BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a method for making a cast strip.
[0002] A method for producing a thin cast steel strip is e.g. known from document
US 5 901 777 A. According to this method, a cast strip obtained from a twin roll caster is rolled
by an in- line rolling mill provided with working rolls to form a steel strip with
a surface roughness not greater than 20 microns.
[0003] In a twin roll caster, molten metal is introduced between a pair of counterrotated
horizontal casting rolls which are cooled so that metal shells solidify on the moving
roll surfaces, and are brought together at the nip between them to produce a solidified
strip product delivered downwardly from the nip between the casting rolls.
[0004] The term "nip" is used herein to refer to the general region at which the casting
rolls are closest together. The molten metal may be poured from a ladle through a
metal delivery system comprised of a tundish and a core nozzle located above the nip
to form a casting pool of molten metal supported on the casting surfaces of the rolls
above the nip and extending along the length of the nip. This casting pool is usually
confined between refractory side plates or dams held in sliding engagement with the
end surfaces of the rolls so as to dam the two ends of the casting pool against outflow.
[0005] When casting steel strip in a twin roll caster, the strip leaves the nip at very
high temperatures on the order of 1400°C or higher. If exposed to normal atmosphere,
it would suffer very rapid scaling due to oxidation at such high temperatures. Therefore,
a sealed enclosure is provided beneath the casting rolls to receive the hot strip
and through which the strip passes on the way from the strip caster, the enclosure
containing an atmosphere which inhibits oxidation of the strip. The oxidation inhibiting
atmosphere may be created by injecting a non-oxidizing gas, for example, an inert
gas such as argon or nitrogen, or combustion exhaust gases which may be reducing gases.
Alternatively, the enclosure may be sealed against ingress of oxygen containing atmosphere
during operation of the strip caster. The oxygen content of the atmosphere within
the enclosure is then reduced during an initial phase of casting by allowing oxidation
of the strip to extract oxygen from the sealed enclosure as disclosed in United States
Patents
5,762,126 and
5,960,855.
[0006] It is known to hot roll cast strip produced by twin roll caster in a hot rolling
mill after the strip emerges from the caster to shape the thin strip. It is generally
understood that a combination of a rolling mill and a twin roll caster is necessary
to provide a desired cross-sectional profile to the strip.
[0007] However, it has been found that strip that has been cast at a standard casting speed
of 80m/min and then hot rolled in a hot rolling mill with a 16% reduction of the strip
by the hot rolling mill can have a relatively high surface roughnesses of 6 to 8 microns
Ra with surface micro-cracking. Figure 1 is a micrograph showing typical surface roughness
of such cast and hot rolled strip emerging from a hot rolling mill in-line with a
twin roll caster. With the direction of rolling from left to right, the micrograph
shows pronounced lapping on the strip surface (20 to 30 µm deep). The reason or reasons
for this surface roughness may be shearing at the strip surface caused by welding
of the strip to the work roll surface, imprinting of the texture of the work roll
surface onto the surface of the strip, and/or other factors. Moreover, micro-cracking
on the surface of the cast strip has been found to be a problem. It was possible to
reduce microcracking by reducing the casting speed and the heat rate of the strip
but it was uneconomical to reproduce these conditions during production.
[0008] The microstructure of hot strip mill products is essentially 100% equiaxed ferrite.
However, in making a cast strip with a twin roll caster, previous experience was that
microstructure was coarse grains of polygonal ferrite, acicular ferrite, and Widmanstatten.
It was typical that the microstructure was 30-60% polygonal ferrite, 70-40 % Widmanstatten
and acicular ferrite. With this microstructure, the typical surface roughness was
4-7 microns Ra.
[0009] Provided in accordance with the invention is a method of producing thin cast strip
as defined by claim 1.
[0010] The method can include shrouding the thin cast strip from the casting rolls through
the hot rolling mill in an atmosphere of less than 5% oxygen and forming the thin
cast strip having: at least one microstructure selected from the group consisting
of polygonal ferrite, acicular ferrite, Widmanstatten, bainite and martinsite, a surface
roughness of less than 1.5 microns Ra, and a scale thickness of less than 10 microns
[0011] The method can also include the step of assembling spray nozzles positioned adjacent
the work rolls capable of providing the mixture of water and oil to the works rolls.
[0012] An alternative method comprises the step of: assembling spray nozzles positioned
upstream of the work capable of spraying a mixture of water and oil to the back-up
rolls.
