BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
1. Field of the Invention:
[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling drum for a twin-drum type continuous casting
system or a single-drum type continuous casting system, and also relates to a method
for manufacturing such cooling drum.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
[0002] Heretofore, in a system for continuously casting a band-shaped cast piece with a
single drum or twin drums, various structures of a cooling drum which take prevention
of thermal deformation into consideration have been proposed. As one example of such
cooling drums, a structure shown in Fig. 6 was disclosed in Laid-Open Japanese Patent
Specification No. 3-169461 entitled "Rolls for a system for continuously casting with
a single roll or between twin rolls". In this roll, a central portion of a sleeve
7 coming into contact with molten metal is mechanically restrained with respect to
a core 6 by means of a side plate 4 and an annular clamp member 3, and the core 6
is fixedly secured to a shaft 2 via a hub 1. The sleeve 7 is cooled by making coolant
flow through the inside of the sleeve 7 and the core 6 as shown by arrows in Fig.
6.
[0003] In the above-described roll, since the sleeve 7 is mechanically restrained by the
core 6, thermal deformation at a position remote from the restrained portion is large,
and the magnitude of the thermal deformation increases as a casting time elapses.
More particularly, as a thermal strain of the sleeve 7 arises in excess of a yielding
strain, a fastening strain between the sleeve 7 and the core 6 is lowered. In addition,
due to thermal elongation of the sleeve 7, wear and abrasion of fitting surfaces of
the sleeve 7 and the core 6 are caused by slipping therebetween, hence a fastening
force is gradually relaxed, and eventually a gap clearance is produced between them.
[0004] Consequently, there was a shortcoming that the magnitude of thermal deformation of
the cooling roll which determines a cast piece configuration would become large as
a casting time elapses. A working time of a cooling drum was several minuts in the
case where the sleeve 7 is made of material having a low thermal conductivity such
as, for example, steel, and even in the case of employing material having a high thermal
conductivity such as copper alloys, it was several hours at maximum. There was a shortcoming
that at a time close to this limit time, thermal deformation exceeded 1000 µm and
a distribution of a crown of a cast piece also exceeded ±50 µm.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0005] It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved cooling
drum for a continuous casting system, which is free from the above-described shortcomings
in the prior art and whose thermal deformation can be fully prevented, whereby a high-quality
band-shaped cast piece having a small difference in thickness between its central
portion and opposite end portions can be continuously cast.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide the above-described type of
cooling drum, in which heat transmission from molten metal to the cooling drum is
suppressed, heat transmitted to the cooling drum is quickly removed, a corrosion-resistance
as well as a rigidity of the drum are enhanced to prevent its deformation, and its
life is elongated.
[0007] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling drum having
a high rigidity and such construction that coolant for removing heat transmitted from
molten metal can smoothly communicate through the drum.
[0008] A still further object of the present invention is to provide a cooling drum having
a coolant communication structure which can quickly remove heat transmitted from molten
metal and also can avoid temperature distribution in the drum from becoming uneven.
[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing
a cooling drum for a continuous casting system, which is composed of different kinds
of metals bonded via a highly reliable metallurgical bonding surface, has a high rigidity,
is hardly deformed and has a long life.
[0010] According to one feature of the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned
objects, a cooling drum for a continuous casting system employs a construction having
a three-layer structure consisting of a cylindrical rigid member, a cylindrical cooling
member fitted around an outer circumferential surface of the same rigid member and
having its inner circumferential surface metallurgically bonded to the above-mentioned
outer circumferential surface, and a heat-resistance member formed by electro-deposition
plating on an outer circumferential surface of the same cooling member, and provided
with cooling holes drilled in the above-mentioned cooling member as distributed over
its entire circumference and extending in the axial direction of the above-mentioned
cooling drum, and coolant passageways connecting the opposite axial end portions of
these cooling holes with an inner circumferential portion of the abovementioned rigid
member.
