Patent ID: 8122938

Claim:
A side dam for a continuous metal casting apparatus having elongated opposed casting surfaces advancing in a casting direction forming a casting cavity therebetween, the side dam comprising an upstream end and a downstream end, an elongated generally straight upstream part and an elongated generally straight downstream part that are mutually laterally pivotable at a point between said upstream end and said downstream end, at least one anchor point attachable to a fixed element of said casting apparatus to prevent the side dam from being dragged in said casting direction by said advancing casting surfaces, and a smooth metal-contacting side surface extending continuously from said upstream end to said downstream end of the side dam and having regions thereof formed on said upstream part and said downstream part, whereby mutual lateral pivoting of said upstream part and said downstream part of the side dam enables said regions of the smooth metal-contacting side surface to be moved out of mutual coplanar alignment wherein the smooth metal-contacting side surface continues to extend continuously from said upstream end to said downstream end of the side dam during pivoting and after said regions are moved out of mutual coplanar alignment.