[0013] The method of the invention preferably comprises spraying the mixture of oil and
water as the cast strip enters the hot rolling mill.
[0014] The rate of spray by the nozzles may be between 10 and 30 gallons per minute.
[0015] The rolling temperature may below 1100C or below 1050°C or below 900oC.
[0016] The operation of an illustrative twin roll casting plant in accordance with the present
invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a micrograph showing typical surface roughness of a cast strip after hot
rolling;
[0017] The method can include shrouding the thin cast strip from the casting rolls through
the hot rolling mill in an atmosphere of less than 5 % oxygen and forming the thin
cast strip having: at least one microstructure selected from the group consisting
of polygonal ferrite, acicular ferrite, Widmanstatten, bainite and martinsite, a surface
roughness of less than 1.5 microns Ra, and a scale thickness of less than 10 microns.
[0018] The method of the invention preferably comprises spraying the mixture of oil and
water as the cast strip enters the hot rolling mill.
[0019] The rate of spray by the nozzles may be between 10 and 30 gallons per minute.
[0020] The method may comprise producing the cast strip at a rate above 80 meters per minute.
[0021] The rolling temperature may below 1100C or below 1050° C or below 900° C.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The operation of an illustrative twin roll casting plant in accordance with the present
invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a micrograph showing typical surface roughness of a cast strip after hot
rolling;
Figure 2 is a schematic illustrating a thin strip casting plant having a hot rolling
mill for controlling the shape of cast strip;
Figure 3 is an enlarged cut-away side view of the caster of the thin strip casting
plant of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a system for the application of an oil and
water mixture to the rolls of a hot rolling mill; and
Figure 5 is a diagram showing the Average Surface Roughness for Thin Cast Steel Strip,
Sequence 2613, made using o the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] The illustrated casting and rolling installation comprises a twin-roll caster denoted
generally by 11 which produces thin cast steel strip 12 which passes into a transient
path across a guide table 13 to a pinch roll stand 14. After exiting the pinch roll
stand 14, thin cast strip 12 passes into and through hot rolling mill 15 comprised
of back-up rolls 16 and upper and lower work rolls 16A and 16B, where the thickness
of the strip reduced. The strip 12, upon exiting the rolling mill 15, passes onto
a run out table 17 where it may be forced cooled by water jets 18, and then through
pinch roll stand 20 comprising a pair of pinch rolls 20A and to a coiler 19.
[0024] Twin-roll caster 11 comprises a main machine frame which supports a pair of laterally
positioned casting rolls 22 having casting surfaces 22A and forming a nip between
them. Molten metal is supplied during a casting campaign from a ladle (not shown)
to a tundish 23, through a refractory shroud to a removable tundish 25 (also called
distributor vessel or transition piece), and then through a metal delivery nozzle
28 (also called a core nozzle) between the casting rolls 22 above the nip.
[0025] Molten steel is introduced into removable tundish 25 from tundish 23 via an outlet
of the refractory shroud. The tundish 23 is fitted with a stopper rod and a slide
gate valve (not shown) to selectively open and close the outlet of the shroud and
effectively control the flow of molten metal from the tundish 23 to the caster. The
molten metal flows from removable tundish 25 through an outlet and optionally to and
through the delivery nozzle 28.
[0026] Molten metal thus delivered to the casting rolls 22 forms a casting pool above nip
supported by casting roll surfaces 22A. This casting pool is confined at the ends
of the rolls by a pair of side dams or plates, which are applied to the ends of the
rolls by a pair of thrusters (not shown) comprising hydraulic cylinder units connected
to the side dams. The upper surface of the casting pool (generally referred to as
the "meniscus" level) may rise above the lower end of the delivery nozzle 28 so that
the lower end of the deliver nozzle is immersed within the casting pool.
[0027] Casting rolls 22 are internally water cooled by coolant supply (not shown) and driven
in counter rotational direction by drives (not shown) so that shells solidify on the
moving casting roll surfaces and are brought together at the nip to produce the thin
cast strip 12, which is delivered downwardly from the nip between the casting rolls.
[0028] Below the twin roll caster 11, the cast steel strip 12 passes within a sealed enclosure
10 to the guide table 13, which guides the strip to a pinch roll stand 14 through
which it exits sealed enclosure 10. The seal of the enclosure 10 may not be complete,
but is appropriate to allow control of the atmosphere within the enclosure and access
of oxygen to the cast strip within the enclosure as hereinafter described. After exiting
the sealed enclosure 10, the strip may pass through further sealed enclosures after
the pinch roll stand 14, including the hot rolling mill 15.