[0011] According to the present invention, when the cooling drum employing the construction
having a three-layer structure consisting of a rigid member, a cooling member metallurgically
bonded to the outside of the rigid member and a heat-resistance member formed by electro-plating
on the outer circumferential surface of the cooling member and also having cooling
holes for communicating coolant in the cooling member as described above, is used,
while the cooling drum is rotated, molten metal being fed continuously is cooled and
solidified by the cooling drum in the following manner, and thereby a highly qualified
band-shaped cast piece can be continuously cast. That is, the heat-resistance member
of the cooling drum suppresses transmission of sensible heat and latent heat (heat
of solidification) of molten metal to the cooling member, the cooling member transmits
the transmitted heat to coolant flowing through the cooling holes in the cooling member
and reduces its temperature rise, and further, thermal deformation caused by uneven
temperature distribution slightly remaining in the cooling member is restrained by
the rigid member and is made small.
[0012] According to another feature of the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned
objects, in the above-featured cooling drum, the above-described rigid member is made
of austenite group stainless steel, the above-mentioned cooling member is made of
either Cu or Cu-alloy, and the above-described heat-resistance member is made of either
a mono-layer plated metal as of Ni, Ni-alloy, Co or Co-alloy or a multi-layer plated
metal as of Ni-polynite-Cr.
[0013] The cooling drum according to the present invention, in which the rigid member is
made of austenite group stainless steel, the cooling member is made of Cu or Cu-alloy
and the heat-resistance member is made of metal such as Ni-polynite-Cr, Ni or Co,
has, in addition to the above-described advantages, the advantages that the rigid
member prolongs its life owing to a high corrosion-resistance of austenite group stainless
steel, enhances its rigidity during use thanks to a high Young's modulus and thereby
increases a restraining force acting upon the cooling member. Also, it has the advantage
that owing to the cooling member made of Cu or Cu-alloy, a heat transmission property
of the cooling roll is enhanced, heat transmitted from the heat-resistance member
along the surface of the roll is quickly transmitted to coolant to cool the roll,
and thereby thermal deformation of the roll is reduced. In addition, it has the advantage
that owing to the thin-walled heat-resistance member made of metal such as Ni-polynite-Cr,
Ni or Co which has a relatively low thermal conductivity, heat dissipation at a high
temperature upon continuous casting is reduced, and transmission of sensible heat
and heat of solidification of molten metal to the cooling member is further decreased.
[0014] According to still another feature of the present invention, in order to achieve
the above-mentioned objects, in the above-featured cooling drum, the above-described
rigid member is shaped in such manner that a ratio of its inner diameter to its outer
diameter may take a value of 0.4 - 0.6, and an interval in the circumferential direction
of the drum between the centers of the adjacent cooling holes in the above-described
cooling member is chosen equal to or smaller than twice the distance between the center
of the same cooling hole and the outer circumferential surface of the above-mentioned
cooling member.
[0015] According to the present invention, owing to employment of the cooling drum having
a rigid member which has a ratio of an inner diameter to an outer diameter chosen
to be 0.4 - 0.6, in addition to the above-described advantages, there is provided
an advantage that as a result of the fact that a wall thickness of the cylindrical
rigid member becomes large to such extent that coolant can smoothly communicate through
the inside of the rigid member, a rigidity of that member is further enhanced, hence
a restraining force acting upon the cooling member in which an uneven temperature
distribution remains slightly is enlarged to further reduce its thermal deformation,
and therefore, a highly qualified band-shaped cast piece can be produced.
[0016] In addition, according to the present invention, owing to employment of the cooling
drum in which an interval in the circumferential direction of the drum between the
centers of the adjacent cooling holes is chosen to be equal to or smaller than twice
the distance between the center of the cooling hole and the outer circumferential
surface of the cooling member, in addition to the above-described advantages, there
is provided an advantage that since the intervals in the circumferential direction
of the drum between the respective cooling holes in the cooling member are made small,
cooling of the cooling member by the coolant flowing through the cooling holes in
the cooling member is promoted, hence an uneven temperature distribution in the cooling
member is further decreased, and therefore, a highly qualified band-shaped cast piece
can be continuously produced.
