MOLD ADDITIVE FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING

Abstract: The present invention provides a mold additive for continuous casting which comprises an additive for stationary casting containing a flux base and, if necessary, a melting property regulator wherein it contains 4-30 wt % of MgO and 4-30 wt % of ZrO₂ and CaO/SiO₂ is 0.5-1.5.

Description: The present invention relates to a mold additive for continuous casting of steel. Mold additives are used in continuous casting of steel for preventing oxidation of the surface of molten steel which contacts the inner surface of the mold, and for controlling heat retention, absorption of nonmetal inclusions and lubrication between the mold and the cast product. A mold additive normally comprises metal oxides such as SiO₂, CaO, Al₂O₃, MgO and MnO as a flux base material and, if necessary, a melting property regulator comprising metal oxides such as Na₂O, K₂O, Li₂O, and B₂O₃ and a metal fluoride such as CaF₂, AlF₃, NaF and LiF for regulation of the melting point and the viscosity and a carbon-aceous powder for regulation of the melting rate. When a mold additive is added onto the surface of molten steel in a mold, the portion which contacts the surface of the molten steel melts to form a molten slag layer and an unmolten slag layer on the molten slag layer which cover the surface of the molten steel. The molten slag layer generally used is mainly composed of 25-45 wt % of SiO₂, 25-45 wt % of CaO, 1-20 wt % of Al₂O₃, 5-20 wt % of Na₂O and 5-20 wt % of F, CaO/SiO₂ being 0.5-1.8. It has a viscosity of 0.5-15 poises at 1300°C and a melting point of 900-1250°C. When the performance of the mold additive is insufficient, there occur problems such as formation of pinholes due to oxidation of steel, breaking-out caused by sticking between the mold and the cast product and formation of cracks on the surface of the cast product owing to ununiform removal of heat. Therefore, there have been made various proposal to prevent these defects. US-A-3,899,324 discloses a mold additive for continuous casting, containing Magnesia and Zirconia and having a C/S ratio within a certain range. Said additive contains 0-20 wt% of Mg 0,0-5 wt% of ZrO₂, 5-30 wt % of CaO, 5-40 wt % of SiO₂, 6-25 wt % of Na₂O and oxides of Period IV metal. JP-A-60-234751 discloses a mold additive containing 3-35 wt % of a melting type oxide of 0.01-1 mm in particle size and JP-A-57-41862 discloses a mold additive which is an additive for stationary casting comprising a flux base and, if necessary, a melting property regulator and and which additionally contains 0.5-15 wt % of zirconia. However, in case of the conventional mold additives, the amorphous slag formed upon melting contains some bubbles. These bubbles result in ununiform cooling of the cast product at the surface of the mold in the continuous casting of steel, which causes not only defects in the surface of the cast product, but also break-out. Thus, there have been problems in ensuring the quality of the cast product and carrying out a stable operation. According to the above JP-A-60-234751, one or more of magnesia, alumina, forsterite, zircon, wollastonite and silica which have been once molten in an electric furnace to enhance fire resistance and reduce reactivity is used as a slag forming base material to increase the melting temperature of the flux after use. JP-A-57-41862 aims at preventing damage of the dipped nozzle by the use of zirconia in the additive but this is not sufficient for decreasing the bubbles in the molten slag. The present invention which has been accomplished for effectively solving the above-mentioned problems relates to a mold additive for continuous casting which comprises an additive for stationary casting containing a flux base and, if necessary, a melting property regulator, which additive is characterized in that it contains 4-30 wt % of MgO and 4-30 wt % of ZrO₂ and that the weight ratio CaO/SiO₂ is within the range of 0.5-1.5. Fig. 1 is a diagram which shows the state of formation of bubbles in a molten slag as a function of the amount of ZrO₂ and MgO which are added to a conventional additive. Fig. 2 is a graph which shows the heat transfer coefficient depending on the casting rate in the present invention and in a comparative example. Fig. 3 is a graph which shows the heat retaining property exhibited by the additive of the present invention and that of a comparative example. The present invention will be explained referring to the accompanying drawings below. Fig. 1 shows the state of formation of bubbles in a molten slag when a conventional additive to which ZrO₂ and MgO were added in different amounts was used. From Fig. 1, it will be recognized that when the additive contains 4-30 wt % of ZrO₂ and 4-30 wt % of MgO and the ratio of CaO/SiO₂ is within the range of 0.5-1.5, bubbles are not formed in the molten slag. The additive of the present invention comprises a commercially available additive for stationary casting which contains a flux base to which MgO and ZrO₂ are added respectively so as to contain them in specific amounts and SiO₂ or CaO may be added so as to adjust the CaO/SiO₂ ratio to a specific one. Furthermore, the additive of the present invention may comprise a commercially available additive for stationary casting which contains a flux base and a melting property regulator in a suitable ratio to which MgO and ZrO₂ are added respectively so as to contain them in specific amounts and SiO₂ or CaO may be added so as to adjust the CaO/SiO₂ ratio to a specific one. MgO, ZrO₂, CaO and SiO₂ may be used in the form of industrial chemicals as such or raw ores rich in them which are ground and sieved. Contents of ZrO₂ of 4-10 wt % and of MgO of 4-30 wt % are preferred from the point of prevention of formation of bubbles. In this case, if the CaO/SiO₂ ratio is within the range of 0.5-0.9, good results can be obtained even if the amounts of ZrO₂ and MgO are chosen in relatively wide ranges. Thus, the inventors have succeeded in producing a slag containing no bubbles by simultaneous addition of high melting point materials, MgO and ZrO₂ to conventional additives to form a solid solution while keeping the CaO/SiO₂ ratio within a specified range. Examples To a commercially available additive for stationary casting were added MgO and ZrO₂ in the form of industrial chemicals to obtain the additive A of the present invention (present additive A) having the composition as shown in Table 1. Additive B of the present invention (present additive B) was prepared by adding CaO in the form of an industrial chemical to the additive A in such an amount that CaO/SiO₂ was 0.9. For comparison, four kinds of commercially available additives were used as conventional additives A, B, C and D. Characteristics of these additives are shown in Tables 2, 3 and 4. As explained above, according to the present invention, a slag in the form of a solid solution which contains no bubbles exerts a lubricating action between the solidified shell and the cooled mold in the continuous casting of steel and good cast product can be obtained by a stable amount of heat removed. According to the present invention, since the slag which flows between the cooled mold and the solidified shell does not form bubbles in continuous casting, the cast product is uniformly cooled and as a result, as shown in Fig. 2, removal of heat in a stable amount can be attained on the surface of the cast product and besides, the heat-retaining property of the slag is excellent as shown in Fig. 3. For this reason, the removal of the heat from the cooled mold during casting is improved and the cast product is gently cooled. Thereby the formation of deckles in the cooled mold as well as occurrence of defects on the surface and inside of the cast product can be prevented. Furthermore, the additive of the present invention is high in surface tension (Table 2) and in viscosity (Table 3) and nevertheless, it has a long break point time (Table 3) and the slag which flows between the cooled mold and the solidified shell in the vicinity of the meniscus part does not become a sticking layer. Since it has a great specific gravity (Table 4), a proper amount of slag can be secured corresponding to changes in the meniscus part and the interface between the slag and the molten steel. That is, it becomes possible to produce steels of from low carbon content to high carbon content by one formulation of additive. As explained above, according to the present invention, bubbles are not generated in the molten slag in the mold and hence the conspicuous effects are exhibited that the removal of heat from the cooled mold during casting is made uniform and defects on the surface and inside of the cast product can be prevented. Besides there is no need to change additives depending on the kind of steel and thus a stable operation can be performed.

Claims: 1. A mold additive for continuous casting which contains 4-30 wt % of MgO and 4-30 wt % of ZrO₂ and CaO and SiO₂ at a weight ratio CaO/SiO₂ within the range of 0.5-1.5. 2. An additive according to claim 1 which contains 4-30 wt % of MgO and 4-10 wt % of ZrO₂. 3. An additive according to claim 2 wherein the weight ratio of CaO and SiO₂ is 0.5-0.9. 4. An additive according to claim 1 which additionally contains a melting property regulator.

Inventors: KANAYAMA, MASANOBU, NAKAMURA, MASAHIRO, NAKAMURA, YUKIO C/O KIMITSU SEITETSUSHO, SHIMA, SHOZO
Applicants: KAMOGAWA INDUSTRY CO., LTD., NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B22D11
IPC codes: B22D11