[0029] Enclosure 10 is formed by a number of separate wall sections that fit together at
various seal connections to form a continuous enclosure wall. These sections comprise
a first wall section 41 at the twin roll caster to enclose the casting rolls 22, and
a wall enclosure 42 extending downwardly beneath first wall section 41 to form an
opening that is in sealing engagement with the upper edges of a scrap box receptacle
40. A seal 43 between the scrap box receptacle 40 and the enclosure wall 42 may be
formed by a knife and sand seal around the opening in enclosure wall 42, which can
be established and broken by vertical movement of the scrap box receptacle 40 relative
to enclosure wall 42. Seal 43 is formed by raising the scrap box receptacle 40 to
cause the knife flange to penetrate the sand in the channel to establish the seal.
[0030] This seal 43 can be broken by lowering the scrap box receptacle 40 from its operative
position, preparatory to movement away from the caster to a scrap discharge position
(not shown). Scrap box receptacle 40 is mounted on a carriage 45 fitted with wheels
46 which run on rails 47, whereby the scrap box receptacle can be moved to the scrap
discharge position. Carriage 45 is fitted with a set of powered screw jacks 51 operable
to lift the scrap box receptacle 40 from a lowered position, where it is spaced from
the enclosure wall 42, to a raised position where the knife flange penetrates the
sand to form seal 43 between the two.
[0031] Sealed enclosure 10 further may have a third wall section disposed 61 about the guide
table 13and connected to the frame of pinch roll stand 14, which includes a pair of
pinch rolls 50. The third wall section disposed 61 of enclosure 10 is sealed by sliding
seals.
[0032] Most of the enclosure wall sections 41, 42 and 61 may be lined with fire brick. Also,
scrap box receptacle 40 may be lined either with fire brick or with a castable refractory
lining. In this way, the complete enclosure 10 is sealed prior to a casting operation,
thereby limiting access of oxygen to thin cast strip 12, as it passes from the casting
rolls 22 through the pinch roll stand 14 and the hot rolling mill 15. Initially the
strip can take up all of the oxygen from enclosure 10 space by forming heavy scale
on an initial section of the strip. However, the sealing enclosure 10 limits ingress
of oxygen into the enclosure from the surrounding atmosphere to below the amount of
oxygen that could be taken up by the strip. Thus, after an initial start-up period,
the oxygen content in the enclosure 10 will remain depleted so limiting the availability
of oxygen for oxidation of the strip 12. In this way, the formation of scale is controlled
to a thickness less than 10 microns without the need to continuously feed a reducing
or non-oxidizing gas into the enclosure. Of course, a reducing or non-oxidizing gas
may be fed through the enclosure walls. However, in order to avoid the heavy scaling
during the start-up period, the enclosure 10 can be purged immediately prior to the
commencement of casting so as to reduce the initial oxygen level within enclosure
10, thereby reducing the time period for the oxygen level to stabilize in the enclosure
as a result of the interaction of the oxygen in oxidizing the strip passing through
it. Thus, illustratively, the enclosure may conveniently be purged with, for example,
nitrogen gas. It has been found that reduction of the initial oxygen content to levels
of between 5% will limit the scaling of the strip at the exit from the enclosure 10
to about 10 microns to 17 microns even during the initial start-up phase. In an embodiment
of the present invention, the thin cast steel strip has a scale thickness less than
about 10 microns, or the scale thickness may be less than 7 or 4 microns, during continuous
casting.
[0033] At the start of a casting campaign, a short length of imperfect strip is produced
as the casting conditions stabilize. After continuous casting is established, the
casting rolls 22 are moved apart slightly and then brought together again to cause
this lead end of the strip to break away in the manner described in Australian Patent
646,981 and United States Patent No.