[0017] Furthermore, according to yet another feature of the present invention, in order
achieve the above-mentioned object relating to a method for manufacturing the above-featured
cooling drum, there is provided a method for manufacturing a cooling drum, in which
a restraining member is fitted around an outer circumferential surface of a cooling
member in which a cylindrical rigid member has been fitted with a mold releasing agent
interposed between the bonding surfaces of the both members, the bonding surfaces
of the above-mentioned rigid member and the above-mentioned cooling member are raised
in temperature and held at a temperature of 900°C or higher while maintaining in an
evacuated state, the temperature of the above-mentioned rigid member is made higher
than the above-mentioned restraining member by further heating it from the side of
its inner circumference, and after the above-described rigid member and the above-described
restraining member have been metallurgically bonded by pressing the aforementioned
bonding surfaces as a result of difference in thermal expansion between there members,
a heat-resistance member is plated through electro-deposition on the surface of the
cooling member.
[0018] In the method for manufacturing a cooling drum by metallurgically bonding a rigid
member to a cooling member according to the present invention, since the rigid member,
the cooling member and a restraining member are heated to raise the temperature of
the bonding surface between the rigid member and the cooling member up to 900°C or
higher under an evacuated state, and the rigid member is further heated from the side
of its inner circumference to raise the temperature of the rigid member higher than
the restraining member, the rigid body expands larger than the restraining member,
hence the above-mentioned bonding surface is subjected to a surface pressure necessary
for metallurgical bonding because the cooling member is restrained by the restraining
member, and therefore, the outer circumferential surface of the rigid member and the
inner circumferential surface of the cooling member are metallurgically firmly bonded.
[0019] When the above-described bonding has been completed and the members have been cooled
to a normal temperature, since a mold releasing agent is interposed between the cooling
member and the restraining member, these members would not be metallurgically bonded,
and the bonded cooling member and rigid member can be easily extracted from the restraining
member.
[0020] It is to be noted that a heat-resistance member is formed by electro-deposition plating
on the outer surface of the cooling member after the above-described metallurgical
bonding and machining for shaping.
[0021] The above-described and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention
will become more apparent by reference to the following description of preferred embodiments
of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
[0022] In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a plan view partly cut away of a twin-drum type continuous casting system
employing a cooling drum according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section side view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a partial cross-section view showing in further enlarged scale an essential
part of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section view showing a mode of metallurgically bonding
a rigid member and a cooling member in a method for manufacturing a cooling drum according
to the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an amount of deformation of a band-shaped cast piece in
the case where hourglass-shaped preset distortion is provided in a cooling drum; and
Fig. 6 is a one-side cross-section view of one example of cooling drums in the prior
art.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0023] In the following, preferred embodiments of a cooling drum for a continuous casting
system according to the present invention as well as a preferred mode of practicing
a method for manufacturing a cooling drum according to the present invention, will
be described in detail with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 in the accompanying drawings.
[0024] In Figs. 1 to 3, a rigid member 51 is made of SUS304 austenite group stainless steel
and is formed in a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter of 272 mm, an outer
diameter of 512 mm, a thickness of 120 mm and a length of 600 mm, whose ratio of (inner
diameter)/(outer diameter) is about 0.53.
[0025] Onto the outer circumferential surface of this rigid member 51 is metallurgically
bonded, through diffusion bonding, a cooling member 53 having a thickness of 42 mm,
made of Cu-alloy containing 0.6% Cr and 0.15% Zr and having a thermal conductivity
corresponding to IACS 50 - 80% at a temperature of 150°C or lower.
[0026] Inside the rigid member 51 are mounted partition walls 61, 62 and a tubular partition
wall 63, and to the opposite end portions of the rigid member 51 are shrinkage-fitted
hollow shafts 52 to be rotationally driven, and thereafter, they are fastened by many
bolts 52a distributed along their circumferential direction.
