Acutus Industries

United States Steel Corporation

Acutus Mold, Inc.

John W Grove

John A Grove

John T McClellan

Frank Kowalczyk

Frank J Kowalczyk

A continuous casting mold for casting relatively thin slab comprises a pair of broad walls and a pair of narrow walls. The narrow walls are movable inwardly and outwardly with respect to the mold cavity to adjust the width of the slab being cast. The broad walls in an upper portion of the mold are spaced farther apart to permit introduction of molten metal into the mold. The broad walls in the lower portion of the mold are substantially parallel to each other. The narrow mold walls are adapted to sealingly engage the broad mold walls and are wider in the upper portion of the mold than in the lower portion. In one embodiment, a tilt angle of the lower portion of the narrow walls is independently adjustable from that of the upper portion of the narrow walls while in a second embodiment, each of the walls comprises independently angled top and bottom portions and provides a flat and smooth surface to the contained molten metal. Solidification in the upper portion of the mold is substantially prevented.

Method of continuous casting with changing of slab width

The width of a mold is controlled effectively to produce a slab having a desired and constant width associated therewith. More particularly, the speed of the output slab and the temperature of the molten metal contained within tundish are measured and the pressure exerted by the received molten metal within mold is determined. These measured and determined values are used to appropriately modify the width of the mold so as to produce a slab of constant width.

Method and apparatus for slab width control

An improved continuous caster mold having adjustable end walls employs heating mechanisms in the portion of each of the narrow end walls above the level of molten metal contained in the mold to heat that portion of each of the end walls to a temperature more closely approximating the temperature of the end walls below the level of molten metal in the mold. The heating mechanisms tend to lower the temperature differential between the portion of the end wall below the level of molten metal and the portion of the end wall above the level of molten metal. By equalizing the temperature differential in the end wall, the thermal expansion of the end wall is made more uniform to prevent the formation of a gap between the end walls and either of the broad side walls. The improvement is also useful for reducing thermal stresses in molds having fixed, stationary end walls.

Continuous casting in mold having heated end walls

An insert is provided for a continuous caster mold which permits casting of plural strands in the mold. The insert has opposed wall faces, the spacing of which is independently adjustable at their upper and lower ends. The spacing of the upper and lower ends is made adjustable by separately actuable wedge assemblies, each of which includes a wedge and ramps having mateable angularly aligned surfaces. At least one surface in each pair of adjoining wedge and ramp surfaces has a convex curvature to permit adjustment of the angular alignment of the wall faces as required at the various spacing distances thereof. The wedges provide greater rigidity than screw-type adjustment, preventing undesirable variations in taper during casting. The invention includes a method of installing the insert in the mold and adjusting the spacing and angular alignment of the opposed wall faces of the insert.

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Seneca, PA, United States of America

John W Grove