5,287,912, to form a clean head end of the following thin cast strip 12. The imperfect material
drops into scrap box receptacle 40 located beneath caster 11, and at this time swinging
apron 38, which normally hangs downwardly from a pivot 39 to one side of the caster
as shown in Figure 3, is swung across the caster outlet to guide the clean end of
thin cast strip 12 onto the guide table 13 where the strip is fed to the pinch roll
stand 14. Apron 38 is then retracted back to its hanging position as shown in Figure
3 to allow the strip 12 to hang in a loop 36 beneath the caster as shown in Figures
2 and 3 before the strip passes onto the guide table 13. The guide table 13 comprises
a series of strip support rolls 37 to support the strip before it passes to the pinch
roll stand 14. The rolls 37 are disposed in an array extending from the pinch roll
stand 14 backwardly beneath the caster and curve downwardly to smoothly receive and
guide the strip from the loop 36.
[0034] The twin-roll caster may be of a kind which is illustrated and described in detail
in United States Patent No.
5,184,668 and
5,277,243, or United States Patent No.
5,488,988. Reference may be made to these patents for construction details, which are no part
of the present invention.
[0035] Pinch roll stand 14 comprises a pair of pinch rolls 50 reactive to tension applied
by the hot rolling mill 15. Accordingly, the strip is able to hang in the loop 36
as it passes from the casting rolls 22 to the guide table 13 and into the pinch roll
stand 14. The pinch rolls 50 thus provides a tension barrier between the freely hanging
loop and tension on the strip downstream of the processing line. The pinch rolls 50
also stabilize the position of the strip on the feed table 13, feeding the strip into
hot rolling mill 15.
[0036] From the pinch roll stand 14, the thin cast strip 12 is delivered to the hot rolling
mill 15 comprised of upper work roll 16A and lower roll 16B. As shown in Figure 4,
a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises spraying a mixture of water
and oil on the downstream surfaces of back-up rolls 16. An oil reservoir 100 is provided
with a heater 101 to maintain the oil at approximately 50° C, but heating is not necessary.
The heated oil is transferred through oil transfer lines 103 by fixed displacement
pumps 102 to static mixers 104 where the heated oil is mixed with water.
[0037] Water is supplied from a source 110 to water strip chilling headers 111 and to mill
rolls supply lines 112. A first portion of the water is supplied to spray headers
18 to supply cooling water to cool the hot strip 12 after exiting the hot rolling
mill 15. Typically, the water pressure is reduced through pressure regulator 113 to
about 40 psi. Between about 10 and 30 gpm of water is supplied to each static mixer
104 where the water is mixed with about 4 gph of heated oil.
[0038] The mixed oil and water is then applied to the downstream surfaces (the direction
of travel of the thin cast steel strip 12 is shown by arrow 120) of back-up rolls
16 through oil-water nozzles 71. Alternately, the oil-water mixture may be applied
to cast strip 12 in the roll bite area, may be applied to the upstream surfaces of
the back-up rolls 16 or to the work rolls 16A, 16B.
[0039] Preferably, the temperature of the thin cast steel strip 12 in the hot rolling mill
15 is less than 1100° C, and more preferably less than 1050° C, and most preferably
less than 900° C. Also, preferably, the temperature of the thin cast steel strip in
the hot rolling mill 15 is above 400° C
[0040] The static mixers 104 are standard conventionally available devices. Other forms
of mixers may be used provided they are capable of good mixing of the oil and water.
[0041] In one embodiment, the oil-water mixture is delivered at between 5 and 30 gpm at
40 psi to the back-up rolls 16. Typically the oil-water mixture is delivered to the
back up rolls in this embodiment at about 10 to 20 gpm, with 15 gpm a reasonable setting.
The oil-water mixture may comprise less than 5% oil, and in one embodiment comprises
4 parts oil and between 600 parts to 1800 parts water by volume. The oil may be less
than 2% or 1% of the mixture. The oil is provided to be mixed with the water generally
at less than 15 gph.
[0042] Figure 5 shows the Average Surface Roughness (Ra) in microns for thin cast strip
steel strip 12 produced using the present invention. As can be seen in Figure 5, the
Average Surface Roughness is noticeably lower, about 0.66 to about 1.5 microns with
the addition of an oil-water mixture as described above.
[0043] In one embodiment, the present invention comprises producing thin cast steel strip
using the oil-water application described above to produce thin cast steel strip at
a rate above 80 meters per minute.
[0044] While the invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it
will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and
equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention.
In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material
to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it
is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed,
but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the
appended claims.