[0027] The metallurgical bonding portion between the rigid member 51 and the cooling member
53 is diffusion-bonded by means of an apparatus and jigs shown in Fig. 4.
[0028] As shown in Fig. 4, the cooling member 53 is fitted around the rigid member 51 as
by elongation or shrinkage fitting so that the gap clearance therebetween may become
as small as possible, a mold releasing agent is applied to the outer circumferential
surface of this cooling member 53, then a restraining member 21 having a lower coefficient
of thermal expansion than the rigid member 51 such as, for example, a member made
of cast iron is fitted around the cooling member 53 as by elongation or shrinkage
fitting so that the gap clearance therebetween may become as small as possible, thereafter
a ring-shaped vacuum seal caps 23 are fixedly secured to the fitted portions by seal
welding 24, an evacuating pipe 26 is connected to these vacuum seal caps 23, and further
the assembly is covered by heat-insulating materials 25.
[0029] The assembly consisting of the above-described members is carried in a heating furnace
31 and is supported by support tables 30 with a perforated muffle 27 inserted within
the inner circumference of the rigid member 51, and thereby a retort is formed so
that a bonding boundary surface 55 between the rigid member 51 and the cooling member
53 may become a nearly vacuum state as a result of evacuation through the evacuating
pipe 26.
[0030] Then, the atmosphere in the heating furnace 31 is raised in temperature by means
of a number of burners 29, furthermore combustion gas is introduced through a duct
28 and is made to spout from the perforated muffle 27 to the inner circumferential
surface of the rigid member 51, and thereby the rigid member 51 is raised in temperature
about 50° - 100°C higher than the restraining member 21.
[0031] In this way, the bonding boundary surface 55 is raised in temperature up to 900 -
950°C, simultaneously the rigid member 51 is made to expand larger than the restraining
member 21 due to the differences in a coefficient of thermal expansion and a temperature
between the rigid member 51 and the restraining member 21, thus a surface pressure
necessary for diffusion bonding is generated on the bonding boundary surface 55, and
this state is maintained for a predetermined period of time to metallurgically bond
the members 51 and 53.
[0032] Thereafter, where the assembly has been cooled to the neighborhood of a normal temperature,
it is carried out from the heating furnace 31, the heat-insulating material 25, the
vacuum seal caps 23 and the evacuating pipe 26 are removed, and the restraining member
21 is extracted from the cooling member 53.
[0033] It is to be noted that for the bonding between the rigid member 51 and the cooling
member 53, a hot hydrostatic pressing method could be employed.
[0034] After the diffusion-bonded rigid member 51 and cooling member 53 have been machined
for shaping, a heat-resistance member 54 made of Ni of 2 mm in thickness is plated
by electro-deposition on the cooling member 53. The material and thickness of the
heat-resistance member 54 were determined according to the following condition.
[0035] With regard to the material, as a material which is relatively easily oxidized, has
a small reactivity with molten metal 71 and a relatively high melting point, is hardly
subjected to change of properties caused by temperature rise at the time of continuous
casting, and has a large bonding force with the cooling member 53 made of Cu-alloy,
Ni, Ni-alloy, Co, Co-alloy and Ni-polynite-Cr were acceptable, and those having a
thermal conductivity at 300°C of 0.10 - 0.18 cal/cm·K were favorable.
[0036] With regard to the thickness of the heat-resistance member 54, a value δ (cm) given
by the following Equation-(1) was favorable:

where
- τ''
- = contact time between molten metal and cast piece (sec)
- K
- = diffusivity of heat (cm²/sec)
- ϑ
- = contact angle between molten metal and cast piece (rad)
- D
- = outer diameter of drum (cm)
- v
- = optimum casting velocity (cm/sec).
