Dec. 2006 — Liuzhou Iron & Steel Corp., China, has successfully commissioned a single-strand continuous slab caster supplied by SMS Demag AG, Germany.

The new 1.2 million tonne/year continuous slab caster features SMS Demag’s patented Dynamic Soft Reduction^® (DSR) technology. The caster also employs hydraulic segment adjustment to minimize center segregations and to prevent central porosities. Dynamic Solidification Control monitors and regulates the strand solidification, allowing a uniform temperature profile to be attained for the cast strand and reducing crack sensitivity.

The caster’s spring-guided, hydraulically powered mold is equipped with remote adjustment for the narrow faces. Oscillation, with variable frequency, stroke length and curve shape, guarantees high slab surface quality. The caster produces slabs ranging in width from 1000 to 1650 mm with thicknesses of 180, 200, 220 and 250 mm.

In addition to supplying the mold with resonance oscillation, SMS Demag supplied the strand guide system and the electrical and automation systems (including the process models). SMS Demag was also responsible for erection, commissioning and supervision.

SMS Demag carried out integration tests on the automation systems during the erection phase, which enabled the caster to be incorporated directly into the day-to-day production. The first uninterrupted sequence of over 70 heats was cast after only four weeks, and the entire hot commissioning lasted only three months.

SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. SMS GmbH is the holding for a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2005, some 9,250 employees worldwide generated a turnover
of about EUR 2.33 billion.