1. A method of producing thin cast steel strip comprising the steps of:
a) assembling (i) a twin roll caster (11) having laterally positioned caster rolls
(22) forming a nip between them (ii) a metal delivery system capable of forming a
casting pool between the caster rolls (22) above the nip with side dams adjacent the
ends of the nip to confine said casting pool and (iii) a hot rolling mill (15) having
work rolls (16A, 16B) and back-up rolls (16) adjacent the twin roll caster (11),
b) forming a thin cast strip (12) from the nip between the caster rolls (11) of the
twin roll caster (11) by (i) introducing molten steel between the pair of caster rolls
(22) to form a casting pool supported on casting surfaces of the caster rolls (22)
confined by said first side dams; and (ii) counter-rotating the caster rolls (22)
to form solidified metal shells on the surfaces (22A) of the caster rolls (22) and
cast steel strip through the nip between the caster rolls (22) from the solidified
shells,
c) applying a mixture of water and oil on the back-up rolls (16) of the hot rolling
mill (15), and
d) passing the thin cast strip (22) at a temperature of less than 1100°C through the
hot rolling mill (15) and rolling the cast strip between the work rolls (16A, 16B)
while the mixture of oil and water is applied to the back-up rolls (16) and forming
thin cast strip (12) having a surface roughness less than 1.5 microns Ra.
2. The method of producing the thin cast strip as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (d)
comprises shrouding the thin cast strip (12) from the casting rolls (22) through the
hot rolling mill (15) in an atmosphere of less than 5% oxygen and forming the thin
cast strip (12) having: at least one microstructure selected from the group consisting
of polygonal ferrite, acicular ferrite, Widmanstatten, bainite and martinsite, the
surface roughness of less than 1.5 microns Ra, and a scale thickness of less than
10 microns.
3. The method of producing the thin cast steel strip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2
wherein step (a) comprises: assembling spray nozzles positioned upstream of the work
rolls (16A, 16B) capable of spraying a mixture of water and oil to the back-up rolls
(16).
4. The method of producing the thin cast steel strip as claimed in claim 3, wherein step
(c) comprises spraying the mixture of oil and water as the cast strip (12) enters
the hot rolling mill (15).
1. Verfahren zur Herstellung eines dünnen Gussstahlbands, das folgende Schritte umfasst:
a) Zusammenbauen (i) eine Doppelwalzen-Gießmaschine (11) mit lateral positionierten
Gießmaschinenwalzen (22), die einen Walzenspalt dazwischen bilden (ii) ein Metallliefersystem,
das fähig ist, einen Gießpool zwischen den Gießmaschinenwalzen (22) oberhalb des Walzenspalts
mit seitlichen Dämmen angrenzend an die Enden des Walzenspalts zu bilden, um den besagten
Gießpool einzuschließen und (iii) ein Warmwalzwerk (15) mit Arbeitswalzen (16A, 16B)
und Stützwalzen (16) angrenzend an die Doppelwalzen-Gießmaschine (11),
b) Formen eines dünnen Gussbands (12) ab dem Walzenspalt zwischen den Gießmaschinenwalzen
(22) der Doppelwalzen-Gießmaschine (11) durch (i) Einführen von geschmolzenem Stahl
zwischen das Paar von Gießmaschinenwalzen (22) zur Bildung eines Gießpools, der auf
Gießoberflächen der Gießmaschinenwalzen (22) gestützt ist, die durch die besagten
ersten Seitendämme eingeschlossen sind; und (ii) gegenläufige Gießmaschinenwalzen
(22), um erstarrte Strangschalen aus Metall auf der Oberfläche (22A) der Gießmaschinenwalzen
(22) zu bilden und Gussstahlband durch den Walzenspalt zwischen den Gießmaschinenwalzen
(22) aus den erstarrten Strangschalen zu bilden,
c) Aufbringen einer Mischung aus Wasser und Öl auf die Stützwalzen (16) des Warmwalzwerks
(15) und
d) Leiten des dünnen Gussbands (12) mit einer Temperatur von weniger als 1100 °C durch
das Warmwalzwerk (15) und Walzen des Gussbands zwischen den Arbeitswalzen (16A, 16B),
während die Mischung aus Wasser und Öl auf die Stützwalzen (16) aufgebracht wird und
Formen von dünnem Gussband (12) mit einer Oberflächenrauigkeit von weniger als 1,5
Mikron Ra.