[0037] Although there is no problem with regard to the lower limit of the thickness, in
view of a machining precision, it was necessary to choose a thickness of 0.3 mm or
larger.
[0038] In the cooling member 53 are drilled 44 in total of cooling holes 57 and 58 having
a diameter
d = 16 mm along the axial direction of the drum as distributed over the entire circumference
along the circumferential direction at the positions of L₂ = 25 mm and L₁/L₂ = 1.56,
where symbol L₁ represents a distance between the centers of the adjacent cooling
holes and symbol L₂ represents a distance between the center of the cooling hole and
the surface of the cooling member 53 as seen in Fig. 3.
[0039] Here, the positions of the cooling holes 57 and 58 are determined in the following
manner. That is, a minimum distance Δ between the outer circumferential surface and
the circumference of the cooling hole 57 or 58, which is equal to (L₂ - d/2), is determined
on the basis of a penetration depth of heat as represented by the following Equation-(2):

where
- d
- = diameter of cooling hole (cm)

- τ'
- = non-contact time between molten metal and cast piece (cooling time of cooling member).
[0040] The value of the minimum distance Δ is different depending upon material of the cooling
member 53, in the case of Cr-Zr copper, a value of maximum 2.5 cm is favorable, and
at a value larger than this value, temperature rise of the cooling member 53 is brought
about, simultaneously temperature rise of the heat-resistance member 54 on the surface
is generated, resulting in inconvenience of the system.
[0041] Also, an interval (L₁-d) in the circumferential direction between the adjacent cooling
holes 57 and 58 is determined by the following Equation-(3):

where

L₁ = center distance between adjacent cooling holes (cm).
[0042] If the value of the interval (L₁ - d) becomes larger, then a temperature difference
between the cooling hole portions 57 and 58 of the cooling member 54 and the interval
portion therebetween at the time of continuous casting becomes large, and defects
such as cracks or the like are produced in a cast piece 72.
[0043] On the other hand, if the value of the interval (L₁ - d) becomes smaller, then sometimes
due to a pressing force of the cooling drum, buckling is generated in the interval
portion between the cooling holes 57 and 58. However, in a single-drum type system,
since there is no such fear, especially no limitation is imposed thereon.
[0044] By the way, a rigidity of a cylindrical body is determined by its outer diameter
and wall thickness. As a result of tests for the rigid member 51, it was proved that
when a ratio D
Ri/D
R is 0.4 - 0.65, the rigidity is favorable, where
- DR:
- outer diameter of rigid member,
- DRi:
- inner diameter of rigid member.
[0045] In the case where D
Ri/D
R is less than 0.4, though a resistance against insurance of a drum torque as well
as insurance of a coolant water passageway are difficult.
[0046] If D
Ri/D
R exceeds 0.65, then a thermal deformation exceeds 600 µm and also distribution of
the thermal deformation during continuous casting exceeds ±50 µm, and therefore, it
was disadvantageous to use the cast piece 71 as a raw material for cold rolling.
[0047] A pair of cooling drums 50 each having an outer diameter of 600 mm and a width of
604 mm are constructed from the above-mentioned members disposed at the abovementioned
locations. Reference numeral 69 designates a pair of side weirs, which are disposed
so as to slide along the opposite side surfaces of the rotating cooling drums 50.
[0048] Now, description will be made on preferred embodiments of the above-described continuous
casting system.
(First Preferred Embodiment)
[0049] As shown in Fig. 1, coolant water is made to flow from coolant water passageways
57a and 58a, respectively, through the respective cooling holes 57 and 58 in the opposite
directions to each other at a flow rate of 3000 liters/min. to cool the cooling member
53 symmetrically with respect to a midplane perpendicular to the axial direction of
the cooling drum 50, and while the rigid member 51 is being cooled also by the coolant
water, the both cooling drums 50 are rotated, molten metal 71 of austenite group stainless
steel is fed to a basin 70 formed by the both side weirs 69 to be solidified, and
thereby a band-shaped cast piece 72 is continuously cast.
