Patent ID: 6354365
Filing Date: 2002-03-12
Classification: B22D

Abstract:
A method for continuously casting a thin metal strip using a pair of counter-rotating rolls having end faces and a pair of refractory plates contacting the end faces of the rolls to provide side containment of a bath of molten metal provided between the rolls and from which the strip is cast, said method comprising:prior to casting, producing a mathematical model based on dimensions and materials of the rolls and refractory plates and representative of the behavior of the rolls and refractory plates under given operating conditions, including the temperature distribution across each of the refractory plates, and calculating forces to be applied to press the refractory plates against the end faces of the rolls during casting under the given conditions, based on the mathematical model, in order to minimize wear of the end faces of the rolls and the refractory plates; preheating the refractory plates; and carrying out the casting under the given operating conditions while pressing the refractory plates against the end faces of the rolls with forces that are controlled to correspond to the calculated forces, wherein said calculating operation calculates individual pressing forces to be applied to different areas of each refractory plate and said pressing operation is carried out to apply to each area of each refractory plate a force that is controlled independently of the forces applied to each other area of the plate, corresponding to the calculated individual pressing forces.