2. Verfahren zur Herstellung des dünnen Gussbands wie in Anspruch 1 beansprucht, wobei
der Schritt (d),
die Abdeckung des dünnen Gussbands (12) von den Gießmaschinenwalzen (22) durch das
Warmwalzwerk (15) in einer Atmosphäre von weniger als 5 % Sauerstoff und das Formen
des dünnen Gussbands (12) umfasst, das aufweist: zumindest eine Mikrostruktur, die
aus der Gruppe selektiert wurde, die aus polygonalem Ferrit, nadelförmigem Ferrit,
Widmanstätten, Bainit und Martensit besteht, wobei die Oberflächenrauigkeit weniger
als 1,5 Mikron Ra und eine Zunderschichtdicke von weniger als 10 Mikron aufweist.
3. Verfahren zur Herstellung des dünnen Gussstahlbands wie in Anspruch 1 oder Anspruch
2 beansprucht, wobei der Schritt (a) umfasst: Zusammenbau der den Arbeitswalzen (16A,
16B) vorgelagerten Sprühdüsen, die eine Mischung von Wasser und Öl zu den Stützwalzen
(16) sprühen können.
4. Verfahren zur Herstellung des dünnen Gussstahlbands wie in Anspruch 3 beansprucht,
wobei der Schritt (c) das Sprühen der Mischung von Wasser und Öl umfasst, sowie das
Gussband (12) in das Warmwalzwerk (15) eintritt.
1. Procédé de production de bandes minces en acier coulé, comprenant les étapes consistant
à
:
a) assembler (i) une installation de coulée à cylindres jumelés (11), équipée de cylindres
de coulée (22) positionnés latéralement qui forment entre eux une emprise, (ii) un
système d'amenée de métal permettant de former une nappe de coulée entre les cylindres
de coulée (22) au-dessus de l'emprise, pourvu de digues latérales, adjacentes aux
extrémités de l'emprise, qui servent à confiner ladite nappe de coulée, et (iii) un
train de laminage à chaud (15), qui possède des cylindres de travail (16A, 16B) et
des cylindres d'appui (16), adjacent à l'installation de coulée à cylindres jumelés
(11) ,
b) former une bande mince coulée (12) dans l'emprise entre les cylindres de coulée
(22) de l'installation de coulée à cylindres jumelés (11),
(i) en introduisant de l'acier en fusion entre la paire de cylindres de coulée (22)
afin de former une nappe de coulée supportée sur les surfaces de coulée des cylindres
de coulée (22) et confinée par lesdites premières digues latérales ; et
(ii) en faisant tourner les cylindres de coulée (22) en sens inverse l'un de l'autre
afin de former des voiles de métal solidifié sur les surfaces (22A) des cylindres
de coulée (22) et former à partir des voiles solidifiés une bande mince en acier coulé
dans l'emprise entre les cylindres de coulée (22) ,
c) déposer un mélange d'eau et d'huile sur les cylindres d'appui (16) du train de
laminage à chaud (15), et
d) faire passer la bande mince coulée (12) à une température inférieure à 1100 °C
dans le train de laminage à chaud (15) et laminer la bande coulée entre les cylindres
de travail (16A, 16B) tandis que le mélange d'huile et d'eau est déposé sur les cylindres
d'appui (16) afin de former une bande mince coulée (12) ayant une rugosité superficielle
inférieure à 1,5 microns Ra.
2. Procédé de production de bandes minces coulées selon la revendication 1, dans lequel
l'étape (d) comprend la protection de la bande mince coulée (12) passant des cylindres
de coulée (22) dans le train de laminage à chaud (15) en l'exposant à une atmosphère
à moins de 5% d'oxygène et la formation de la bande mince coulée (12) en lui conférant
au moins une microstructure choisie dans le groupe constitué par la ferrite polygonale,
la ferrite aciculaire, les figures de Widmanstàtten, la baïnite et la martensite,
une rugosité superficielle inférieure à 1,5 microns Ra et une épaisseur de calamine
inférieure à 10 microns.
3. Procédé de production de bandes minces en acier coulé selon la revendication 1 ou
la revendication 2, dans lequel l'étape (a) comprend l'assemblage de buses de pulvérisation,
positionnées en amont des cylindres de travail (16A, 16B), qui sont aptes à pulvériser
un mélange d'eau et d'huile sur les cylindres d'appui (16) .
4. Procédé de production de bandes minces en acier coulé selon la revendication 3, dans
lequel l'étape (c) comprend la pulvérisation du mélange d'huile et d'eau à mesure
que la bande mince coulée (12) pénètre dans le train de laminage à chaud (15).