[0050] During this continuous casting, the cooling drums 50 absorb the sensible heat and
the solidification heat of the molten metal 71 and thermally deforms into a barrel
shape, and hence the cast piece is formed in an inverse-crown shape whose central
portion is thinner than the opposite edge portions.
[0051] However, in the case of the cooling drums 50 according to the above-described embodiment,
since the above-described heat absorption by the cooling member 53 is suppressed by
means of the heat-resistance member 54 and the cooling member 53 is cooled by the
coolant water flowing through the cooling holes 57 and 58 to minimize its temperature
rise, and further since the rigid member 51 is made thick to enhance its rigidity
and the cooling member 53 was metallurgically bonded onto the entire surface of the
rigid member having a high rigidity, as a result of tests, it was proved that the
barrel-shaped thermal deformation can be suppressed to 160 µm in terms of a difference
in radius as cast piece data and distribution of the deformation according to lapse
of a casting time also can be suppressed to as small as ±12 µm in terms of a standard
deviation.
[0052] In addition, since the above-described thermal deformation of the cooling drum 50
is small, the gap clearance between the cooling drums 50 and the side weirs 69 also
becomes very small, and hence a casting fin of the cast piece also becomes small.
[0053] On the basis of the above-mentioned result, in the grinding of the outer circumferential
surface after bonding of the cooling member 53 to the rigid member 51, the cooling
member 53 was ground into an hourglass-shape (preset distortion). As a result of use
of such cooling drum, the sheet configuration of the cast piece 71 became very favorable
shape as indicated in Fig. 5.
(Second Preferred Embodiment)
[0054] Next, as a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, a pair of cooling
drums 50 were manufactures, each of which has an outer diameter of 1200 mm, a width
of 604 mm, a thickness of a rigid member 51 of 250 mm, a thickness of a cooling member
53 of 48 mm and a thickness of a heat-resistance member 54 of 0.4 mm (D
Ri/D
R ≒ 0.55) and whose other dimensions, shapes and materials are identical to the first
preferred embodiment, and they were used in twin-drum type continuous casting tests
of austenite group stainless steel.
[0055] As a result, the barrel-shaped deformation of the outer circumferential surface of
the cooling drum 50 was 300 µm in terms of a difference in radius as cast piece data,
and distribution of deformation according to lapse of a casting time was also ±15
µm in terms of a standard deviation.
[0056] On the basis of this result, the outer circumferential surface of the cooling drum
50 was ground into a barrel-shape and then was put in use.
[0057] It is to be noted that while the cooling drum according to the present invention
is used in a twin-drum type continuous casting system of austenite group stainless
steel in the above-described first and second preferred embodiments, it is also possible
to utilize this cooling drum in a single-drum type continuous casting, and further
the same cooling drum is available in a continuous casting system of carbon steel,
aluminium or copper-alloy.
[0058] As described in detail above, in the cooling drum for a continuous casting system
according to the present invention, a three-layer structure is formed by metallurgically
bonding a cylindrical rigid member to a cylindrical cooling member and plating a heat-resistance
member on an outer circumferential surface through electro-deposition and cooling
holes for the cooling member are provided in the axial direction within the cooling
member as distributed along the circumferential direction of the drum over the entire
circumference, and as a result, the following advantages are offered. At first, the
heat-resistance member decreases transmission of sensible heat and heat of solidification
of molten metal to the cooling member. The cooling member transmits the above-described
transmitted heat to coolant flowing through the cooling holes in the cooling member
to reduce its temperature rise. Furthermore, thermal deformation of the cooling member
can be prevented by restraining the cooling member by means of the rigid member. Accordingly,
a highly qualified band-shaped cast piece having little difference in thickness between
the central portion in the widthwise direction and the opposite edge portions, can
be continuously cast.
[0059] While a principle of the present invention has been described above in connection
to preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained
in the above description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted
to be illustrative and not in a limiting sense.