundred percent yield of high-quality products without additional work to correct shortcomings.
“The result of the entire metallurgical plant largely depends on the indicators of the steelmaking process. Therefore, a set of measures is responsible for the quality of the converter shop products. Their key task is to eliminate rib and longitudinal cracks, improve the quality of the slab surface as a whole, in order to meet the increased requirements of the customer and maintain leadership in the metal market, ”Dmitry Zotov emphasized.
